Who does your oil change

[johnsmith]

quote:

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Others find themselves in housing complexes and towns where the evil overlords constantly patrol the parking lots, empty fields and highway offramps for renegade oil changers...who are immediately bound, gagged, and forced to watch untrained chimpanzees pour a mix of slightly used olive oil and sand into the crankcases of high-end German cars that require an A3-rated oil, topped off by a slick50 impregnated Fram filter of the wrong thread size for 37 straight hours.

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I'm going to have nightmares now; thanks a lot Stephen King!

I do my own changes, and for a few of my friends.
DIY'ing it can save you big bucks and allows you to give it that "personal touch", but you can also shoot yourself in the foot if you jump into something you're not ready for! Gnothi sauton...

 

[mikemc]

I have done my own for many years. Too many bad experiences with grease monkeys over tightening filters and drain plugs. I figure no one cares for my vehicles nearly as much as I do.

 

[Black Thunder]

well I'm 21 and i've started changing my own oil since i started driving at 16.


I've also taken over the oil changes for my parents vehicles and brother's vehicles.


Plus i work at a Service shop, so lets just say i get oil on my hands pretty often.

 

[Pablo]

Pablo does mine.

82dmc12 - THANK YOU for providing some balance! I once had to go to a .....y Lube due to hernia surgery, 8 years ago. I have to admit, the manager plain crazy lied to me. He told me my engine had no oil in it when I arrived....I didn't let him get any further. This single data point made a huge negative imprint on my memory.

 

[johnsmith]

82DMC12: I just read your post, and you're right on the money. Have an "e-drink" on me...

 

[thooks]

82DMC12:

Thanks for a view from the other side. I've had mine changed at a 'Quick-Lube', at local mechanic and the dealer. Only place I've found the plug loose is from the local mechanic.

Folks that constantly bash need to get a clue. I wish people could hear more stories like yours from people that work in convenience stores, retail places, and government offices.


I change my own now, and have for a long time, save for a few instances where I didn't have the means or such. At that time, I either took filter or oil and filter to the place.

I take satisfaction in doing my own, like many here. It is, afterall, one of the most important things in the long-life of our vehicles.

 

[jmacmaster]

I change my own oil and oil filter. I don't trust anyone to do it right and to use the oil and oil filter I specify. And its easy to do and saves money.

I applaud 82DMC12. Its obvious that things are done right in his shop. However, at many quickie shops, dealerships, independent service stations, and Walmarts, things are far too often NOT done right. It all depends on who owns or manages the place. Unfortunately, many of them either take no pride in the work their shop does, or are out to screw people, or both. And its a sad commentary on our society that this is not limited to the motor vehicle maintenance and repair industry. I can say this through the personal experience of me and my friends and relatives over the 45 years that I've been driving and working on vehicles and taking them to various places for work.

 

[nortones2]

Well said 82DMC12! I'm sure you're right about the majority of driver whichever continent they live on : they treat the car as they do the refrigerator. Buy it, fill it, forget it. Pity they don't make some minor maintenance tasks compulsory, as part of the driving test. If they take one that is. Can't dwell anymore on this or the Polizei will be calling...

 

[turbodevil]

I do my own. Non-oem filters and the fear of not knowing what oil is going in my engine will keep me from ever using a quick lube place. Besides, I like to let my oil drain for a while and that kind of defeats the purpose of a "quick" lube place.

I just started changing my gf's oil and I was pleasantly surprised that you don't have to jack a truck up to change the oil. Much faster than my A4. Also, when removing the filter, her truck has a little channel that makes the spill oil run down by the drain plug. Pretty easy oil change. 97 Sonoma 4-banger.

 

[boxcartommie22]

i do my own

 

[racer12306]

I change the oil on my neon and my fiances beetle. I offered, but they didnt take me up on it, to do my fiances parents cars. My neon or the beetle may have been done in a jiffy lube before but i was the only one touching them. i have been the only one (in the time that i drove them) to change the oil on the three cars that i have driven, 93 shadow, 85 monte carlo ss and now my 04 neon.

My dad has been changing the oil on his, my moms and my sisters cars for as long as i can remember. and now that includes my grandmas car. so he is responsible for an 05 Ion, 05 cummins, 02 neon, 02 saturn, 00 stratus. cant forget the race car when it is running.

 

[82DMC12]

Thanks again for the positive feedback. This was actually a post I have been meaning to make for a while.

