I've stopped changing my own oil on the Saturn. Instead, I have begun taking it in for oil changes every 3,000 miles.
Why?
1) I hate changing oil-- it's dirty, time consuming and hardly rewarding. There's no instant gratification to it, unlike other auto work.
2) I now live in an apartment complex, so there's no driveway to work on the car. The apartment complex prohibits vehicle maintenance.
3) Perks with a DIFM oil change. At some shops, you get free top-offs, which is important for us Saturn owners
. If I go to the dealer, they do a mini-detail (wash and vacuum) which saves me from having to spend money at the car wash. Some oil change specials now include tire rotations, which is also nice since I hate doing tire work.
4) Cost. With the economy, chain auto shops and dealers are hurting for business. Most shops and dealers near me charge $19.99, which is only a few dollars more than the cost of a 5 qt and filter combination. Here's a sample of the shops around me and their oil change prices:
1) Sears: $19.99 for Valvoline Conventional and Powerflo Filter (Almost always have this promotional price)
2) Firestone: $19.99 for Kendall Liquid Titanium Blend and Champs Filter (Almost always have this price)
3) Cadillac dealer: $19.99 for Kendall Liquid Titanium Blend and AC Delco Filter, plus free car wash.
4) Goodyear Auto Center: $19.99 for Valvoline Conventional
Yes, I realize that these places are looking for work when you bring your car in. But to my surprise, none of these shops have upsold me any unneeded work. In fact, the only shop that upsold me work was the Cadillac dealer, but the work needed was legitimate and they didn't even push it. I have found that if you talk with the technician who is working on the car and have him realize that you are somewhat car-savvy, you'll eliminate many issues. Especially if you watch the tech while they work on your car, you will virtually eliminate the horror stories about oil change screw-ups.
So, those are the reasons why I haven't changed the oil in my Saturn in quite some time. Has anyone else stopped changing their own oil? Has anyone else recently converted to having their oil changed due to the low prices?
Discuss.
Why?
1) I hate changing oil-- it's dirty, time consuming and hardly rewarding. There's no instant gratification to it, unlike other auto work.
2) I now live in an apartment complex, so there's no driveway to work on the car. The apartment complex prohibits vehicle maintenance.
3) Perks with a DIFM oil change. At some shops, you get free top-offs, which is important for us Saturn owners
4) Cost. With the economy, chain auto shops and dealers are hurting for business. Most shops and dealers near me charge $19.99, which is only a few dollars more than the cost of a 5 qt and filter combination. Here's a sample of the shops around me and their oil change prices:
1) Sears: $19.99 for Valvoline Conventional and Powerflo Filter (Almost always have this promotional price)
2) Firestone: $19.99 for Kendall Liquid Titanium Blend and Champs Filter (Almost always have this price)
3) Cadillac dealer: $19.99 for Kendall Liquid Titanium Blend and AC Delco Filter, plus free car wash.
4) Goodyear Auto Center: $19.99 for Valvoline Conventional
Yes, I realize that these places are looking for work when you bring your car in. But to my surprise, none of these shops have upsold me any unneeded work. In fact, the only shop that upsold me work was the Cadillac dealer, but the work needed was legitimate and they didn't even push it. I have found that if you talk with the technician who is working on the car and have him realize that you are somewhat car-savvy, you'll eliminate many issues. Especially if you watch the tech while they work on your car, you will virtually eliminate the horror stories about oil change screw-ups.
So, those are the reasons why I haven't changed the oil in my Saturn in quite some time. Has anyone else stopped changing their own oil? Has anyone else recently converted to having their oil changed due to the low prices?
Discuss.
