Changing oil yourself

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

I was talking yesterday with a friend who said he was going to be working on his truck, changing oil, transmission fluid, and some other stuff (transfer case and rear differential fluid, etc).

I'm the first to admit I'm not handy with cars, but even if I was I can't see spending hours doing this myself when there are 15 places within 3 miles of me that can do it in less than an hour.

What are some of the reasons you'd want to do this yourself?

 

[TallyNole93]

Knowing it was done right and not trust someone else. I took my truck to get the oil changed and the tech did not replace the oil filler cap. I trusted it was done right so I drove the truck. Oil gauge got low and I smelled oil. Opened the hood and oil everywhere.

 

[F4Gary]

I change my own oil. I'm a car guy and I like to work on my cars. Probably pull the transmission out of the Vette later this summer. Not a paint or electronics guy though. Have farm that out.

 

[KitingHigh]

I do my own maintenance and repairs primarily to save money and ensure I'm using quality parts and fluids. I also enjoy doing it. With all the forums and YouTube videos it's easy to find out how to do just about anything. I even have a Bluetooth diagnostic connector so I can access the cars computer with my laptop to check and reset codes.

As for changing the oil I use premium synthetic and high grade filters. Those 9 dollar changes use crap. It only takes me 10-15 minutes as I have trucks and ramps along with a creeper. I could actually get under them without those, but they make it much easier and quicker. My Suburban has 230,000 miles on it and runs like a champ.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

It makes no sense (financially) to change your own oil...

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Disposing of used oil sounds like a PITA.

 

[anolesfan77]

I used to go to the quick oil change places. It was easy and relatively cheap. One time, after draining the oil and changing the filter, a technician cranked my car without having put oil in it. I saw him and couldn't stop him in time. When I told him he screwed up, he insisted the he had put oil in it and there must be another problem. Then he checked it and realized he was wrong. That wrapped it up for me. I have changed my own oil ever since.

I buy the oil I want with the quality filter I want and do it myself. I also do all of my own repairs to both of my cars. I have a 2003 GMC Envoy with 201,000 miles and a 1996 Nissan 200SX with 210,000 miles. Both run great and don't burn a drop of oil. It is well worth the time.

The Auto parts stores all have waste oil collection drums and they will take your used oil for free, if you purchase the change supplies from them. When I lived in Maine, I would just dump it into my oil furnace tank. It also kills ant beds really well.

 

[DFSNOLE]

It makes no sense (financially) to change your own oil...

How do you figure that if you do it during a down time? It certainly cost less to buy the oil and filter yourself.

 

[Fijimn]

Do you people not have to work on the weekends? Generally, I get 10 - 20 hours billed on the weekends, plus other random non-billable stuff. Leaves a little time with family and daughter with an even less amount of downtime......

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

How do you figure that if you do it during a down time? It certainly cost less to buy the oil and filter yourself.

I'm factoring opportunity cost... First of all, how much money can you actually save doing it yourself vs a $19.99 oil change? 6 or 7 dollars? So maybe if you make minimum wage then you could potentially break even... But if you have any sort of real job it makes zero sense. I guess that depends on what your "down time" is worth to you though? Could you have picked up a shift or worked on your business with that hour? Could you have spent an hour planning a new business? Could you have spent that hour making your wife happy? Spending time with your kids? What's that worth? You only have a limited amount of "down time" in a week, so you can actually assign a value to those hours... Of course if you're a car guy and actually like doing it, then I would argue that you SHOULD do it...

 

[KitingHigh]

Do you people not have to work on the weekends? Generally, I get 10 - 20 hours billed on the weekends, plus other random non-billable stuff. Leaves a little time with family and daughter with an even less amount of downtime......

Forget the oil. Sounds like you need to change jobs.

 

[Fijimn]

Forget the oil. Sounds like you need to change jobs.

Do you have a key for the golden hand-cuffs? Tell your children to run away from the legal profession....run far far far away.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Do you have a key for the golden hand-cuffs? Tell your children to run away from the legal profession....run far far far away.

