The $100 Oil Change

[billt460]

For my Toyota, (5 quart capacity), $30.00 for a 5 quart jug of 0W-30 at Wal-Mart. Plus $5.00 for a filter. ($8.00 if I get fancy and go with a Fram Ultra-Guard, or whatever). So call it $38.00 and 30 minutes... Half of which is letting it drain while I shoot the B.S. with my neighbor. Over $100.00 for an oil change is ridiculous.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

If I spend an hour changing my oil, that's an hour taken away from watching TV, or napping. The exercise and fresh air is probably better for me anyway.

How long does it take you to drive to a shop, park, get out, walk up to a service counter, explain why you're there, answer the SAME QUESTIONS as they asked you last time, wait on them to talk with a co-worker who ran up to them in mid-sentence of you answering their questions, wait on them to finish a phone call in which they took in mid-sentence of you answering a question they asked you, go sit down, wait on them to service the car, get back up, go pay, and then drive back home?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Get yourself a Mr. Lube franchise.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

If I change my wife's oil using Subaru parts and Genuine oil it costs me about forty-five bucks plus my "free" labour.

If she goes to the dealer it's about ninety-five bucks with no coupon. Last dealer used Valvoline bulk not Subaru Genuine.
Ran good and smooth for a couple weeks, then on my last 150 mile trip with her as a passenger the engine was running lumpy

 

[Revving2Redline]

My guy gets Hennessey Cognac for Xmas and he doesn't work for Honda on weekends but he is there working on his own side jobs. He likes to change my oil, cvt fluid,coolant,etc check fluid levels and tighten up anything he sees. While the oils are getting longer longevity oci, he presses me to at least bring it in, get the nitrogen topped off and gets a visual of everything underneath. The best advice I got from a Master Technician at Honda was keep the oil clean and changed, and the longer I go without a oil change, the longer it will go without a under carriage inspection where most little issues start. That was how he found my leaking water pump too.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

For my Toyota, (5 quart capacity), $30.00 for a 5 quart jug of 0W-30 at Wal-Mart. Plus $5.00 for a filter. ($8.00 if I get fancy and go with a Fram Ultra-Guard, or whatever). So call it $38.00 and 30 minutes... Half of which is letting it drain while I shoot the B.S. with my neighbor. Over $100.00 for an oil change is ridiculous.

As a business They are still loosing money on the service for $100 - 119.
Its a loss leader - We used to Advertise $9.95 Oil change and chassis lube just to get the car on the lift.

Then it was inspect ball joints, brakes exhaust, rad hoses, water pump, belts, U-joints, shocks and tires for a service recommendation to Mrs. Jones - who took hubby's car in for a quick change after dropping him at work. One phone call from the Mrs. to the hubby and the answer was almost always "Just do it !" We were honest, we did not overcharge.

That's when you could lease a Gas Station for 775 bucks a month if you sold X amount of gas. Me? I cost $7.50 and hour. Not bad money for 1977. Atlantic-Richfield pushed us out by doubling the lease cost back in the late 70s' when transitioning to a convenience store business model.

Last time I drove by it was a Shell Station - Ken

 

[nomas]

My Nissan Titan oil change at the Dealer is less than $100 . I make an appointment . Drive up to the Service bay , check in . go inside and get a cup of coffee and watch HGTV in the waiting area . Sometimes they offer a free tire rotation special . Works out fine for me .

 

[joekingcorvette]

Meh, $100 is too much for an oil change. Plenty of places do it for $60 or less out the door. I change mine myself and do my own inspection instead of relying on some kid who just started yesterday.

 

[Donald]

My F250 is $100 for the 14 QTs of synthetic T6 oil. Then filter.

 

[Heywood_6078]

My son mentioned to me today that he does 8K mile oil changes on his 2020 Ford Explorer, 72K miles. Since his company pays the maintenance on the vehicle and he drives a lot he doesn't really worry about the cost. Goes to the local Valvoline franchise and gets 5/6 quarts Synthetic, filter and a new plastic Ford drain plug. I think Valvoline is very good oil and the service at the center is top rate but the cost astounded me.

I am a lifetime do it myself oil changer and can't fathom paying that much.


What do you figure an oil change costs?

View attachment 107967

For that kinda money I'll just keep buying Amsoil and doing it myself.

 

[racer12306]

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/jiffy-lube-synthetic-oil-change-109-99.352038/

$109.99 for 5 qt of PP at our local Jiffy Lube.

Then again, you can buy 5 qts of boutique oil (HPL, Redline, etc.) and a filter for $90-100 too, so there are many ways for your oil change to cost that much.

I only just made this connection. Last time I knew anything about what Jiffy Lube charges, it was $29.99 for conventional and $54.99 for synthetic.

I just changed my Ram with HPL and I was honestly having a hard time with spending $106 on an oil change. I've never paid that much for an oil change, usually it's $48.

But I guess this is what the "normal people" pay, but at least I know I'm using ultra premium materials.

I guess you do it yourself for quality or cost or sometimes both. Definitely rationalized the cost in my head. Add in that I rotated the tires and saved another $30.

Plus I got to take a peek at the brakes on all four corners.

 

[The Critic]

I only just made this connection. Last time I knew anything about what Jiffy Lube charges, it was $29.99 for conventional and $54.99 for synthetic.

As of last month, the local JL is at $112.99 for 5 quarts of PP. Additional quarts are >$10/ea.

I rationalize boutique oils in the same manner - if the total LOF cost is under what JL charges, it is still somewhat justifiable.

 

[Hall]

I guess you do it yourself for....

People pay others to do this work for multiple and valid (to them) reasons. If $115 is the going market rate, so be it.... Telling someone they could save over 50% of that cost if they DIY, they don't care.

 

[NormanBuntz]

I'm getting ready to do a $4.80 synthetic oil change on my QX60: 5 quarts of RTG 5w-20 from 2019 Autozone clearance at 50 cents a quart after rebate, a $1.50 Fram TG6607 from Walmart clearance and an 80 cent crush washer. Works for me!

 

[The Critic]

$1.50 Fram TG6607 from Walmart clearance and an 80 cent crush washer. Works for me!

That crush washer seems disproportionately expensive.

 

[AutoMechanic]

We raised the prices of ours last week due to the production of oil going down. I think it’s $79.99 now for up to 5 quarts and a filter. At least we had enough employees get mad and we got our discount back on oil now haha. They took it away for a couple days and we all went off.

 

[Hall]

We raised the prices of ours last week due to the production of oil going down

Is that what you're telling your customers ?

 

[Eddie]

People don't like to work for a dollar-a-day anymore.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Is that what you're telling your customers ?

I have heard some of the advisors say that so yes. That’s what the owner of our dealership sent out an email saying the prices were up because of that.

 

[Dr_Dr3i]

Depending on the vehicle, sometimes the most expensive part is the filter. For example, my 3rd gen EcoD requires the new type of oil filter AND cap combo, which is about $75-80 last time I checked.

I haven't paid for an oil change in many years, as I do them myself, but I'm pretty sure the stealership would charge me around $300 easy, and possibly even use the "wrong oil" as some have claimed. So I just buy the filter from MOPAR and get 2 jugs of QSUD 5w40 Euro at $23/5L jug from Wal-mart. An hour of my time on a weekend doesn't count as I consider it a hobby anyway.

Still adds up to around $125, before factoring in a couple cold ones