Don’t Bother Changing Your Own Oil

I have to say, first of all, that I'm not a mechanic and have never worked in a shop before, but I think it is a bit of a stretch to say it's not worth it to change your own oil. All you really need can be purchased for about $70-80 the first time, and then just the oil, filter (varying in price, but usually cheaper than the shop anyway) and a maybe a new plug sealing washer ($.25) each time afterward. With 4 oil changes a year, those are savings that add up quickly!

One thing that is often misunderstood about oil changes, is that fast isn't necessarily a good thing. If you can let your oil drip for about 30 minutes, a fair bit of dirty oil will drain from the engine in that time, helping keep your engine much cleaner! It typically takes me about 10 minutes to jack the car onto my jack stands, lay out some newspaper and take out the oil drain plug over the oil pan. I come back in about 30 minutes usually and spend 10 minutes putting in the new oil filter, putting the plug back with a new sealing washer, refilling the engine with the new oil, emptying the old oil into milk jugs, and I'm done. Once you do it the first time, every time after is very quick and easy.

The basics that you'd need for the first time include a pair of simple jackstands ($25), an oil drip pan ($5), newspapers to cover the ground (free), a pair of disposable gloves ($2 for box), a milk jug or two for the oil afterward (free), a funnel ($1), a wrench and sockets for the drain plug and oil filter ($10-15, and i suggest getting the oil filter socket for your specific oil filter to make it easier) and a jack if your car doesn't already have one tucked away somewhere ($25).

After spending 2 minutes looking for a good how-to, I found this one that seems to cover just about everything one would need with some great tips: http://tinyurl.com/oilchanging

Changing your own oil isn't quite as easy or convenient as stopping by a shop, but it will save you a good deal of money, and you would be surprised by how easy it is to do--the only things on your car that you mess with are the one single bolt, the twist off/on oil filter, and the oil cap under the hood. I mean, if a guy that paints murals for a living can do it, who can't?

I really don't do the oil change myself. I always bring my car in the car mechanic. let them do the job. lol

No, it is cheaper for me to change my own oil and i can use superior products. Oil change shops around me charge $70 for the Mobil 1 oil and M1 filter. I can do it for $30-$32. Last oil change I used Royal Purple 5w-30 + M1 filter for $45. I also get the security of knowing the oil change was done right. Some oil change shops say they are putting in M1, but they use conventional and they just wipe your filter with a rag and call it new.

I just had mine done yesterday. I now go to those car wash places that charge $28.50 but include a pretty good car wash.

Since I was going to pay $12 for a car wash anyway, I figure I'm paying $16 for the oil change.

What a useful post!! Thanks, Ivy!
We just last week realized we need to get our oil changed and are mourning the loss of our long-time honest mechanic (he moved). So we're out on the free market looking around for deals. I'm going to keep all this advice in mind.
And please do a tutorial on air filters. I LOVE learning about simple things that I can do cheaply.
By the way, one of the main things I look for in a mechanic/car service shop is respect "even though" I'm a woman. The ones that automatically call my husband to discuss repairs are ones that we unanimously agree not to go back to. Am I the only one that runs into this? Maybe it's the traditionalist area I live in. . .

You've eased my conscience over not wanting to do this job myself or nag my husband about it. Don't write off the dealers until you've checked their prices, though. Our closest dealer's quick-change bay is competitive with other places. They have to be, because it's so easy to shop around. Plus, they throw in a car wash with the service, and will often do little stuff (like my burned-out brake light) gratis. So shop and compare!

Sometimes the dealerships you buy from have deals if you go to them for service. My guys will change oil for free, their only charge is the filter. So what's that? $5 bucks for the pros who deal specifically with my make/model changing the oil and checking the car. Good deal. And good post!

I’ve got one vehicle that I simply refuse to change myself because the filter is so poorly positioned, but another that’s almost fun to change because it’s so logically set up.

Does it happen to be a Nissan pickup truck made after 1987? Those are the worst to change of any vehicle I've ever seen.

That being said, most shops will try to find other things wrong with the vehicle to make more money. My husband and I call this an “up sale”.

This is true. The key here is to talk to the technician to find out if the item needs to be done by mileage or time, or if it actually needs to be done. The only items I do by mileage/time are fuel filters and timing belts, as a general rule. Neither one is something you can look at and determine whether it needs to be done, and timing belts are generally such that if it breaks, it could mess up your entire engine, so I always replace my timing belt on time.

I agree that most shops provide oil changes as loss leaders. We had a great relationship with a shop when we lived in NC that provided oil changes for $20. Well worth it. The customer service was amazing.

That being said, most shops will try to find other things wrong with the vehicle to make more money. My husband and I call this an "up sale".

Believe it or not in Austin, TX we tried to take our vehicle to very good repair shops only to have them charge us $45 because their techs are ASE certified. The impression we were given was as though oil changes are beneath them.

To avoid the up sale, and save on $45 oil changes at a shop we were trying to establish a business relationship with, we decided to change our own oil and have never looked back. The headaches are gone.

My brother-in-law didn't know what he was doing and killed the engine in his car because of a badly done oil change. Now he's making payments on a car that's junk. Ouch.

Thanks for this- my dh was wanting to learn how to change the oil on our car, but I wasn't so keen on having him do that. I forwarded this to him so he can see other things he could/should do himself. He's figured out how to change filters, light bulbs, etc.

We got to Wal-mart for our oil changes. I have had a VERY bad exerience at a quick change place called "Uncle Ed's"- the cheapest I could have gotten out of there was $30 but somehow I got caught up and ended spending $60... they charged for extra labor, I couldn't belive it! (It was the day before a trip, I didn't have time to run elswhere.)

Honestly? It really depends on the vehicle. With a wife and three teenage sons, I've got junker cars the way some old ladies have cats. Some of them I can whip through an oil change in a few minutes, cheaply. Others, I might as well be changing the head gasket.

If I can get an oil change for less than $13 at a lube shop, I do it. Most around here offer specials at about $20. I figure a DIY oil change costs me $12 to $15, depending on what kind of oil I buy and the cost of the oil filter, which varies by vehicle.

The trick? Don't buy oil by the quart. Buy it by the gallon. If your junker leaks oil, buy the cheap stuf ($10 gallon)f; if it's still pretty tight and has more than 100k on in, buy the expensive synthetics. I don't know that there's much difference between oil filters, and they're generally pretty cheap.

What this doesn't consider is the cost of materials for the DIY fleet manager. I've got $30 invested in stands, another $10 in a close-up-and-transport drip pan container, plus a large plastic drip pan, PLUS more oil filter wrenches than I ever thought I'd own.

Generic filter wrenches SUCK. What you want is the band wrench that fits YOUR SPECIFIC FILTER. Each costs about $6, but I swear you'll get the money back in saved aggravation the first time you use it.

I've got one vehicle that I simply refuse to change myself because the filter is so poorly positioned, but another that's almost fun to change because it's so logically set up.

I usually have pretty good luck with the drive-in oil changing places.

The secret is to ignore every single upsale they try and put on you. New air filter? Synthetic oil? Transmission flush? Baloney. Let your mechanic handle that stuff during regular maintenance and just get the basic oil change. You can get out of there fast and relatively cheaply.

o.O Whoa, that's ridiculous. Yeah, if you don't have non-dealer auto repair shops and they're charging nearly 200 bucks for an oil change, by all means, change it yourself!

Sound advice for US readers, but not so for European readers. A dealership recently ran us back €125 (approx $195) for an oil change. Would much rather let hubby do it at a fraction of the cost! Oh how I long to be back in America! ;-)