Ain't that the truth...

 

[NYCNole]

Firestone $19.99 with tire rotation. Can't beat that.

 

[SeaPA]

Can I do it myself? Yes.
Do I do it myself? No

There's a shop across the road from my office parking lot; it's run by a good friend of mine. They've done most of the basic mechanical work on my cars for about 30 years now. I trust them, they do things right for a fair price.

I'm sure as hell not going to pass on doing my professional work to change the oil, as I can make far more in the time it takes to do it that what I pay to have it done (especially if you add in cost of going to the store to purchase the materials). And I'm sure as hell not going to spend a portion of what free time I have doing something I don't particularly enjoy.

If you're a car buff whose hobby is tinkering with cars, it makes sense to diy. Otherwise, it surely does not.

 

[BANole]

If you're changing 5 quarts in a Toyota 4 banger, yea head to your local Super Lube and let them knock it out for you. Doing it yourself would only save you a few dollars. However if you have a high end vehicle and use high end oil/filter, then you can save a ton of money doing it yourself. My truck takes 7 quarts of full synthetic. Had it done one time at Super Lube for almost 130 bucks. The next time I went to Autozone, got everything I needed and did it myself for about 60 bucks, and that included getting a refill on some supplies and a new filter wrench. Depends what you drive really.

 

[seminoledq]

I changed my own oil when I was in high school and living at home. My dad is a car guy and had all the necessary materials. Once I moved out I quickly said eff that to doing it myself and started taking it in. I'm not a handyman by any stretch so I want to make sure it is getting done right.

 

[F4Gary]

You're not going to get good synthetic oil at a quick lube for 19.95. You are getting cheap dino oil and a cheap oil filter.

 

[Bartdog]

When I had my jeep, and years before that, my pickup, I would change my own oil. I bought the good stuff and justified the extra cost by not paying for the labor.

Tire companies will do the rotate for free usually when you buy the tires there.

 

[LT4PLY]

There are massive differences in oil quality as well as oil filter quality. If you are rollin' in a Honduh then sure, take the 19.99 special and call it a day. One of my cars costs $150 for me to change it myself. The Volt goes 2 years between changes so the first change I did it at the Stealership but I'll likely do it myself with synthetic next time. My Corvette is too low and has a stupid drain procedure so I pay the stupid price to have it done.

So there are reasons.

 

[BelemNole]

I've been full synthetic on all my vehicles for years. It's not cheap. Add to that Nissan effing me over for not being able to prove I did my own changes, I bought the prepaid maintenance on my last two vehicles. That includes oil changes. Unfortunately the Mazda plan sucks and I'm going to have to get a refund. But I will still pay ~$50 to have someone else do it just so I have a receipt.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

If you're changing 5 quarts in a Toyota 4 banger, yea head to your local Super Lube and let them knock it out for you. Doing it yourself would only save you a few dollars. However if you have a high end vehicle and use high end oil/filter, then you can save a ton of money doing it yourself. My truck takes 7 quarts of full synthetic. Had it done one time at Super Lube for almost 130 bucks. The next time I went to Autozone, got everything I needed and did it myself for about 60 bucks, and that included getting a refill on some supplies and a new filter wrench. Depends what you drive really.

I would think that someone driving a "high end vehicle" would not be worried about saving $60, matter of fact they probably make more than $60 an hour, which would actually make it a poor financial decision to do it themselves...

 

[DFSNOLE]

I'm factoring opportunity cost... First of all, how much money can you actually save doing it yourself vs a $19.99 oil change? 6 or 7 dollars? So maybe if you make minimum wage then you could potentially break even... But if you have any sort of real job it makes zero sense. I guess that depends on what your "down time" is worth to you though? Could you have picked up a shift or worked on your business with that hour? Could you have spent an hour planning a new business? Could you have spent that hour making your wife happy? Spending time with your kids? What's that worth? You only have a limited amount of "down time" in a week, so you can actually assign a value to those hours... Of course if you're a car guy and actually like doing it, then I would argue that you SHOULD do it...

