Posted on Sunday, 17th February 2008 by R.J.
Today I saw an article on About.com about Changing your Own Oil and it got me wondering just how many people fall for this scam to save money.
For those that don’t know me, I’m really big on car maintenance. I have a fully stocked garage and do most things myself. One thing that I won’t do anymore myself is change my own oil. I find that not only is it a waste of time, but it’s substantially more expensive than taking your car to a shop.
I’m going to list a few reasons that people try to rationalize doing this and why it’s such a bad idea:
Scam Reason #1: Doing it myself saves money!
Fact: Wrong. Oil change shops buy their oil and filters in bulk. They get it for a lot cheaper than you can. My last oil change at a shop cost me $21.85 and I wasn’t even using a coupon. If I bought the same oil myself (QuakerState) at Autozone it is $2.99/quart. My car takes 5 quarts of oil. 5 x 2.99 = $14.95. And we haven’t even purchased the filter yet. Let’s add a Fram filter (which is basically the cheapest) to that at $7.99 and we’re now at $22.94. Now lets factor in your labor. Since you’re not a professional, it will probably take you about an hour and a half to do. Lets figure you make $15/hr. 15 x 1.5 = 22.50 (labor) + 22.94 (parts) = $45.44!
But wait, you say, you don’t have your own tools? Throw in an oil filter wrench ($4). Or a state-certified container to transport the used oil in? Better get one of those ($9.99). Plus the gas to drive it to a recycling center ($2). You end up with a grand total of $61.43. And that’s not even going into how much its going to cost if you don’t own a jack to get under the car to begin with.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that it’s not cheaper to change your own oil by a long shot.
Scam Reason #2: I get to learn about my car.
Fact: No you don’t. You get to waste your time jacking up your car to unscrew one bolt and filter, screw the same bolt and filter back in and then dump oil in a hole. What did you learn? I hope you learned that you wasted your time.
If you want to learn about cars, take an auto class. Better yet, find an automotive blog. Do something other than waste your hard-earned money and time on something as ridiculous as this.
Scam Reason #3: If I do it myself, I know it’s done right!
Fact: Wrong again. You probably aren’t a professional mechanic. You don’t do this every single day of your life. The chances of you screwing something up is a lot higher than a mechanic who does this every day.
Lets play through both scenarios real quick. First, we’ll just assume you screw something up:
What if you forget to tighten the oil pan bolt all the way? What if you tighten it too much and strip the threads? What if you forget to tighten the oil filter all the way? What if you tighten the filter too much and it crushes the gasket?
Well. If any of these were to happen, you’d not only have an expensive repair bill (from a few hundred dollars for re-tapping the oil pan to thousands of dollars for a new engine to replace your newly seized one.), but you would also lose your transportation. Hope you don’t mind taking the bus.
Now lets just assume you’re right and the oil shop happens to screw something up:
Lets pretend they forgot to reinstall your oil bolt and, as you are driving home, the engine seizes. What happens? Well, the good news is that since you went to a reputable shop, they have insurance! And that same insurance will not only pay for your repair bills, but also for your transportation while they are making said repairs.
Which one seems like a better solution to you?
And that, my friends, is why it’s always better and cheaper to take your car in for its regularly scheduled oil changes. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Tags: auto maintenance, car maintenance, changing your own oil, dealer, ez-lube, jiffy lube, less expensive to change your own oil, more expensive to change your own oil, oil change, oil changing, qwik-lube
Posted in Saving Money | Comments (20)
February 17th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Tim Ramsey
February 17th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Thanks Tim! I was reading through your feed as well. Very well-written and insightful posts.
February 18th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Wow, good point. I used to change my own oil all the time to “save a few bucks”. Now I don’t feel as bad about not having time to do it myself lately.
-1MansMoney
February 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
1MansMoney: Thanks. I used to be the same way. It’s just so much cheaper and easier to get it done at a shop. I now just literally drop my car off in the same parking lot as my grocer, go shopping, and come back in 20 minutes and it’s done. No extra time or money wasted.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Around here, depending on where you go, it will cost you to get rid of that used oil too.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Jess: Great point. If you take in used oil, some places will charge a fee to recycle it, but the cost of the recycling fee is already taken care of when you take your car in.
February 21st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Nice site. I’ve stumbled over from No Credit Needed and thought this post needed another comment. = I’m a self oil changer for all the reasons you mentioned and at least in my situation they aren’t scams.
#1 I actually do save money. I stock up on (quality) oil when it’s on sale. Right now, I’ve got 4 cases of synthetic oil that were free because of a mail in rebate. That’s a total of 6 oil changes in our cars for only the cost of the filter, a stamp, and a bit of my time. I also purchase (quality; not Fram) oil filters on sale or in bulk. Right now, I’m using up a case of 10 genuine Toyota filters (our cars are Scions, that’s what they use) that cost me less that $3.00 each. This is for filters that I KNOW are built correctly (proper anti-drainback valves etc) for my car and not junk put together by the lowest bidder.
