Do you change your own oil

[Mark #2]

Well paid someone ~$60 for oil(Mobil 1) and filter in the SO's car last month.

Paid $13.99 for oil and filter for the K5 today, and got to have oil dripping down my arm and my hair, smell, feel, and transport the old oil, and know the oil plug and filter are torqued correctly. Worth it? Of course for the OCD crowd.;)

Think the SO's was a better deal, I might be done with home oil changes, but I will probably forget all the pleasures of today and continue doing them on the trucks, but I need a shower now.:D

[dboat]

Well paid someone ~$60 for oil(Mobil 1) and filter in the SO's car last month.

Paid $13.99 for oil and filter for the K5 today, and got to have oil dripping down my arm and my hair, smell, feel, and transport the old oil, and know the oil plug and filter are torqued correctly. Worth it? Of course for the OCD crowd.;)

Think the SO's was a better deal, I might be done with home oil changes, but I will probably forget all the pleasures of today and continue doing them on the trucks, but I need a shower now.:D

due to the same experience, I drive to the Mobil oil change place and get my Mobil 1 oil and Mobil 1 oil filter change done there.. yes a few bucks more but much less hassle and much cleaner.. takes less time too.

Dana

[98Cobra]

Dealer just did mine. 10 quarts of 10W-60. I just dont have the time or patience for it anymore.

[zforce77]

Do my own, Mobil 1 with O/E filter. Costs me less than $40, I don't want some morron in some oil changing place striping my plug or double gasketing my filter. The whole job takes me about 10 minutes.

[PUMP]

I do my own on the C5, Judy's CTS and the L. Mainly because I get pleasure from wrenching on things.

[dboat]

I do my own on the C5, Judy's CTS and the L. Mainly because I get pleasure from wrenching on things.

The CTS is a royal pain with that freakin' canister filter. What the heck were they thinking with that design? I remember canister filters way back in the 60's and what a mess they were then.. but at least back then, you could let the oil drain down the street... :D

Dana

[Mark #2]

Do my own, Mobil 1 with O/E filter. Costs me less than $40, I don't want some morron in some oil changing place striping my plug or double gasketing my filter. The whole job takes me about 10 minutes.
Well you are much better than me.
Drive to store, purchase products, drive home, change oil, clean up and store tools, pans, etc, drive to dispose of oil, drive home, take shower. 4 hours, saved ~$10 when I count the gas I burned, but I wrenched on something today and know it was done correctly.;)

[dboat]

Well you are much better than me.
Drive to store, purchase products, drive home, change oil, clean up and store tools, pans, etc, drive to dispose of oil, drive home, take shower. 4 hours, saved ~$10 when I count the gas I burned, but I wrenched on something today and know it was done correctly.;)

yep, a labor of love. I miss it on occasion... just not that much.. :D

Dana

[zforce77]

Well Mark, I have an advantage as I get the oil delivered to my shop from Napa, buy a case if O/E filters up the street at jobber and I have 55 gallon drums I put the old oil in which the company pays to get picked up. I do all the work in my heated/air conditioned shop & sometimes do it on company time.

[Mark #2]

Well Mark, I have an advantage as I get the oil delivered to my shop from Napa, buy a case if O/E filters up the street at jobber and I have 55 gallon drums I put the old oil in which the company pays to get picked up. I do all the work in my heated/air conditioned shop & sometimes do it on company time.

Well you do have many advantages, but at least I have a heated/air conditioned shop too, the old WWFB garage that had some of the first Gen2 L mods installed...the good ole days, I miss the BS that used to happen here, first liar had no chance.:D

[mustgofaster]

I do my own... I've got it down to about 10 mins on the truck & 15 mins on my SO's car.

[Silver_2000]

Well you do have many advantages, but at least I have a heated/air conditioned shop too, the old WWFB garage that had some of the first Gen2 L mods installed...the good ole days, I miss the BS that used to happen here, first liar had no chance.:D

There are still hot rods that need work - they just arent all ford trucks anymore... Even if they dont need work - enough beers and BS and they will sound like it ...

[Silver_2000]

I stopped changing my own years ago ... I'll happily pay difference in price to save the mess and hassle ...

The Lexus gets changed at the dealer - the MSRP is about $100
That includes a rental if I want one and a car wash and check on any recalls.

When I had my last Lightning I used to get its oil changed at the Car Spa and get it detailed - total was just under $100 - I would sit in the lobby and use their wifi to work - Assuming some of the work was billable an oil change could be profitable

With the Lexus I usually can use Lexus Credit card points - so I get the oil changes for free or at least a BIG discount depending on how much I used the card....And they also have free wifi and the "scenery" in the lobby at the Lexus dealer is MUCH better than the Auto Spa was. The MILF count is typically VERY high ...

So for the same as I was paying for the truck the lexus gets dealer serviced - washed and vacuumed and - If Im unwilling to wait and peruse the MILFs I can get a rental for the day for free... Use points for the $$ and use wifi to do some billable work and Im making money while leering at the Milfs ...knana

[Aggie Mom]

I take it to a little shop down the street and I have known the people for about 10 years. My logic is it is actually cheaper for a women to take the truck in for an oil change than do it herself. If I do it at home it costs about 40 bucks for the oil the change and 65 bucks plus tip for a new manicure after the oil is changed. If I let the shop do it, it costs around 65 bucks and I don't need a new manicure. I save around 50 bucks. Girl logic, don't ya love it. :icon_wink:

[Moonshine]

Old school here. Still doing my own. Buy the parts the week before while I'm at lunch, so no extra time there. I'm not as fast as some of the other guys, so it takes me about 15 minutes in the garage to know it's done right, with the oil and filter I want. As for disposal, I store in a 5 gallon bucket until it gets full, then take that bucket and another with filters to O'reilly to recycle. My only gripe is that on the Tundra there's a skid plate under the filter, so you either have to remove the skid plate or take the filter out from above. Little PITA, but still worth it. Besides, it'd be a major PITA to have someone do oil changes on the riding mower and ATV, so I'd still be doing my own even if I took the truck somewhere.