How about I hate paying someone to do something I can easily do myself. It takes me about 15 minutes to change my own oil. I bet you waste more time than that taking it somewhere and having them do it thus wasting more of your valuable time.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

How about I hate paying someone to do something I can easily do myself. It takes me about 15 minutes to change my own oil. I bet you waste more time than that taking it somewhere and having them do it thus wasting more of your valuable time.

Zero chance it only takes 15 minutes unless you drive a lifted truck and live at an Autozone. Then maybe you're close.

 

[DFSNOLE]

Zero chance it only takes 15 minutes unless you drive a lifted truck and live at an Autozone. Then maybe you're close.

I have ramps I drive all my vehicles up on. Take out the drain plug (30 seconds). Wait for all the oil to drain (3 minutes). Unscrew the oil filter (30 seconds). Wait for it to drain (1 minute). Replace the drain plug and filter (1 minute). Add new oil (2 minutes). Back the car off the ramps and put everything away (3 minutes).

You're right. It doesn't take me 15 minutes.

 

[Fijimn]

I like to use ball bearings when I change oil

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

I have ramps I drive all my vehicles up on. Take out the drain plug (30 seconds). Wait for all the oil to drain (3 minutes). Unscrew the oil filter (30 seconds). Wait for it to drain (1 minute). Replace the drain plug and filter (1 minute). Add new oil (2 minutes). Back the car off the ramps and put everything away (3 minutes).

You're right. It doesn't take me 15 minutes.

Okay. So you are an amateur (or actual) car mechanic... I would expect you to change your own oil.

 

[ericram]

I have my butler take it to my mechanic to get my oil changed.

 

[alaskanseminole]

First off, I always change my own oil. A. It's the only guaranteed way to know it's getting done correctly. B. It's cheaper and faster. If you're taking more than 30 min to change your own oil, you're doing it wrong.

I send my oil off to Blackstone Labs for analysis and they tell me the OCI based on the analysis. I'm at a 10K mile OCI with my mazda. A 5 qrt jug of Mobil 1 synthetic is only $23.88 at walmart and I'm changing it about once every 8-9 months or so.

I figure that's more cost affective than sitting in the Firestone or Jiffy Lube waiting room for a few hours for 2X as much money due to the frequency required for crappy oil (that you're hoping they are correctly filling your car with)

That's my 2 cents.

p.s.
My garage floor is coated with an epoxy resin, so I don't even care if I spill.

p.s.s.
I enjoy working on cars...it's therapeutic.

 

[alaskanseminole]

It makes no sense (financially) to change your own oil...

wrong.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

wrong.

It's not wrong, you just aren't assigning an adequate value to your time and opportunity costs.

 

[alaskanseminole]

It's not wrong, you just aren't assigning an adequate value to your time and opportunity costs.

Of course I am. I allowed Firestone to change my oil for 8 years. On average I waited 45 minutes for them to do so (sometimes in excess of an hour) + the added time to drive there and back.

Doing it myself. I stop into Walmart on the way home, pay $23.88 for a 5 gal jug of Mobil 1 (amazon prime has already delivered my $11 filter by then). The next morning I wake up, throw on an old T-shirt, walk into my garage, crank the stereo and spend the next 30 min changing my oil with a nice cup of coffee sitting next to my floor creeper.

The fact I'm using a higher quality oil than what a $19.99 oil change would give me allows me to go much longer between changes. If you don't have 30 min to spare every 8-9 months, I can't help you.

 

[DFSNOLE]

Of course I am. I allowed Firestone to change my oil for 8 years. On average I waited 45 minutes for them to do so (sometimes in excess of an hour) + the added time to drive there and back.

Doing it myself. I stop into Walmart on the way home, pay $23.88 for a 5 gal jug of Mobil 1 (amazon prime has already delivered my $11 filter by then). The next morning I wake up, throw on an old T-shirt, walk into my garage, crank the stereo and spend the next 30 min changing my oil with a nice cup of coffee sitting next to my floor creeper.

