Why aren't you changing your own oil?

[s197richie]

In 19 years of ownership I've never once let anyone else change it. During the ownership of my previous car my job said we'd have to pay to do our own services so it was cheaper just to have Honda do it and of course they overfilled it and shrugged it off as not a big deal. I don't care if I have to find an abandoned parking lot and toss the ramps down. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Salvage yards and parts store usually give you a pass on any automotive service you perform in their lot.

I used to work as a lube tech in my younger days and since I'm a car guy, yes I cared and knew all the filter numbers, engine codes, capacities etc by heart. But for most ppl this a just a job, and a job with little to no experience or training required. They don't care about your car.

And I do have a mean streak in me. It was a Chevy dealer during the C5; some took seven quarts and some took 7.5. Well I can't bill out half a bottle of Mobil 1; next thing I know some douchecanoe is complaining about an extra eight dollars for his high-dollar sports car. So our service mgr agreed with him and gave him 50% off his next service. Okay I said; well I took an empty Mobil 1 jug, filled it with dino and kept it under the table for any 7.5 vehicles. Enjoy ya cheap dks.

Then some old dude with a pickup asked me if I fill the filter up before I put it on; I said no our equipment isn't set up for stuff like that and instead of asking nicely he tells me that's part of the job and all vertically-mounted filters blah blah so I told him just make sure you specify with your advisor in the future if you have any special requests. And guess who didn't get his filter filled up. Jagoff. If you're so particular about it, do it your damned self.

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[Q6543]

I do, gotta order some motorcraft 5W-50 today

 

[Thats_Exactly_Why]

I’ve always changed my own.

that said, when I did my first oil change on the DH a month or so back, I thought, “this is the biggest pita oil change I have ever done…”

Removing the felt undercarriage cover really sucks. I reinstalled it but I have half a mind to leave it off next time. Do they make a kit with some quick clips or something???

 

[Sofa King]

I’ve always changed my own.

that said, when I did my first pile change on the DH a month or so back, I thought, “this is the biggest pita oil change I have ever done…”

Removing the felt undercarriage cover really sucks. I reinstalled it but I have half a mind to leave it off next time. Do they make a kit with some quick clips or something???

electric screwdriver...

 

[ChitownStang]

In 19 years of ownership I've never once let anyone else change it. During the ownership of my previous car my job said we'd have to pay to do our own services so it was cheaper just to have Honda do it and of course they overfilled it and shrugged it off as not a big deal. I don't care if I have to find an abandoned parking lot and toss the ramps down. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Salvage yards and parts store usually give you a pass on any automotive service you perform in their lot.

I used to work as a lube tech in my younger days and since I'm a car guy, yes I cared and knew all the filter numbers, engine codes, capacities etc by heart. But for most ppl this a just a job, and a job with little to no experience or training required. They don't care about your car.

And I do have a mean streak in me. It was a Chevy dealer during the C5; some took seven quarts and some took 7.5. Well I can't bill out half a bottle of Mobil 1; next thing I know some douchecanoe is complaining about an extra eight dollars for his high-dollar sports car. So our service mgr agreed with him and gave him 50% off his next service. Okay I said; well I took an empty Mobil 1 jug, filled it with dino and kept it under the table for any 7.5 vehicles. Enjoy ya cheap dks.

Then some old dude with a pickup asked me if I fill the filter up before I put it on; I said no our equipment isn't set up for stuff like that and instead of asking nicely he tells me that's part of the job and all vertically-mounted filters blah blah so I told him just make sure you specify with your advisor in the future if you have any special requests. And guess who didn't get his filter filled up. Jagoff. If you're so particular about it, do it your damned self.

Dealership never touches my car unless absolutely necessary. Do all my own oil changes on Mustangs and whatever SUV the wife has.
I have also learned how to replace brakes, brake fluid, trans fluid. Need a lift! lol

 

[s197richie]

Dealership never touches my car unless absolutely necessary. Do all my own oil changes on Mustangs and whatever SUV the wife has.
I have also learned how to replace brakes, brake fluid, trans fluid. Need a lift! lol

yeah I'd love a lift. 19 years ago I put my Hurst shifter and CHE chassis brace w/ torque limiters in using only car ramps but I guess I've gotten stouter because I can barely wedge under there these days to check for loose connections.

 

[Neggytive]

I work in a shop

I have access to lifts, etc.

Even where the car is in FL, I have all I need to change the oil on almost any car, and my neighbors will ask to come by and use the garage to change their oil.

They have to take the used oil with them is my only condition for use of the garage.

I just had the oil changed on my 22 Toyota at the dealership at 35.5K miles
Car went in for a recall, I needed an oil change, saves me the aggravation of doing it
Mechanics hate working on their own cars

New dealer special, oil change $15.95, that I did not know about before hand

SCORE

Now lets move on to the Mustang

5800 miles on it

2 dealer oil changes

less than $90 each time

I have a recorded service history in Ford's system now.

I have not bought a Motorcraft filter in a while, I normally use Wix or NAPA Gold that USED TO BE Wix, but could be anything these days

Filter is going to be about $10 my cost

10 quarts of oil is going to run me $50

Then I got to get rid of it ( in FL most auto parts stores take it back no questions, in NH we have a waste oil burner to heat the shop)

So now I'm up to $60 bucks just in oil and filters

Add some brake cleaner to clean up the mess and some aluminum foil to cover the underside of the car to keep the oil off it.

