Should You Pay to Have Your Car's Oil Changed or Do it Yourself?

In my post titled More Money Saving Tips from Northwest Airlines, I talked about the idea of changing the oil in my car myself (something I currently don't do). This started a series of comments on whether or not it's a good idea to change the oil in your car yourself. It started with this "no" comment:

I can't support the "change your own oil" recommendation. Raw materials (oil, oil filter, etc.), equipment (jack, axle stands, oil bucket, etc.), and hassle (safety, proper disposal, quality of work, etc.) fall quite short of the value of a $20 quick change place. A few tips:

1. Scour for coupons. Often, I can get the charge down to $15 or even $10 with mailers or online coupons.
2. Refuse the "add-ons". It is relatively easy to change an air filter or windshield wipers. I saved $20 replacing the airfilter on my wife's car. There's a huge mark-up at the quick-change.
3. Use customer loyalty programs. At my oil place, they give me a free change for every 5. That cuts down my unit price.
4. Follow the manual. The "change your oil every 3,000" is just a recommendation. Check your manual. My Accord manual reads, "...every 7,500...". Half as frequent makes a big difference.

After the investment in tools and effort, I just can't justify doing an oil change myself (and I just finished spray painting 1800 sq. ft. of fence myself). Additionally, you'll likely receive a 10+ point check for all mechanisms, you'll be developing a relationship with a shop that can help you when real trouble comes up, and you won't be putting yourself between 2,000 pounds of car and your driveway. ;-)

Then, there was this counter-point:

I used to agree with Jeff's points on the oil change - BUT - I now do my oil myself.

In the last several years the quality of the works at many of these quick oil change shops has decreased significantly (at least where I live). They have stripped the nut on my oil pan, not tightened the filter, etc, etc. I just love the add-ons! I had one kid tell me that I needed a new fuel filter (he didn’t ask). I said “How do you know?” He said “Because it is dirty on the outside, it must have been on there for a while.” Never mind it is a pickup truck often used off road. At the good places here, you have to leave your car or wait a very long time and that adds to the hassle factor.

I actually enjoy changing my own oil now. I get the satisfaction and knowledge it is done right (I’m picky in my old age). I purchase several 5 qt jugs of oil and a few filters from walmart so I have them “in stock” when I am ready. I can do both of my cars in less time than it would take to drive to the shop and back. Our city has an oil recycle dump around the corner, so disposal is easy. I think I am out about $12.

Either way – I don’t think you can go wrong. If you are not good at mechanical work, then you probably will save in the long run having someone do it rather than pay to fix a costly mistake. If you love DIY – go for it!

And one more "mixed" comment:

I agree with Terry; I can't support getting your oil changed at the quick-lube places. They simply don't have the specialized knowledge that you or your dealership has about your particular make and model car. For example, one of my former coworkers took his wife's VW "New" Beetle into a quick-lube for an oil change, and they stripped the threads on the oil pan, causing the car to develop a fairly serious oil leak. If he had taken it to the VW dealership as he usually does, they would have known the car had an aluminum oil pan, and they would not have stripped the threads out by applying too much torque.

My wife's dealership charges $24.99 for an oil change, and they wash the car for free every time it's in for any service. On her car, I consider this to be a worthwhile expense; my wife is a PhD student and she often has enough free time to take the car in to the dealership while they are not busy. On my car, I usually change my own oil. My work schedule typically precludes me from visiting the dealership while their service department is open. Oil prices being what they are, it is difficult to change your own oil for less money than the dealership, especially when they are running a special. For example, my dealership is charging $15.99 for an oil change right now. That's almost exactly equal to the cost of the same quality oil and filter when I do it myself. In my case, however, I lose an hour of work by taking my car to the dealership, while I can change my own oil in less than half that time later at home. Changing my own oil doesn't save me any money, but it does save time.

For me, I think I'll stick with having someone else do it. Two comments sealed it for me:

1. "It is difficult to change your own oil for less money than the dealership, especially when they are running a special."

2. "You won't be putting yourself between 2,000 pounds of car and your driveway."

;-)

Comments

[nick]

I live in a condo now, so it is too much a hassle to do it myself. But as soon as I have a drive way of my own, I will do it myself.

The garages just can't be trusted, even on simple things like an oil change. See this well-publicized report on NBC about Jiffy Lube, a high-end service shop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCAJ8ULnaI

[Cindy Murphy]

I had my last oil change at Walmart and found them to be very fair. The guy I dealt with was honest and showed me what you get for their cheapest oil change all the way up to the deluxe one. I went for a medium-priced one cause they checked things I didn't want to be bothered with myself. I'd sure go back there again.

[Ann]

To the change your oil less often suggestion... changing your oil is probably one of the cheapest ways you can ensure the life of your car. There are quite a few rather expensive problems that you can be sure to avoid by changing the oil every 3 months/3000 miles.

It's funny, last time I took my car into the dealer (I get free oil changes as long as I own the car), the mechanic there told me that I didn't need to get the oil changed yet per the manufacturer's specs (1 yr/5000 miles). I asked him how often he gets his oil changed. He laughed and said 3 months or 3000 miles. Haven't had a comment from the guys there since.