#2 You may be right about not learning much if all you do is change the oil. But, cars are much happier (and last longer) if you do other maintenance too. Check your air filter. The wonderful quicke lubes (and some dealers too) love that thing. over a 100% price markup + a labor charge for something that your average goldfish could change. Tire rotations maybe. Doing this would give you the chance to inspect your brakes and maybe learn a little about that. While your looking at the brakes, it might be worth it to eyeball some of the suspension components since you are already looking around. Then maybe next time your alignment tech says “You’ll need new balljoints before I can align it, that’ll be $400.” you will have the general knowledge to call BS if you need to.
#3 I can do the job right. Having worked at a quick lube place before (not as a lube tech) I can tell you many stories of hurried jobs done incorrectly. In most cases the shops insurance DIDN’T pay out for some reason or another.
I know that my knowledge isn’t there in everyones case. I’m not saying everyone should do their own maintenance either. If you have the skills, go for it. It’s nice to spend some time bonding with your car and looking over things if that’s the way you swing. If not, that’s OK too. I guess I just want everyone to realize that there is no 1 right answer about this.
February 21st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Hi Aaron! Thanks for providing a differing perspective.
While you might be a wonderful mechanic that’s able to get all the free oil and filters you can handle, I would say you are a rare exception and not the rule.
As far as shop’s insurance not paying, that’s why I said to use a reputable shop. The same exact scenario happened to my dad who took his GMC Sierra to a JiffyLube and drove home with no oil. JiffyLube’s insurance paid for his engine and provided a rental car. If you go to a Mom & Pop oil change station, your mileage may vary.
And yes, I didn’t even get to covering other ways the oil shops try to “get” you… Selling you $69.99 “fuel injector cleanings” when they are just putting a bottle of $5.00 Fuel System Cleaner in your tank, etc. But all that is rather simply avoided with the word “No.”
Maybe I’ll have to do another write up on that in the future.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
mY husband always changes our cars’ oil he does both car less than 30min to go to shop, wait etc takes more time than that. Also we put synthetic oil instead cheap one but it still cost us only if we were take our car to a shop. At tthe end we have good quality oil for less money, i dont think there is nothing wrong with it.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Also check out my blog for 3000 miles myth article the bottom line is when oil change place schedule you oil change they are more concern about their cash flow not our cars.My car only needs oil change every 6K, check out your manual.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Hi Chicky:
Your cars do not need fully synthetic motor oil and if you are using a blend you are better off just saving the extra $2 a quart and going with regular oil as most blends contain as much as 90% mineral oil anyway.
Secondly, even if your owners manual says 6,000 miles the real measurement you should go by is how quickly the oil breaks down. You could go get some bargain basement oil at Circle K for $1 a quart, but it will break down in less than 2,000 miles and your engine will suffer massive amounts of friction for the other 4,000.
In any case, if you are buying synthetic oil for two cars you’re spending between $60-80 on oil alone ($30-40 per car). I was at XpressLube over the weekend and they had a complete Synthetic Oil change for $49.99. So you would still be coming out ahead by going to a shop after filter, labor/time, and tools (if needed.)
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Another benefit of getting your oil changed at an oil-change place is that some of them have a deal where if you get your oil changed with them, you can come back within a certain period of time and have all the car fluids topped off for free. Granted, this gives the the opportunity to look under the hood and try to convince you that your air filter needs replacing, or that this or that needs to be done, but if you just resist that mumbo gumbo then you could end up with the upper hand of the deal.
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
That is an interesting analysis, I had never stopped to actually figure out the math. For the one car it is on warranty so we keep taking it to a dealership to make sure the warranty stays valid and the other one I sometimes do or sometimes take to a shop. If you plan right you can use the down time for other activities which then helps you feel more accomplished! For me it is a good time to relax and read a book - unless I have something for work to get done. More and more places are starting to offer free wi-fi service while you wait!
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:36 pm
That’s a great point, crossn81. The XpressLube here offers free Wi-Fi. Next time I get my oil changed maybe I’ll do a blog post from there.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
Another thing to consider is that if you strip the threads of your oil plug or you don’t put the oil filter on correctly, even if you catch the fact that you did it wrong before any mechanical damage takes place to your car, you will likely have a large oil stain on your driveway, or even worse, your friend’s or dad’s brand new concrete driveway. Believe me, I know.
In reality though, back when I did change oil (not anymore due to laziness), I bought oil when it was on sale for $1-$2 per quart and $3-$4 filters, free recycling, and the entire process took me 30 minutes or so (quicker than waiting in line at an oil change place), and I’m doing other maintenance as well. And the oil change place around here charges $30. So I’d save around $15 bucks per oil change, 2 cars, 4 times per year which gave me an extra $120 in my pocket.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Ryan: Good points. There’s no question you can get oil and filters on sale, but most people procrastinate with car repair.
