Is it worth changing your own oil?

[Insomniator]

Have a 04 Mini Cooper and I don't know if its because its similar to BMW or if people are like this with all cars but people swear your have to get specific oil from specific places done exactly right etc etc.

Mini dealers charge ~80 bucks for a oil change that comes with an 'inspection' and wash. Full synthetic/high quality oil changes from other random places are still at least 60 bucks from what I've seen... and who knows what kind of job they actually do.

Now if I did the change myself I'd save money but then when would the car ever get inspected? Does bringing it to the dealer actually mean anything real world or do they just make sure the car starts and that counts as the inspection?

I drive over 20k miles a year so I need to get oil changes every few months...

 

[LTC8K6]

With that much driving, I would let the dealer do the oil changes and inspections. They normally do look the car over pretty well when they have it.

 

[lavaheadache]

You are going to get many different answers here. I belong to the camp that would never pay someone to change my oil. Not because I'm cheap but I like to maintain my own vehicles. I like to see how the oil looks. I like to give the underneath a quick wipe down. I give the wheels a wiggle to check the tie rods and whatnot. You get to check a lot of little things when you get under the car.

 

[saratoga172]

For me it's worth it to take it into the dealer. If I had the knowledge, resources and time to do an inspection and look over everytime I would. But for $50 I get full synthetic, car wash, tire rotation and their inspection of components. Another $5 and they'll vacuum and wipe down my interior so I do that usually. Takes about an hour and I bring a laptop and get some work done.

 

[exar333]

IMHO, it really depends on the car. My '03 Mazda was a dream to change the oil. Just needed a socket wrench (with the K&N oil filters I used) and I could do it in like 10 minutes.

However, I don't bother on my WRX. First off, very few oil filters are to Subaru's spec, so it can be a bit dicey to use the non OEM ones. Secondly, unless you remove the plastic plate (permanently) underneath the car, it is a real PAIN to unscrew and remove the clips/pins. Lastly, my dealer gives me oil changes for free, so that's tough to pass up anyways.

My rule of thumb is if I can do it in <20 minutes, then 'go for it'. That does get thrown out the window though, for example, if you live in the north and don't have access to a garage.

 

[nerp]

I take mine to the dealer. It costs the same as buying the oil and filter myself. I just pop the hood and poke around and check for leaks a few hours after driving home. So far no problems. My wife's dealer forgot to put the oil cap back on the engine once. So I'm extra careful there now.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

depends on how much you value your time. also like the guy mentioned above it does give you a peace of mind doing it yourself (if you did it right). some places can be kind of shady.

 

[unokitty]

Have a 04 Mini Cooper and I don't know if its because its similar to BMW or if people are like this with all cars but people swear your have to get specific oil from specific places done exactly right etc etc.

Mini dealers charge ~80 bucks for a oil change that comes with an 'inspection' and wash. Full synthetic/high quality oil changes from other random places are still at least 60 bucks from what I've seen... and who knows what kind of job they actually do.

Now if I did the change myself I'd save money but then when would the car ever get inspected? Does bringing it to the dealer actually mean anything real world or do they just make sure the car starts and that counts as the inspection?

I drive over 20k miles a year so I need to get oil changes every few months...

I almost always changed the oil in my Miata myself. No other reason than I liked the car and wanted to be sure that the change was done correctly.

On the other hand, I buy a jug of synthetic and take my Element to a local quick change place. (I think they charge me $10. for a change with my oil.)

So, my experience is that 'worth' depends ...

For your Mini Cooper, do what you think is best... And enjoy driving it!

Uno

 

[Imported]

Do the oil changes yourself and the dealers can do the inspection during your 15k/whatever service interval.

 

[7window]

just do it unless you have a coupon for 19.99

 

[child of wonder]

I've done my own oil changes for a long time. Biggest reason being is that I can hang out with my son in the garage for 30-45 minutes and use the oil and filter I want rather than driving to a dealer/garage, waiting for 45-60 minutes, then driving home.

 

[hanoverphist]

my personal vehicles i do the maintenance myself because i enjoy it. my work truck is dealer maintained for tracking and liability purposes. they do a "report card" every time i take it in (5000 miles) and give me the rundown of what needs to be fixed. they always find something wrong, whether it is dire or not is up to my office to approve. the last time they said my fuel lines were cracked and failing, and the filter is bad. ive never smelled fumes at all, so i crawled up under there and checked it for myself. they were being very safe, the lines are fine. i did have them change the filter tho. for the cost it isnt too bad, they wash it and rotate tires as well. they also top off the other fluids during the check, and lube the chassis every so often. fleet maintenance isnt a bad deal usually. when they quoted the passenger side mirror, they were ridiculous tho, 320 bucks. i bought the mirror on ebay for 95 and installed it in 30 minutes. less than 200 for doing it myself (on the clock too)

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Not worth it for me -

I usually get an oil change every 6K miles or every 4-months or so. Ford charges $39.95 for Syn Blend oil + filter + tire rotation + inspection.