In the shop I can't compete with the dealers pricing as they are buying filters for 50% of retail,and pumping bulk oil out of tanks.

Add to that the 20 effn fasteners to remove the belly pan...

Screw that

Now back to the Toyota, the air and cabin air filters were changed 7500 miles ago, so no up sell there, I add a bottle of Techron to the gas every 6 months, so no up sell there, my wiper inserts were done in September when I did the last service, tires are good as are the brakes.

Really hard to go wrong for under $20, and I left a $10 bill in an envelope taped to the valve cover as a TY to the tech that worked on the car

The guy that did the last oil change on the GT got a $20 in hand as a TY for being so careful and thorough with the car, I watched him service it and when you have been in the business in one form or another for the last 45+ years you know when someone is doing it right.

So why am I not doing it?

Because the dealer can do it better, faster, cleaner and cheaper than I can doing it on my back in the garage or even in the shop I work at back home in the summer.

 

[s197richie]

I work in a shop

I have access to lifts, etc.

Even where the car is in FL, I have all I need to change the oil on almost any car, and my neighbors will ask to come by and use the garage to change their oil.

They have to take the used oil with them is my only condition for use of the garage.

I just had the oil changed on my 22 Toyota at the dealership at 35.5K miles
Car went in for a recall, I needed an oil change, saves me the aggravation of doing it
Mechanics hate working on their own cars

New dealer special, oil change $15.95, that I did not know about before hand

SCORE

Now lets move on to the Mustang

5800 miles on it

2 dealer oil changes

less than $90 each time

I have a recorded service history in Ford's system now.

I have not bought a Motorcraft filter in a while, I normally use Wix or NAPA Gold that USED TO BE Wix, but could be anything these days

Filter is going to be about $10 my cost

10 quarts of oil is going to run me $50

Then I got to get rid of it ( in FL most auto parts stores take it back no questions, in NH we have a waste oil burner to heat the shop)

So now I'm up to $60 bucks just in oil and filters

Add some brake cleaner to clean up the mess and some aluminum foil to cover the underside of the car to keep the oil off it.

In the shop I can't compete with the dealers pricing as they are buying filters for 50% of retail,and pumping bulk oil out of tanks.

Add to that the 20 effn fasteners to remove the belly pan...

Screw that

Now back to the Toyota, the air and cabin air filters were changed 7500 miles ago, so no up sell there, I add a bottle of Techron to the gas every 6 months, so no up sell there, my wiper inserts were done in September when I did the last service, tires are good as are the brakes.

Really hard to go wrong for under $20, and I left a $10 bill in an envelope taped to the valve cover as a TY to the tech that worked on the car

The guy that did the last oil change on the GT got a $20 in hand as a TY for being so careful and thorough with the car, I watched him service it and when you have been in the business in one form or another for the last 45+ years you know when someone is doing it right.

So why am I not doing it?

Because the dealer can do it better, faster, cleaner and cheaper than I can doing it on my back in the garage or even in the shop I work at back home in the summer.

Yeah my father has a shop and hates every second of working on cars whether it be his or someone else's; absolute furthest thing from his mind when he isn't getting paid. Since I'm basically retired at this point I look forward to fixing stuff and doing maintenance on my car to pass the time. Yesterday I found a rat-destroyed harness grommet causing a leak onto my carpet and hauled ass down to the junkyard, created a tire bridge across a mud pond and wedged myself under a dashboard in the blazing heat unwrapping electrical tape for an eternity to procure one.

 

[MAT1955]

Dealership changes my oil. It's fast and efficient. I use the ford filter (Wix) and Ford oil - super high quality .... (Conoco + S-Oil additives) - FULL synthetic and pre-fill the oil filter, can't get better oil or filter anywhere. I then have a record of the changes on Oasis for future trade/resale. I don't have to wrestle with the wind deflection pan or worry about a mess and disposal. It's just not worth my time.

 

[rbuike]

I did the math on cost of oil/filters/my time vs the LMPP which covers this and it was a wash over the course of the financing agreement so I'll let them do it.

For my other two cars that are owned outright and out of warranty I do all my own maintenance.

 

[LouG]

I've done all my vehicle maintenance, except on new cars under warranty. But that's going to change with my wife's car. On the last service they used Duckhams Q8 0-20 instead of the Castrol 5w-30LL they've used before. Didn't ask me and they know I'm fussy with our cars, so home job in future and they can do the rest of the service check to keep the warranty terms.

 

[aperea]

1 reason: service history
Having well documented instances of service history from the dealer makes your car's value better when selling (worked with my Alfa).
I sure wouldn't buy a used car without docs, so why be that person?
Could I work on my car? Absolutely. But my craftsmanship isn't worth anything when selling the car.

 

[OldCoastie]

OK I am a Gisser, growing old sucks, not for the faint of heart. I changed oil, brakes, cooling, transmission and filters for years on Corvettes and Camaros. Now at 75 its so much easier to bring back to the dealershipe where I KNOW the service people and their abilities. Cost about $65. for my Military Discount and only costs me about two hours of time. I do admit I miss working at that level on cars, but if I did I would be hurting for several days.... You wait and see life changes after 70.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I change the oil myself on my old cars. But on the '24, its a lot easier to have Fords mobile service come to my house and do it at no extra charge. That way its properly documented, and I dont have to mess with jacking the car up and taking all the underside trim off.

 

[GrabThatBlue]

Because I will lose warranty.

Here in The Netherlands I need to fully service my car at the dealership to keep warranty.

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