I’m guilty of that myself, and I don’t think I would recommend people wait around for a sale while they’re car is already past due on an oil change. If you come across a sale before you need an oil change, that’s great, but if you’re already due for an oil change you should generally get it changed even if you have to pay regular price at a shop.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Another self-oil changer here and I don’t agree with everything said.
#1: The oil change depot, does buy in bulk but do you really know what is coming out of that hose?
I use Mobil-1 with WIX oil filter. Makes me feel better.
I buy my oil at Costco. Works out to $5/quart or $6.00/quart at Autozone.
And $4 for the Wix Oil filter.
My Malibu takes 4.5 quarts: $26.50 total.
Civic takes 3.5 quarts: $21.50 total.
It easily costs $50 at Xpresslube or the dealership.
(If I went with Castrol or Valvoline, it would be around $15.)
Time: 1 1/2 hours to change the oil????? Takes me 15 minutes and took me 30 minutes when I was learning how to change my own oil.
Tools: My Malibu and Civic both use standard size wrenches for the oil plugs and you learn how tight your oil filter needs to be, therefore no oil wrench needed. I put mine on till it’s snug.
As for the approved container: I recycle the oil using the original container it was bought in and have my own catch pan.
(By the way, the cost associated with the oil change pan and wrench needs to be factored in the life of your oil changes, you don’t buy a new wrench and pan every time. At least I don’t).
#2: I do more than just an oil change…you have a chance to grease your suspension and clean out your air filter.
#3: Granted, I’m not a professional mechanic but neither is the 16 year old they have changing the oil. I haven’t screwed up the oil change yet and I’ve known 4 of my friends have had miscues at the local oil change depot.
Personally, I’m sticking to changing my own oil.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Hi JBM!
It’s true that you don’t know what’s coming out of the hose. If you go to a Nickel and Dime oil change place, it might be something you don’t like. But this applies to other places like gas stations as well. If you don’t trust the shop, I’m not going to recommend you go there.
Secondly, there has been study after study done showing that all of the top oils now are all so similar that it doesn’t make a difference what brand of oil you use; what matters is that you change it regularly. But you can’t put a price on peace of mind, so if you feel better paying more for an equivalent product, good for you.
Thirdly, I can’t imagine it takes you just 15 minutes. From getting all your tools ready and getting your jack-stands to warming up the car to jacking it up to placing it on jack-stands to removing the bolt and draining the pan to undoing the filter to tightening the bolt to pre-filling the new filter to tightening the new filter to filling the engine to lowering your car to the ground to cleaning up? That takes you just 15 minutes? What about the time it takes to meticulously fill your re-used oil containers from your catch pan? What about the time it takes you to drive somewhere to dispose of the oil? Still 15 minutes? Okay.
Sounds like a huge hassle when all the oil change shop has to do is drive the already warmed up car up on the lift undo the bolt and filter at the same time into a huge catch pan, pre-fill the new filter, tighten the filter and bolt and fill with oil.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I agree with you on the place to go needs to be reputable for me.
Your rebuttal for
#2: R.J. said ” Secondly, there has been study after study done showing that all of the top oils now are all so similar that it doesn’t make a difference what brand of oil you use”
You don’t know how true that is: Castrol buys Exxon Mobil oil and adds it’s own additives.
I have family members that work at ExxonMobil so I gravitate towards their products.
#3: 15~20 minutes, strictly for an oil change. I don’t make a special trip to the oil recycler. I wait till I have to go there for something else. I don’t use jack stands and don’t pre-fill the oil filter. Since I use a 5 quart container of new oil, the catch pan has a front spout that makes it easy to dump back into the original container.
Here’s my process:
Grab socket wrench and I usually have a bag with the oil, new filter.
Grab a few paper towels, for clean up. And oil catch pan. Head out to car (apt living). Position the oil catch pan under the car. Pop the hood. Grab wrench and one paper towel. Once under the car, loosen drain plug and adjust catch pan. Loosen old oil filter and reposition catch pan. Head back to the top and loosen oil cap, put funnel in place, get the new oil ready to fill, open new oil filter and use the new oil to lubricate the new filter. With new filter in hand, go back under car (for me the oil has drained by this time) put new filter in place, and screw the drain plug back in place. Back up top, pour new oil in, put the oil cap back on. Wipe down funnel and wrap the old paper towel around old filter and place it in the box for oil filter. Pour the old oil into the 5 quart oil container. Wipe down oil catch pan, close hood, and head back inside to dispose of the left overs. Put the used oil in a place, for the next time I head to the parts place (mine is about 5 minutes round trip).
04 Chevy Malibu is easy. Everything is right up front.
Civic takes 20 minutes. Just because the oil filter is in the back of the engine and is pretty hard to get to.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:16 am
[…] year I’m participating in FreeMoneyFinance’s March Madness. I submitted my post about Saving Money by NOT Changing your Own Oil and voting for Round One has ended and my post has made it through to the next round. Hopefully […]