Not worth climbing under my car for what would cost me about $20 in supplies and forget rotating tires on your own.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

I'm about to do my first own oil change on my car this weekend. Dealer was doing it before. They were charging me about $80 for the oil change plus inspection/tire rotations. I don't save too much doing it myself. 2 gallons of oil was about $45 bucks though I need approx 6 quarts so usage wise it's less than that.

Like others, I rather do it because I enjoy it and I can time other little projects along with it. Planning to upgrade the rear motor mount at the same time so might as well get it all done at once. Tire rotations are annoying but it doesn't take too long.

I'm pretty new to actually working on cars at all so everything takes me a little longer especially those damn bolts but it's fun so it feels less like a chore.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Oh HELL no!!! Just from a perspective of disposing the old motor oil it is not worth it... forget about the time and materials.

 

[theknight571]

Oh HELL no!!! Just from a perspective of disposing the old motor oil it is not worth it... forget about the time and materials.

What's the problem with disposing the old oil? The quickie lube place I drive by every morning always has milk jugs full of oil sitting outside their door.

 

[sgrinavi]

I do a lot of shit myself, but changing oil just isn't worth the mess. - It seems that you're always fighting a leaky container, or having to clean up drips and the drain pan is usually a disaster. I don't even have a vehicle that I care to put said leaky oil filled containers jugs in.

If I had a real shop with a lift and a large drain rig I'd be all over it.

 

[7window]

I have to agree with above no matter how careful you are there is always a spill. I have made small spill to a whole oil spill. Not fun.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I do a lot of shit myself, but changing oil just isn't worth the mess. - It seems that you're always fighting a leaky container, or having to clean up drips and the drain pan is usually a disaster. I don't even have a vehicle that I care to put said leaky oil filled containers jugs in.

If I had a real shop with a lift and a large drain rig I'd be all over it.

Pretty much this. It is messy, plus pouring the old oil from the drain container back into the quart bottles you always end up spilling some. Add to that the crawling around under your car repeatedly. And then hauling the old oil to the auto parts store. Just not worth the hassle IMO.

I did change the oil on my bike a couple weekends ago. That wasn't as bad and the dealer charges a lot more for an oil change than what the car places charge to change the oil on a car. Still, it was $80 just for the oil and the filter. Shop charges around $150 for an oil change.

I still have to dispose of the old oil though.

 

[Fritzo]

If you use standard oil, it's usually cheaper to take it to an oil change place. The Walmart near me does a very decent job for $20, and they also top off the fluids and do an inspection (battery, tires, etc).

On the other hand, my BMW takes 7.9 quarts of synthetic oil. Taking the car somewhere usually costs $80-$100. I can do it myself for about $40, so it's worth it for me.

 

[Fritzo]

I have to agree with above no matter how careful you are there is always a spill. I have made small spill to a whole oil spill. Not fun.

Pro tip---spread cheap kitty litter under the car before you open the plug. If you miss your oil pan, you can just sweep it up.

 

[Fritzo]

Pretty much this. It is messy, plus pouring the old oil from the drain container back into the quart bottles you always end up spilling some. Add to that the crawling around under your car repeatedly. And then hauling the old oil to the auto parts store. Just not worth the hassle IMO.

This is $6 at Walmart. Drains into the top, then you take it to Autozone and pour it into their oil tank.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Local Toyota dealer does my IS350 for $44.00
... 7 quarts of synthetic oil, filter, and the "check"

Well worth it to me.

 

[pauldun170]

While vehicles are under warranty, I take them in for oil changes.
Once out of warranty, I do it all myself. Only reason why is for records purposes just in case an issue comes up.

As for the value of my time, it takes me less than 20 minutes to change the oil. I'm also able to schedule it for a time that suits me. It usually requires an 1-2 hours of my time to have someone else do it (scheduling, travel time, waiting)
Paying someone else to do something as simple as an oil change for a "premium" and then wasting precious hours of my day for the job to be done is wasteful in my eyes. Waste of my money and a waste of my time.

 

[pauldun170]

Pretty much this. It is messy, plus pouring the old oil from the drain container back into the quart bottles you always end up spilling some. Add to that the crawling around under your car repeatedly. And then hauling the old oil to the auto parts store. Just not worth the hassle IMO.

I did change the oil on my bike a couple weekends ago. That wasn't as bad and the dealer charges a lot more for an oil change than what the car places charge to change the oil on a car. Still, it was $80 just for the oil and the filter. Shop charges around $150 for an oil change.

I still have to dispose of the old oil though.

I use a 5 gallon container and the pan I use has a convenient spout. No mess whatsoever. When I take a car in for state inspection, I bring the container along to have the guy recycle the oil.