So... to address another commong BITOG complaint about how iffy lubes are a rip off... While there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that there are hundreds or thousands of quick lubes out there who don't really care about anything, I like to think that my customers are getting a quality service. Do they pay more for it at my shop? **** right they do. Of course they could change it themselves and save some coin. Can you flush your radiator for about $15 bucks in parts and do pretty much just as good of a job as my $69 service? Probably. Can you build a house cheaper than having a contractor do it? Sure if you just count materials. Or even easier, can you make dinner at home cheaper than eating out? But then what about your time to round up parts, get the garage ready, actually do the work w/o messing it up, then cleaning up and disposal? What is your time worth? Apparently, if 85% of oil changes are done at quick lubes, time is more important than paying someone else to do it.

This is why 'iffy lubes' exist and NOT for BITOG'ers who can do this stuff themselves. A lot of the people who come to my shop are lucky to get their radiators flushed once every 7-10 years. Don't get me started on Dex-Cool... middle america does NOT keep their cooling systems full and there are THOUSANDS of vehicles running around with plugged up radiators because of this. How would they ever know there is a problem if an 'iffy lube' didn't point this out? On the other hand, now i'm just trying to 'sell some extra services that probably aren't needed since my car is running ok'. And then they tell 10 of their friends about how the guy at the oil change place was insisting there was a problem with his car but he is sure i was just trying to get him to buy something else. Well yeah I am sure there are plenty of lube tech guys out there that work on commission who might stretch things a bit or even flat out lie. But I have a feeling it is less frequent than you think.

We always hear about the bad experiences but rarely the good ones, its just like anyone else. Do you tell you friends how friendly everyone is at the grocery store you go to? Probably not. But if the butcher looks annoyed that he has to help you while he is busy one night out of the last two hundred times you were you there, you are going to remember that and probably mention it to someone else.

Clearly there are many more quality service places than we realize, but as in any industry, a few bad apples spoil the whole **** bunch.

Andy

 

[Black Thunder]

wow 82DMC12, I use the same procedure that you use for tightening plugs all together.

i 2 use the tight till snug then wrap a rag around the wrench and give it a rap with one fist while i hold the wrench with the other.
Hasn't done me wrong and i've been doing customer oil changes for over 4 years now.

the ONLY time i use a Filter wrench on installation is if i can't get a hold of the filter properly because of clearance issues and whatnot.

From my experience the harder Oil filters to get off are the Ac Delco's that come from the dealers, or the Hideous Yellow Pennzoil filters from that 10 min Pennzoil Quick Lube that is a few miles from where i work.
Once they put the filter on so tight that when i went to remove it with a Filter Wrench i loosened the stud in the block before the filter came loose, I then had to separate the filter from the stud after i pulled i out and then had to put the stud back in with a wrench.

 

[radiometer]

Before I was old enough to have a car I had a bicycle. I would remove the cone bearings to clean and relube them. When I got into a car about 50 years ago it was just natural that I would learn to maintain it.

So, all this time I've done all my oil, transmission, differential, coolant changes and most repairs. I like knowing exactly what goes into it and that it is done right.

To me it's just the natural way. But, I know that's not everybody.......

 

[wavinwayne]

The funny thing is (to me anyway); I learned how to do brake jobs, replace alternators, starters, batteries, spark plugs, fuel filters, misc. sensors here & there.........all BEFORE I ever performed my first DIY oil change in '04.

The reason.........I was intimidated by the process of changing oil. I can't explain why.

Oh, well, I conquered my fear of oil changes & turned it into a love....errrrrr......obsession, but I'm still haunted by memories of my previously oil-neglected vehicles.

 

[AmericaWestCMH]

quote:

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I guess I don't understand why, barring a physical limitation or warranty issue, why people would buy the oil and filter and then still pay someone else to have an oil change done for them. To me it seems like someone who claims to be a computer expert but brings their PC into Best Buy to get it fixed. [I dont know]

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No auto maintenance allowed at my apartment complex. Paying them $11 makes my life easy.

 

[87sammy]

Hey 82DMC12 , do you drive a time machine with a stainless steel body?

 

[BigAl]

I've been changing my own oil, and doing 95% of my own repairs since I bought my first car in 1975. I just can't imagine turning it over to someone else. I keep a modest stash of oil and filters so I can do it at any convenient time, evening, weekend, etc.

I never thought those speedy oil change places were too bad, except that some of them will try to substitute Dexron plus some magic additive for other transmission fluids . . .which is bad news. What's your take on this, Andy?

 

[Black Thunder]

it also nice to have a place to do it indoors with the proper tooling.

I remember changing the oil in my old truck without even raising it, just simply laying a piece of cardboard down and crawling under it.


Now i have a set of ramps that makes things so much easier with the extra room and stuff, also makes greasing the chassis easier.

 

[ALS]

I have a local independent garage do mine. I supply the oil, washer, filter and $10. I feel it is a good deal since I don't have crawl under the car or dispose of the used oil.