[L8 APEX]

I am considering having a shop do mine due to time and space limitations but it is so hard! The shops that have done my company vehicle changes have been nice guys and are not using any power tools on the drain plugs like shops in the past did. My new driveway is steep and the garage is two single doors so I have to fold in mirrors and can only get 3/4's of the truck into the garage. Then the disposal is a pain and the new F150 still runs filter oil all over the frame so one bucket doesn't catch all of the drips...

I have also gotten away from every 4-5k changes to going within about 10-20% of the oil life monitor. Years of having Blackstone test my oil has shown a lot of discarded oil with lots of life left in it. These are daily drivers and are left stock. I run Motorcraft oil as it is a quality and cheap syn blend. I spoke with a petro engineer a few years back and he said it was good stuff. The parts cost me 22 bucks. Gone are the days of $60 M1 changes until I get a performance car again. It is a nice break just driving stock warrantied vehicles.:beer:

[Ohmsby]

I only do the porch. All others get the quick eeee lube. Just not one of my favorite things to do

[L8 APEX]

I think the only important comment is to request new oil from the bottle. I do not like the recycled bulk oil from the hose...

[99WhiteBeast]

I still do all my own. I have all 5 vehicles (2 daughters driving now) on the same schedule so I can do them all at once. Its about 2-3 hrs start to finish for the 5 (3 of the 5 requiring ramps due to drive height).

When I recycle the oil I stock up for the next change.

I like doing my own since it gives time to look over the cars (especially the girls) to make sure there are no issues or upcoming gotcha's.

[BC Lightning]

I change my own oil and like Steve stated it gives me a chance to look everything over. I do have access to a lift at my parents house so that does help. I buy the OEM filters and Mobil 1 in bulk so it saves me time not having to go to Auto Zone or O'reilys that often.

I'm about to do a througho check on the Tahoe. I just hit 112,000 miles so I'll be checking for leaks, changing the plugs, oil, checking the trans. fluid and such

[dboat]

I still do all my own. I have all 5 vehicles (2 daughters driving now) on the same schedule so I can do them all at once. Its about 2-3 hrs start to finish for the 5 (3 of the 5 requiring ramps due to drive height).

When I recycle the oil I stock up for the next change.

I like doing my own since it gives time to look over the cars (especially the girls) to make sure there are no issues or upcoming gotcha's.

:tu: udaman.. I am so unmechanic that it would take me 5 hours to do what you do.. :tu:

Dana

[slick-svt]

I change my own, 03 gets motorcraft semi-syn and the 94 gets delo-400, and don't forget the good ole $3.99 motorcraft filter.....:D

[mustgofaster]

I change my own, 03 gets motorcraft semi-syn and the 94 gets delo-400, and don't forget the good ole $3.99 motorcraft filter.....:D

I like that Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic... In tests, it outperforms Mobil1 Synthetic @ a fraction of the price.

[dboat]

I like that Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic... In tests, it outperforms Mobil1 Synthetic @ a fraction of the price.

Please post up the source on that one or a link.. I find that one a bit hard to swallow.

Dana

[SILVER2000SVT]

Had a bad experience with an oil change place several years ago when they kinked the end of the transmission coolant line. I ended up paying for the replacement myself. I gave it another shot a few months ago on the wifes Mazda 6. The change place had a full staff standing around and only one of the 6 bays occupied at the time. Took them over an hour for a simple oil change and cost $45 for only 4 quarts and a generic filter. My 1 year old screaming the whole time in the waiting area. At about the 45min mark they started to vacuum the car. I stuck my head out and told them get the #$% out of my car and just finish the oil change. They also said my air filter needed replacing for $60. I had just replaced it last oil change so I knew better.

I might try again in another 10 years. Both our daily drivers have the cartridge filters and skid plates. The skid plates are a pain because of the multiple bolts required, but the cartridge filters don't bother me at all. They actually make the filters that much cheaper. I just wish I didn't have to haul the old oil back to the store for recycling. Wish I could just use a 55gal drum and have some guy pick it up once a year.

[Mark #2]

They also said my air filter needed replacing They tried that trick on the SO's car too, it was replaced recently, and I have known these guys for 15 years, think they are required to try by their boss.:(

[WA 2 FST]

On my Vette and GT500... I do them.

My son and I changed the oil in his L a couple of months ago (he's young and needs to learn this stuff anyway).

On my Dodge truck and my wife's SUV... dealer gets to do the dirty work. Her SUV has extended warranty, and we plan to keep it. If they do the oil change, they have it on record, which I think is a good thing in case we have an engine problem down the road.

[mustgofaster]

Please post up the source on that one or a link.. I find that one a bit hard to swallow.

Dana

I have to correct myself...I just checked & apparently my info was a little dated. Last time I looked @ a good comparison was a few years ago & @ that time, the Motorcraft Synthetic blend was far superior.
However, since then Mobil1 has come out with their extended performance line & it is better in almost every category except The thin Film Oxygen Uptake Test, (TFOUT) & even then, Motorcraft only has a small lead.
http://www.amsoil.com/performancetests/APIComparativeOilTest.aspx

Next time I'll make sure my info is up to date before opening my trap.:rolleyes:

[zforce77]

All you guys who do change your own oil, Auto Zone has Mobil 1, 5 quarts & filter for $29.99.