Sarge 77 said:

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FJB

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Just a reminder of the correct answer.

Is it? If you spend more than 8 minutes trying to save $1 you are working for less than minimum wage. I know what my time is worth. Do you?

Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

I saved that much not buying coffee and not drinking $9 pomegranate flavored beer. And I don't want to do it myself.

G. hirsutum Ag said:

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Option 1: DIY
15 minute drive to store
15 minutes in the store
15 minutes in whataburger line
15 minutes home
1 hour to change oil and clean up
30 minute round trip back to store to recycle oil
$45 in material
135 minutes of actual time plus costs of materials

Option 2:
$130 oil change done in 10 minutes while I'm in the phone with clients

You can save $85 doing it yourself or save 125 minutes paying someone else.

I don't know about you but my time is worth WAY more than $41/hour

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It's not done in 10 minutes but yeah, I estimate I'd be valuing my time about $50/hr.

I did my own maintenance and oil changes for years, but now I earn more and am older and it's just easier for me to stop in the dealer on the way to work and get some work done in the waiting area.

No Spin Ag said:

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Sid Farkas said:

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I just paid $200 for an oil change at the dealership.

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Please tell us you don't drive a Ford Focus. That or the dealer is the only place in town that has oil.

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Chevy corvette with a dry sump system. But still.

Sid Farkas said:

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No Spin Ag said:

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Sid Farkas said:

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I just paid $200 for an oil change at the dealership.

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Please tell us you don't drive a Ford Focus. That or the dealer is the only place in town that has oil.

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Chevy corvette with a dry sump system. But still.

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Well...the dealership markup was probably 50%. So, done elsewhere, it's $135 which is high, but reasonable.

However, highly specialized vehicles like a Corvette are probably worth not handing off to just any oil place since there may be things that they don't know about...

I started doing my own again this year. Bought a new jack and 4 jack stands from Harbor Freight for about $225. Now, I jack up the cars, put them on jack stands, and do a tire rotation while the oil is draining. After every 2 oil changes, I take it to the local auto parts store to dispose of the oil and filter. Use Mobil 1 0w-20 in both (Hondas) and costs about $35 for oil and a good filter. No more $70+ for some shop to do it, and takes less time. Figure 5 oil changes a year between both vehicles, and I'll break even next year.

G. hirsutum Ag said:

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Option 1: DIY
15 minute drive to store
15 minutes in the store
15 minutes in whataburger line
15 minutes home
1 hour to change oil and clean up
30 minute round trip back to store to recycle oil
$45 in material
135 minutes of actual time plus costs of materials

Option 2:
$130 oil change done in 10 minutes while I'm in the phone with clients

You can save $85 doing it yourself or save 125 minutes paying someone else.

I don't know about you but my time is worth WAY more than $41/hour

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Going to a place that takes 10 minutes will result in you spending hours fighting them when they strip the threads on the plug, don't put the filter on tight enough, or just plain forget to add the friggin' oil.

CDUB98 said:

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Love these posts of, "my time is worth eleventy-billion dollars," as if none of the rest of us make decent money.

Sometimes, it's simply about enjoying doing your own work and making sure it's done right.

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But you have to remember, he's an engineer and his time is valuable, so instead of making money while someone else does his work, he goes next door and blows $50 on lunch and getting liquored up before driving back to the house.

aTm2004 said:

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CDUB98 said:

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Love these posts of, "my time is worth eleventy-billion dollars," as if none of the rest of us make decent money.

Sometimes, it's simply about enjoying doing your own work and making sure it's done right.

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But you have to remember, he's an engineer and his time is valuable, so instead of making money while someone else does his work, he goes next door and blows $50 on lunch and getting liquored up before driving back to the house.

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I live in Corpus. If you spend $50 on lunch and a couple margs in this town you're doing it wrong.

And my time IS valuable. So, when I'm not at work, I spend it doing things I like to do, rather than things I have to do...

Life is too short to spend it doing things that I can pay a minion to do for just a little more than it would cost me to do myself.

But, you do you and have fun with auto maintenance.

aTm2004 said:

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G. hirsutum Ag said:

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Option 1: DIY
15 minute drive to store
15 minutes in the store
15 minutes in whataburger line
15 minutes home
1 hour to change oil and clean up
30 minute round trip back to store to recycle oil
$45 in material
135 minutes of actual time plus costs of materials

Option 2:
$130 oil change done in 10 minutes while I'm in the phone with clients

You can save $85 doing it yourself or save 125 minutes paying someone else.

I don't know about you but my time is worth WAY more than $41/hour

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Going to a place that takes 10 minutes will result in you spending hours fighting them when they strip the threads on the plug, don't put the filter on tight enough, or just plain forget to add the friggin' oil.

