Yahoo! and CouponSherpa Say Oil Changes Aren't Worth it for DIYers

I stopped changing my own oil becuase it wasn't ENOUGH cheaper to make it worth the hassle of properly disposing of the oil, plus the potential mess in my driveway (I haven't had regular access to a garage for 10+ years. For less than $10 extra 3-4 times a year it is easier to have it done at a quick lube shop.

I have stopped using Jiffy Lube though because they have gotten too expensive and don't seem to do as much for you as they used to. I now go to a local oil change shop that is quick and reasonably priced (under $25)

Now my motorcycle was a different story. My local dealer charges more for that that than I pay for the change in my car. That one I did myself.

I just changed my oil for the first time on my 2006 TSX. It was fun, and I like the idea that I did it, and I know it was done well. I saved about $8 doing it myself too.

*Note to Honda, please reconsider where you have placed the oil filter on your 2.4L I4. Thanks, Anthony

Sad, sad "article". Another example of how teh internetz have knocked the hell out of journalism.

Not only is it cheaper to change your own oil (especially when places like O'Reilly's have oil and filter combo sales), but it also increases your knowledge of your car, bonds you closer to it and promotes a general overall do-it-yo'self-edness that can't be overvalued.

I actually have gotten back to changing my own oil, not just to save money (which is minimal) but to make sure its done right.

I won't take my car to any quick lube place. So If I take it to a reputable shop it's over $40 when I can do it fore myself for just a little over $20 (I use synthetic oil)

I generally did my own oil changes between major services until I got the Jetta TDI. It requires specialized VW spec oil, and the change intervals are 10,000 miles, same as other service items, so my mechanic takes care of everything in one visit now.

I can see how some owners are deterred from doing their own changes where the car has one of those undertrays for aerodynamics, some of those are attached with a dozen fussy fasteners, and that definitely slows down the driveway DIY job.

If I'm being totally realistic here, while I like the idea of seeing the oil go in, and picking the oil used, when one considers the time value of money it's not really economical to do it oneself after considering both time to do the work, materials, and time to dispose of the oil periodically (plus the occasional but infrequent negative black swan (no pun intended) of a pool of oil in my driveway).

One other benefit is of course of outsourcing is that if the dealer does the work the paper trail is a little better for resale and if warranty is needed. One compromise I've worked out with one of the service departments at a dealer for a sport compact performance car I own is that I BYOB( I mean O). On sale 5 qts of M1 run $20-25, and dealer time and materials (filter) is only another $20-25. My highly warranty hostile OEM sees I've had the service done at the dealer and I save about $30 from retail, and I know they used the right oil. Though I doubt all dealers would let that fly (since the mark up on synthetic is very high).

yes, money-wise its not worth it... but doing it right is.

I get mine at the dealership for a few reasons that will save me money in the long run.

Its cheap ($34), I get full synthetic, and it updates my vehicle's account tracked globally on ford's system. So that when I resell my car someone knows exactly its maitenance track record including oil changes.

I find it takes less time to do the oil change myself. Plus I can do it in the evening rather than sitting in front of the idiot box. The time is money argument only works for so far, eventually you aren't spending every waking moment being productive

Figure what, around 10-20 minutes to leisurely change the oil, wipe down the engine compartment, check all the other vitals, look for any signs of odd wear. Compare that to driving to a place to get it done and then waiting in line before getting to the 'quick' part of the oil change.

20+ years ago I took my first car into a quick lube place that said "10 minute oil change" Pulled up and was told "we'll get to it in about 30 minutes". Drove off and have done them all myself since.

There are tons of places that take the old oil.

When my cars were under warranty I'd save the receipts and write the mileage on them. Figure for the next car I can get really fancy and snap a picture of the car on the ramps with the oil draining out and the new oil and filter next to it and then a picture of the Odometer with the receipt next to it.

I can see in some instances if you are going to take it to the dealer it can be valuable to develop a relationship with them. Even if a future issue doesn't bring into question the past services for warranty a lot of dealers will go out of their way to help out a long term customer when a larger issue arises.

It all depends on your outlook on it. If it is a miserable chore then obviously pay someone else. If you enjoy being in the garage, getting to know your car better and the feeling of doing something yourself then do it yourself.

