Why You Should Change Your Own Oil

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I was in town earlier this morning. For those that know Cleveland Ave in Newark, DE.
It's like an auto mall- car dealers up and down the street both sides.
I seen lines from 10-20 cars at all dealerships jockeying for position in the quick lube service lines often spilling out into the street. As I drove by I could see determination and desperation on the faces of these Saturday warriors-lol.

They were up all night planning to screw each other out of a spot and most will go home with lousy bulk oil and the oil filter they drove in with..... How sad
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Too funny!

I cannot imagine having to drive to a dealership, or independent shop, wait in line, and then have to sit in the waiting room while someone else changes my oil. Setting aside the cost savings and the assurance of knowing I did the job right myself, how much time is spent having someone else do oil and filter on a car?

Yesterday while going to the movie with my wife, I noticed that the odometer showed I would be due for an oil change when we got home. So I'll be changing the oil in the Outback today. It will take me less than 20 minutest to change the oil and filter on my car. That includes pulling the other car out of the garage so I can park the Outback over a small pit. (That way I can drain right into an empty oil jug without having to lift the car.)

Later today when I go out to run errands in town, I'll drop the used motor oil off at the local Autozone. That will take about a 2 minutes out of my day.

I had never thought about the time savings in changing my own oil. There is another perk!
 
The MAIN reason I change my own oil is peace of mind. I have no doubt that the "little" things like...Is the correct filter (I asked for) for the vehicle used? Is the filter reasonably tight? Is the oil I asked for actually installed? Is the drain plug properly reinstalled and reasonably tight but not overly tightened?

Yes, I have to jack the car up, get the tools out, crawl under it to drain the oil, and then when done, transport the used oil to some parts store (who will sell it) for recycling, etc., but I'm willing to bet I still spend less time doing this than the folks waiting in line and waiting in the waiting room to have their vehicle serviced; and when they're done, they know the answers to NONE of my above questions. Worse, BITOG and YouTube are full of nightmare stories of things that go wrong at these places...and I know of a few of my own that have happened to friends of mine.

I have never in my life waited to either have my oil changed or waited in line at a car wash.

The only winning move for me is not to play the game. Money has absolutely nothing to do with it.
 
I recently just started doing my own oil changes. Another perk is being able to drain it for a good 30 mins or so while all the old oil drains out. I just go on errands while it's draining. When I come back it's not even dripping any more. Versus when a shop does it and they're in a hurry.
 
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
Later today when I go out to run errands in town, I'll drop the used motor oil off at the local Autozone. That will take about a 2 minutes out of my day. I had never thought about the time savings in changing my own oil. There is another perk!


I like seeing people go to a lube shop since we know it gets recycled properly. A lot of "problem children" out there pour used oil down the drain, etc.
You're a good dude like many of us here, recycling used oil!!!

Of course, you know its done RIGHT if you DIY, which is why I do it. Also to choose whatever oil I want. Lube Shops sometimes lie to you about what weight/brand/type of oil they actually dump into yer sump.
 
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
How sad
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I say the same thing about people who spend their time trotting off to the doctor and then whining about health insurance.

I simply choose to take care of both my health and oil changes myself.
 
God willing I'll be changing my own oil until the day I stop driving. The less someone other than myself touches on of my vehicles, the better.
 
Agreed.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Nothing wrong with having your vehicle serviced by a reputable dealership.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Nothing wrong with having your vehicle serviced by a reputable dealership.


If you can find one. In 40 yrs of car maintenance, I'd only give one of those dealerships an unqualified "approved" rating.

And I'm sure the vast majority of them were "reputable."
 
Around here (North Bay SF Bay Area) we have Chevron "Oil Stops" which are run pretty well and carry all chevron products. Mid-week, middle of the day, maybe 15 minutes while you have a smoke and a coke (free).

Local dealer is Ford and they do oil by appointment. Use all Motorcraft stuff and maybe 1/2 hour, but they rotate tires too. It's in their system so if warranty comes up, it's covered.

It's an OK way to get done. batter than skipping all together
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No one but me has ever changed the oil in any vehicle ive ever owned.I dont trust anyone enough.Worked at a dealership for 15yrs and the stuff i saw!
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Did anyone else see the clip on the future of oil changes? It depicts a canister type of device that you place in the engine compartment and when an oil change is needed it pumps the old oil into the device, you then insert a new canister with new oil and it pumps the new oil into the sump until the next OCI. they stated it was being tested in a few vehicles now but hoped it would be standard in several years. No more having to get under the car (hopefully0
 
I drive company cars, always have used Jiffy Lube because that who's near me that the fleet company has listed as a place to use. Oil changes every 5000 (old standard) to 7500 miles (new standard), no transmission service - got 120,000 and 100,000 miles out of cars before trading the last 2 in for a new one. Personal cars - Jiffy Lube for oil changes and mechanic for transmission oil change and anything else - 13 YO car with 76,000 miles, 7 YO car with about 75,000 miles and just got rid of an 11 YO car with 111,000 miles. I've been in and out of the Jiffy Lube in 20 minutes, I doubt 3 oz of used motor oil, if that, means a lot to 5 quarts of oil. I've been at Jiffy lube for 1 hour when they rotated the tires. I was at the Ford dealer for an hour as they did service - oil change and tire rotation.

I wonder how many DIYers screw up their cars ... [censored] happens all the time just doesn't hit the news! How long does it take a DIYer to rotate tires without a lift - 1/2 hour? Oil change and tire rotation approximately 45 minutes.

I don't wait on lines to do oil changes - just hit it when it is less crowded.
 
The problem with the quick lube places is they have cheap filters and it should be a requirement that they use hand tools to tighten oil plugs.

They are great during the winter when it's cold and rainy outside.
 
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I've never waited in line for an oil change, but a few weeks ago I sat at Gator Chrysler for just over 2 hours waiting for them to program a new key. I only got it back at the 2.15 mark because I tracked down the service adviser that took my car and politely asked them to return it immediately as I wasn't waiting any longer for them to do a 2 minute job.

she called back to the mechanics, and then walked *real slow* to give them time to finish the job.
 
I can't speak for anyone else...but I think it's interesting that the location of the drain plug and filter have become an issue for me in the purchase of a new vehicle. I currently have a forward-facing drain plug and a very easy access filter location which would make it easy for someone who's twenty years older than me with reasonable mobility to change their own own.

In researching my current vehicle, I remember the sales guy at the dealership talking about the GDI fuel pump could be noisy when it was cold and the fact that it didn't come with a spare tire but I was more concerned with where the oil plug and filter was located.
 
I do my own oil changes. To get the dealer to do it with the oil I want is too expensive and I wait too long. I also enjoy doing it. As for rotations, I get a lifetime rotate and balance at discount and let them do it. Yes most of the time I have to wait an hour but its better than having expensive tires wear prematurely. I do the rotate and balance every 6k miles. Since my car only has 30k miles, I am still undecided if I want to let the dealer do anything else.
 
I do my own oil changes. To get the dealer to do it with the oil I want is too expensive and I wait too long. I also enjoy doing it. As for rotations, I get a lifetime rotate and balance at discount and let them do it. Yes most of the time I have to wait an hour but its better than having expensive tires wear prematurely. I do the rotate and balance every 6k miles. Since my car only has 30k miles, I am still undecided if I want to let the dealer do anything else.
 
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