Do you change your own oil?

[Bimmer]

Yes, on every car I have owned except my Mini (bought new, so I let the dealer do it on that one. It only needed one in the time I owned it).

I can do it faster than it takes to drive to a lube place and wait in line.

I use synthetic oil, you rarely get the good deals at lube places on synthetic, from what I have seen.

The "pro's" at Jiffy Lube over-tightened the oil pan drain bolt on my wife's car once and cracked the pan in the process. I will never trust those type of places again. As mentioned in a previous post, they do not care about your car.

Checking other fluids/wiper blades is no big deal or a good selling point- I can do those things in a few minutes, too.


To answer actual question:

I buy Mobil One Synthetic or Castrol Syntec, whatever is cheaper. Oil weight depends on the season: 5-30 winter, 10-50 summer.I usually buy oil filters in bulk. Cost varies, but my car uses more oil than most similar displacement engines (7 quarts) and of course uses synthetic. I change it every 7500 miles. It could probably go longer with my Sunday cruise-style, eco-mode driving style I have (I own a dedicated race car for "fun" driving :-) ), but I just stick with 7500 to play it safe.
Granted, I'm a car guy and get satisfaction from working on them (saving money, doing the job right, learning how things work).

I have saved tons of money by doing my own basic repair/maintenance work: brakes, bushings, shocks, coolant, oil, wiper blades, tire rotation, belts, etc.

[mtsen]

too much of a work for a non car mechanic like me, however, I add my own additive to improve the mileages ...

[glock35ipsc]

I never let anyone else touch my vehicles, except for one close friend. That's because his diagnostics machine is better than mine, and he an alignment rack!

I run Amsoil synthetic in everything I own that has an engine. My vehicles gets changed at 20,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. I also have an oil analysis done about every other year. So my total yearly oil change cost is between $40 and $60 per vehicle, depending on if I do the analysis at that particular change.

If I even took my 1985 GMC pickup to a chain LOF place, they wouldn't know what to do with it! It has a Flex-fuel 5.3L Vortec out of a 2007 Silverado that also has Active Fuel Management, along with the 2007's transmission. I have a hard enough time convincing people at the gas station that NO, I won't ruin anything by pumping E85 in to my "old" pickup! LOL!! Nothing like 24-25 mpg from an "old" truck!

[Snodog]

Being frugal isnt always about saving the most money, its about getting the most value out of what you pay for.

Excellent point.

I used to change the oil in our cars when I was younger but not anymore. Now I get it changed at inspection time which is about every 10k miles or so. Its just less hassle this way and I never knew what to do with the old oil.

[fe2o3ez]

Wow. Lots of conversation on this one. I am with MonkeyMomma in that my Dad changed his own and had me doing it since before I could drive. I don't mind getting out and doing it and it feels like I can stay more in tune with what's happening under the hood.

I also rotate tires (found a great deal on hydraulic jack with stands at Sears) and wipers, fluids, engine cleaner, etc. Anything I can feel comfortable doing myself, I dont see why I would pay somone else the upcharge and add in the wait time, doing nothing constructive.

By the way, for those concerned about disposal, most oil change places will allow you to dump used oil, as long as you sign your name, address, etc. WalMart car care is really good at accepting this. Especially when they know that by dumping your old oil there, you will most likely head inside to purchase replacement fluids.

I buy the stuff at WalMart most times, unless I catch a sale elsewhere. PennZoil synthetic is usually 11.99 -13.99 per 5qts and I use 4, per recommendations. Essentially, every 5th oil fill is free that way. I'll stock up the rest of my fluids there also.

[sgfinancialfreedom]

Nope. It is too troublesome to change my own oil. I figured that the time spent could be put to better use like coming up with business ideas and stuff.

[Rei]

I don't have time to wait at a shop... changed my own oil on multiple vehicles for years... every 3000 miles, Fram extra guard oil filters or Mopar for my minivan. I use the manufacturer's recommended oil weight until the vehicle has 100,000 miles then I use 10w30. Castroil, Wal-Mart store brand & Valvoline... anything that has the API certification on it. My 99 caravan has 200,000 miles on it and I don't need to add oil between changes. Safety first... good jacks and blocks, safe disposal.

[poundwise]

Changing my own oil is not worth it. The shop I use changes my oil for less than $20. Subtract the price of oil and a filter from that you have your savings. Not much. Taking into consideration the time it takes to do, to clean up, and to take the oil for disposal, it is not worth it to me.

On another topic, changing your oil every 3,000 miles is completely unnecessary for the vast majority of people. Read your owner's manual(s) and/or scheduled maintenance guide(s) for your vehicle(s) and you'll find different numbers entirely.

Just to illustrate, I pulled out my 2003 Camry scheduled maintenance guide. This is a supplement to my Owner's Manual provided by Toyota. It reads, "Replace the oil and filter and drain and refill the engine oil at specified intervals." It further details: "Depending on your circumstances, you should obtain maintenance for your Toyota every 5,000 to 7,500 miles." It then gives guidelines to determine which interval to use. "Use 5,000 mile intervals if you primarily operate your vehicle under any of the following conditions: Driving on unpaved or dusty roads, towing a trailer or using a car-top carrier, repeated trips of less than five minutes in temperatures below freezing." It goes on to state: "Use 7,500 mile intervals if you primarily operate your vehicle under conditions other than those listed above."

My Owner's Manual for my 2001 Impala states, "Change engine oil and filter as indicated by the GM Oil Life System. The system will show you when to change the oil -- usually between 3,000 miles and 10,000 miles." It goes on to say, "If you drive in a dusty area, be sure to change your oil and filter every 3,000 miles."

I've not read every owner's manual, but the ones I've read clearly indicate much longer intervals for changing oil than the oft promoted (by oil change facilities mainly) every 3,000 miles or 3 months interval. That figure may be fitting if you tow something in the desert but, otherwise, it is almost certainly unnecessary. Don't buy into the bill of goods.

I change my oil every 4,500-5,000 miles and consider that to be rather conservative. By the way, changing the oil in the Impala at this interval means that I change it before the oil life system light comes on. For reference and further information for the curious, we bought the Camry new in 2003 and the Impala with about 25K miles on it in 2003 as well. Each have just under 150K at the present time.

[disneysteve]

I change my oil every 4,500-5,000 miles and consider that to be rather conservative.

Toyota recommends every 5,000 miles and I usually go 500-1,000 miles over that before I actually get in in for an oil change.

[Rei]

Reading your owners manual... absolutely. The 3000 mile interval on both my Caravans is based on the manual's recommendation for my driving conditions. "Completely unnecessary for the vast majority of people" is a bit of a stretch... unless you have read the owner's manuals for the vast majority of automobiles. Manufacturers specs, vehicle age, oil types & blends, driving conditions, filter types etc. are all factors on oil change intervals. It is true, however, the old rule of thumb of 3000 miles or three months seems to be changing with cleaner burning engines and better oils.

If you are using 15,000 or 10,000 mile interval synthetic oil, make sure your filter has the same interval.

[poundwise]

"Completely unnecessary for the vast majority of people" is a bit of a stretch... unless you have read the owner's manuals for the vast majority of automobiles.

The "vast majority of people" comment is based on this: Find an owner's manual for a vehicle produced in the last 20 years that recommends 3,000 mile oil changes for normal driving conditions. Let me know when you do because I've yet to see one. Maybe you can find one, after you look through several dozen (i.e. - the vast majority).