Time, money and peace of mind are all on the DIY's side.

Of course, those that have no mechanical ability don't have the choice but the article seems to be written as a justification for ignorance (as well as being inaccurate on just about every count).

The first time I changed my own oil was because I was embarrassed how long I had gone without getting it changed. I realized how cheap and easy it was and have been doing it ever since.

If you use synthetic it is way cheaper. All the shops have oil change specials with oil and a filter. I figure I can do the a synthetic for the price of a quicke place with regular and nobody tries to upsell anything. I usually do it on a Saturday morning and do both cars at once. Since I have the front jacked up I lift the back and rotate the tires.

Also my town picks up oil at the curb with recycling so disposal isn't a problem.

"Services
Are you a handyman or handywoman? Good with computers? A natural number cruncher? Then don't bother paying someone to perform these tasks. But if your skills are limited in these areas, do an Internet search to find the nearest help and open your wallet."

-A friendly reminder from Captain Obvious and the Department of duhhhh....

And as for that friend that "doesn't know what to do with the used oil": if that person doesn't have enough sense to take the used oil to Autozone or some other place to dispose oil then maybe they shouldn't be under the hood then.... :-/

IMHO
anyone who can't figure where the countless places you can drop off oil for free (like where you bought it)are,

would ever consider dumping it down the drain,

would find undoing one bolt and unscrewing an oil filter difficult,

and doesn't realize you could change it yourself quicker then it's takes to drive to oil change place (never mind waiting time and driving back) isn't mechanicaly inclined and likely should use a quick lube place or the dealer.

They should also hire someone else to wash their car, mow their lawn and put up the Christms lights. I'm sure they will find ways to show it's cheaper to just hire someone for every simple task in life.

Also somewhat related-

I remember a few years ago I was watching an "investigative report" show (either DATELINE or 20/20) that claimed that premium unleaded wasn't needed for vehicles that specifically state "Premium Unleaded Recommended". I couldn't help but wonder about those same people that will eventually have major car problems and major repair bills because they wanted to save a few dimes at the pump.

The county I live in has collection and recycling stations that accept used oil. They collect it, sell it to power companies to burn for power generation. I don't pay for curbside trash pickup, so I go there to drop off my household garbage.
http://www.lex-co.com/collection.html

A couple observations: I used to change the oil on my Maxima, because it was relatively easy to access the oil filter and plug, and I wanted to use Full synthetic, and it was a big savings and my Maxima never consumed oil up is head for 200K miles. Now, my G35 has like 4-score and 7 screws securing an aero shield under the entire engine bay. Not fun. And it consumes some oil, which initially freaked me out but basically I'm at peace with it now. I pay $21 at Firestone to get synthetic blend, and Blackstone says it's all cool for at least 5,000 miles per change.

I like getting my hands in the car, but cars have designed all the joy out of their machine-ness. Everything is innaccesible and plasticky and not fun to touch or wrench in the engine bay. I still keep busy topping off fluids, swapping winter set of wheels and tires, and waxing and clay-barring and taking it to track days.

Side note: When I bought my house several hears ago, the back yard was wondrous place of overgrown blackberries and will shrubs. I trimmed everything back and found DOZENS of quarts of used oil stashed like easter eggs. What the heck?! I boxed it all up and deposited at a County recycling event. O'Reilly's takes used oil, and so does Oil Can Henry's, so this should not have been a problem for the previous owners!

"I actually have gotten back to changing my own oil, not just to save money (which is minimal) but to make sure its done right."

Exactly!

I use a oil change as a measuring stick if I'm trying to a new mechanic a good example is when I tried a "15 minute" oil change place that messed up on the whole job. They put in 9 quarts (out of 6 or 7.5 quarts) of full synthetic 20w-50 (5w-20/10w-30 needed) and forced on a oil filter for a truck with a CAT diesel.

Needless to say after they flushed the whole system and replaced the oil filter mount I went else where for my oil changes.

Personally I wish I could do oil changes but my driveway is too steep to safely lift a vehicle nor get a good drain of the oil.

The reason i do it my self it because BMW likes there 10,000 mile intervals and many BMW shop say 7,000 id preferred so i let BMW change one at 10,000 and i do it at five. Now after the warranty is up i will do them all myself because some mechanics at shops are so worried about doing their quick five minute oil change they get sloppy and forget things. So for peace of mind i do it myself because i know it will be done right.

