DIY oil change? Or do you bring it to a shop?

RaysWay

RaysWay

Autopia Specialist
I plan on changing the oil on the Sable this weekend and I'm trying to decide whether I should do it myself or bring it to a shop. There's a Ford dealership with a Quick Lane Oil and Tire Center very close to my house I'm thinking about making an appointment, but there's always the thought of some greasy kid rolling around in my interior in the back of my head. I don't want to be "that guy" in the waiting room staring at the mechanic.

(Dramatic Reenactment of my last experience in the waiting room)
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If I wanted to do it myself I would need to buy a drain pan, filter wrench, oil, and oil filter. I could borrow the Race Ramps from the PBMG garage so I don't need a floor jack or stands.

What do you guys do? DIY or Shop?
 
I used to do all mechanical work myself but as I get older I'd rather just have some one else do it. It's also part of the reason I bought a brand new truck, it's under warranty and free maintenance the first 2 years.
 
I used to perform all my own maintenance (oil, brakes, clutch, etc), but ever since I purchased my Civic I take my car to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle. In my experience, dealerships tend to handle the vehicle with more care than a tire shop.

Dealerships are known for their outrageous prices on service, but you can (politely) ask them to price match local shops in the area. I did this on Saturday when I got the oil changed and tires rotated on my Honda, and I saved $20 by having the dealership price match a local shop (it was like pulling teeth, but the service manager finally gave in). I also made it clear that I expect my car to be handled with care. ;)

Needless to say, everything was a-okay when they finished.
 
I take mine to my local shop. I'd rather have them deal with the mess/ used oil. Plus I can drop it off and save my free time for detailing ;)
 

I have the ramps & tools. So I always do them myself.

All of my local places are good and I have used them in the winter when I don't want to freeze and get messy sludge all over me. But the wife's VW takes 0w-40 oil that only the VW dealership uses. So they charge a premium for it. I can save over $20 per oil change doing it myself.

I take the oil from the drain pan and put it back into the 5q jugs I buy. Makes the recoiling drop off much easier.

Kinda surprised AG doesn't have a lift and tools for this kinda stuff yet. It is car care. And a lift would make detailing lower panels easy.

 
I was taking the family truckster to the local oil change place. Then I had a friend of mine change it, & they messed up the drain plug. The oil filter was put on way to tight as well. So I have been doing it my self. I either take the oil & filter to the pep boys or the guy I work for takes it & he sells his used oil.
 
I try to do most of the general type maintenance stuff myself - (Oil, fluids, brakes, etc. ). I like the idea of having the control of the products that I put in/on my car along with saving the money on the labor and the mark up on parts. I do however have a garage with a "grease pit" which makes doing anything underneath a car much easier. It is so nice to be able to work in a standing position vs rolling around on your back.
 
I have 3 different floor jacks and a bottle jack and lots of jack stands..

When I had a family and lots of cars, I used to do all that maintenance work, and I know I saved a lot of money..
It was more of a convenience too that made this attractive in a way for me...

Since all that has changed, I now get the $24.95 coupon from the Jeep Dealer and go let them do it for me, and all has been well. Its kind of hard to get to the oil filter on this Hemi and the big skid plates dont help it either, so I let them mess with the mess and I get to walk around looking at all the nice Challengers, etc., while I wait.. :)

Oil has come up so much in price anyway, it might not be such a good deal to do that work yourself and pay alot for good oil and a filter..

If you do decide to do it, I would suggest you try to find a good metal 5-gallon container, and use that to store your old oil.. Then you can take that big dog to the auto parts store and drain it into their 55 gallon tank for recycling...

Yeah, you will need a good funnel to facilitate this process, and of course, hot oil drains better and pours better out of the drain pan into the 5-gallon can..

Good luck !
Dan F
 
I do my own but I also have our work garage to do it in while I am at work. We have ramps, jacks, jack stands,Creepers, tools, we have a 275 gallon used oil tank, 275 gallon tank new 15-40 oil for the big truck, 55 gallon drum 5-30 semi synthetic for the cars and trucks. It takes me way longer to go to a dealer and do oil changes or brakes then it is to do it here. We get the parts delivered from one of our suppliers its no brainer for me, but I can see how it could be a royal pain in the butt if you are doing it at home with a limited tool set. I have torches, Impacts (all the way up to a 1800 ft/lbs one inch gun), every bit socket extension you can dream of (40,000$ worth of tools). Most that stuff you shouldn't need but when you run into a problem it sure make quick work of it when you have the right tools. Good example is my new truck stupid oil filter is hidden above the skid plate that requires taking 7 bolts out to hinge the plate down still in the way try reach up and pull filter makes huge mess, I took the plate down used the plasma cutter cut nice hole just big enough to get your hand in and remove filter with out messing with the plate at all. Trimmed the hole out with some wire loom so it looks clean BAMM saves me 10 minutes every time I change the oil now. There is no substitute for the right tools.
 
I always do my own. there's just something special about trips to pick up supplies and recycle used oil, in addition to cleaning up the quart of oil I kicked over during the change. :D actually I still enjoy doing it myself and knowing it's done right with quality oil and filters.
 
I have the tools to do it myself but I don't find the cost difference is big enough to do it. I also don't have a way to dispose of the used oil.

Having said that, I never go to a dealership for service except for warranty work. For oil change I go to a private mechanic where I can watch him do everything.

I believe price wise it works out to $38-$45 for synthetic oil + oil filter
My mechanic charges $60 for synthetic oil + new oil filter

I give him business and he stays in business to do other auto services for me :)
 
Since you can get wicked deals on fluids at Advance Auto, I do the majority of regular maintenance myself (ill do anything that doesnt require a press). However, the Tires Plus near me has a great deal: oil/filter change, tires rotated and balanced, and 3 year alignment for $135. The 3 year alignment alone is 130, so it literally pays for itself. I just paid a $20 premium for synthetic and left a happy consumer.

Sometimes you just cant trust a lube tech. One cross threaded the oil drain plug on my mother in laws SUV, requiring me to torque the hell out of it every time so it doesnt leak or replace the lower oil pan.
 
Ya I don't think I can let someone else have the fun. I think I'll do it myself. Now I just have to decide on which type and brand of oil...
 
I do my own. It's not that I don't trust people - it's just that I don't trust people.

1. I know I'm getting a new (quality) oil filter.
2. I know the oil change is actually getting done.
3. I save money. 5 qts of the Wal-Mart full synthetic is about $17. Try getting full synthetic at a Jiffy Lube\comparable for anything close to that.
 
I'll do it myself if I have time. If not my grandpas best friend owns a place now operated by his son, and I'll take my car there. Super great place in Pasadena. They do everything, talented folks with some classics I've seen them fix or restore. But I trust them. And they've been around my grandpa and family probably longer than I've been alive. As my grandpa would say "I knew him when we wore short pants"
 
I do it myself, not because of cost savings, but because I don't want some mechanic leaning up on my car and scathing the crap out of it...and they will!
 
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