The fact I'm using a higher quality oil than what a $19.99 oil change would give me allows me to go much longer between changes. If you don't have 30 min to spare every 8-9 months, I can't help you.

Obviously he and his time are much more valuable than us schulbs. That and he doesn't know which end of a ratchet to hold.

 

[alaskanseminole]

Obviously he and his time are much more valuable than us schulbs. That and he doesn't know which end of a ratchet to hold.

Ya, I need to get ramps...my additional 15 mins (to your 15) is I have to jack up the car(s) with the floor jack and put it on stands. Everything else in your "time breakout" is pretty spot on...not to mention the more you do it, the easier it/faster it gets.

The reason you pay a garage door specialist to install your garage door isn't because it's rocket science, it's because you've likely never done it. If you ever watch someone do it, though, it's pretty easy and you wind up kicking yourself for something you could have done yourself. Oil is the same way...practice makes perfect.

 

[F4Gary]

It's not wrong, you just aren't assigning an adequate value to your time and opportunity costs.

You must be a lawyer.

 

[Gonolz]

Do you people not have to work on the weekends? Generally, I get 10 - 20 hours billed on the weekends, plus other random non-billable stuff. Leaves a little time with family and daughter with an even less amount of downtime......

No, I never work weekends. Been there, done that. You realize that your time is more valuable than changing your own oil. Perhaps one day, you too will realize that life only has so many billable hours to enjoy.

 

[F4Gary]

I've been full synthetic on all my vehicles for years. It's not cheap. Add to that Nissan effing me over for not being able to prove I did my own changes, I bought the prepaid maintenance on my last two vehicles. That includes oil changes. Unfortunately the Mazda plan sucks and I'm going to have to get a refund. But I will still pay ~$50 to have someone else do it just so I have a receipt.

Belem, you can go buy your synthetic oil at Walmart (that where a lot of the quick change places get theirs because of the Walmart price) and a good quality oil filter (Bosch, Fram, etc.) and take it to an oil change place and they will use your oil and change it for 20 bucks. Cheaper than using "their" Synthetic oil.

 

[BelemNole]

I might do that for the Mazda. The Toyota prepaid maintenance plan worked out well because it kept the wife on schedule and it was reasonably priced and we didn't have to worry about any warranty shenanigans like we had with Nissan. The Mazda plan is crappier. It's an either or plan (miles or months) so I'll end up losing money so I'm going to get it refunded. I've already started getting a ton of coupons from all the local mazda shops offering deals on oil changes that are decent rates and still quality products. Will have to look over my options the next time.

 

[dmm5157]

Didn't used to change my own oil in my Mazda 6 because it required a special oil filter that had to be bought at the dealership.

Now that I have an Expedition, I get 1 year of free oil changes at the dealership. It's a PITA to get over there while they are open, so it's not even worth my time to take it for the free changes. Meanwhile, it's very easy to change my own oil on my own time. I'm a nigh owl and like to work on projects at night when the wife and kids are asleep. I can change the oil in about 20 min without even having to lift my car. I wear gloves so hands don't even get dirty. I pour the old oil back into the empty quart containers and drop them off at Autozone next to my office on my lunch break. Pretty convenient and I don't have to sit at the oil change place during normal business hours. Time either at work or with my family is more important than sitting in an oil lube place for an hour to get my oil changed. Given it is usually only a couple times a year, but still.

If you can be productive while waiting for someone to change your oil and have a car that requires less than 4 qts of oil, I see no prob in taking it to a quick oil change place.

 

[ohio#1nolefan]

I used to change it myself when I was younger.I cant beat the $20 oil change,car wash,vacuum and inspection. It would cost me close to $20 to do it myself just for the oil change. I take it to the dealer with an appt. so there isn't a 2 hr. wait.
Just curious as to what all the DIY guys do with the used oil and filter?