Did my own oil changes for the past 20 years. Now, with my 2011 Hyundai Sonata, I just take it to the dealer. For $30 they do the oil change and a multi-point inspection. Hyundai has a reputation for being very particular with their 10yr/100K mile powertrain warranty. DIY'ers have been denied warranty claims despite having cash register receipts for their oil and filter purchases. Hyundai's argument being that just because you have a receipt doesn't mean the oil and filter were actually installed (or installed when you claim they were.)

So, I will gladly use the dealer to have the maintenance recorded in Hyundai's system. The 2.4 GDI engine is new for Hyundai...no long-term history yet. Better safe than sorry.

Plus it keeps me in the dealer's system as a "regular, repeat" customer, as opposed to someone who only comes in once a year for an annual inspection or other problem.

Sad story...on one of the forums I used to frequent, a poster had an oil related engine problem. The poster's car was still under warranty, but they admitted not changing the oil as often as they should have. Everyone "agreed" the problem should still be covered under warranty. The people posting in the thread provided copies of receipts for DIY oil changes they had done so the OP could create an oil change history for the vehicle. This type of behavior is exactly what automakers are afraid of.

Lots of good comments made here. I do it myself mostly to ensure that it is done right. Also, if you can't figure out where to recycle your oil, you're not too bright.

I would agree that taking your car to a dealer for an oil change isn't that much expensive as if you'd do it yourself, but it depends on a car you drive. I've got two more free oil changes left for my VW after that I'll probably do it myself as I usually did with all my other cars but if the difference of DIY and bringing a car to a dealer won't be more then $10 then I'll take it to a dealer, or and don't forget the dealer will do a tire rotation too, which is a problem if you don't have the tools for that.
But there is another important element of car maintenance such as brake pads and rotor change. This thing is no question is better DIY. I save about $100 every time I do it myself. I have no clue why mechanics charge so much for it. It takes no more then an hour to have it done. Order parts online, search the web on how to do it if you don't know how and it's not that difficult as you'd think.

I am going to agree with most of the comments left here. Even if you can save some time, and a couple buck... you can never pay for "peace of mind". Knowing the job was done correctly by yourself is sometimes worth the extra effort. I for some reason only trust myself with the easy..."over looked" quick jobs.

~signed HID Kits

What a ridiculous article. It's definitely worth changing your own oil if you buy synthetic. The time it takes to change your oil is well spent it gives you a chance to get to know your car better checking the engine and other components.

ryster said:
"Sad story...on one of the forums I used to frequent, a poster had an oil related engine problem. The poster's car was still under warranty, but they admitted not changing the oil as often as they should have. Everyone "agreed" the problem should still be covered under warranty. The people posting in the thread provided copies of receipts for DIY oil changes they had done so the OP could create an oil change history for the vehicle. This type of behavior is exactly what automakers are afraid of."

I hope that you or someone on those forums reported that activity to the dealer and automaker. The customer trying to screw the dealer is just as low as the dealer trying to screw the customer.

might be cheaper but not really better. At least I know it's done right with mine. plus on my beater, 91 sidekick, i can change the filter from top and pull the plug from bottom without needing to raise to car. M is a lot harder sadly =/

The website is clearly wrong. I can do a synthetic oil change for $30 on my car where a shop charges around $60. Conventional oil this might be true, but synthetic you save a crap ton by doing it yourself. Also I strongly believe that if you never even try to do simple repairs on your own car, you simply will just never care about how its being upkept. Doing it yourself makes you not only proud of yourself, but also makes you care much more about your car, even if you hate it.

Maybe it is "cheaper" until the quick-change oil place doesn't actually do everything they charge you for. It isn't unheard of for them to not replace the filter.

Sadly I don't have a place to change my oil at the moment (strict no wrenching policy at my apartment complex) so I go to a reputable mechanic for now, but I'd do it myself to save money if I could.

The peace of mind knowing you did the job right is worth more than the couple of bucks you'll save by entrusting your car to a shop's entry-level tech. Plus, stovt001 is right about some shops' "forgotten" procedures.