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A buddy of mine's nephew works at a Firestone, and he told my buddy that at least once a year they have to rebuild a customer's engine because someone forgot to put the oil plug back on or forgot to add the oil after the drained it.

Ag with kids said:

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jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

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Probably not. 7 quarts of full synthetic is about $35.

In 1996 it cost me about $30 for 5 quarts of castrol synthetic and a filter to diy on my 5.7 gmc.

Today I buy mobil 1 at walmart in the bulk 5 quart jugs and my trucks take 8.5 and 6.5 quarts. 3 5 quart jugs, 2 mobil 1 filters and 2 drain plug gaskets now cost me ~$136 and each truck takes about 30 minutes to change.
I have had my oil changed by others 2 times in my life in 32 years of driving. First time was at a quick lube place and I got home and drain plug was finger tight and leaking on the driveway. Second time I got home and noticed truck was leaking again. Plug was tight but oil filter was finger tight and leaking from the seal. Last time I priced a full service synthetic oil change it was ~ $125 to have it done. To me it's not about saving $58 in labor. It's about knowing it was done right and that my plug is not going to fall out and smoke a 10k engine. At the end of the day no one cares more about your property than you personally.

Anyone who does their own oil changes should have a fumoto valve installed on their vehicle because it saves a TON of time and mess.

I'm amazed at how many people are going to a car dealership for an oil change.

torrid said:

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Funky Winkerbean said:

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All car care has gotten insane.

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Buy a Tesla?

I'll see myself out.

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Just don't keep it long enough for the battery change.

$8 filter
$40 for oil (8 qt oil change)
20 minutes to change the oil
Free balance and rotation at discount
Don't have a grease monkey tightening my drain plug or oil filter to the point of breaking something.

texsn95 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

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Probably not. 7 quarts of full synthetic is about $35.

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Five qts of Mobil1 0w-20 is on sale at O'Reillys for $35. So, he still needs 2 qts at $11/each (price on website this morning). Plus, I assumed he'd get a filter.

And I also figured in that he had to pay Uncle Sugar his 8.5% (for the big guy).

ETA: Just checked Wallyworld prices and you could probably get that for around $48 with filter. BUT...you have to deal with Wallyworld...

My deciding factor for me was when I had my wife's changed at an oil change place and noticed oil in the garage the next day. Plug was tight and the filter was tight and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, so off to the shop it went. Turns out, they didn't make sure the seal from the previous filter was off, so it was leaking at the filter. Cost me $135 for them to look at it and whatever they charged for a filter and oil to top off.

Ag with kids said:

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texsn95 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

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Probably not. 7 quarts of full synthetic is about $35.

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Five qts of Mobil1 0w-20 is on sale at O'Reillys for $35. So, he still needs 2 qts at $11/each (price on website this morning). Plus, I assumed he'd get a filter.

And I also figured in that he had to pay Uncle Sugar his 8.5% (for the big guy).

ETA: Just checked Wallyworld prices and you could probably get that for around $48 with filter. BUT...you have to deal with Wallyworld...

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It's getting into the rainy season. You may want to bring that nose down or you'll drown.

And LOL if you think dealing with Walmart is any different than dealing with an oil change place. Actually, Walmart will be better because they don't come to you and tell you a list of things wrong with your vehicle, which happens to be the same thing every time. Just put an air filter in? It's not as good as theirs and you should get theirs or your car will blow up 1.89375 miles from home. You just grab the oil and filter and pay, then walk out the door by the register and to your car that's in an empty part of the lot with easy exit to the road.

Ag with kids said:

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aTm2004 said:

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CDUB98 said:

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Love these posts of, "my time is worth eleventy-billion dollars," as if none of the rest of us make decent money.

Sometimes, it's simply about enjoying doing your own work and making sure it's done right.

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But you have to remember, he's an engineer and his time is valuable, so instead of making money while someone else does his work, he goes next door and blows $50 on lunch and getting liquored up before driving back to the house.

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I live in Corpus. If you spend $50 on lunch and a couple margs in this town you're doing it wrong.

And my time IS valuable. So, when I'm not at work, I spend it doing things I like to do, rather than things I have to do...

Life is too short to spend it doing things that I can pay a minion to do for just a little more than it would cost me to do myself.

But, you do you and have fun with auto maintenance.

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Then don't be mad at the minion when they screw up, because they will, and you'll eventually have to deal with one of them screwing up your vehicle and them blaming you. Talk to people you know. More than you'd expect have had issues, as have many here.

fightingfarmer09 said:

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I'm amazed at how many people are going to a car dealership for an oil change.

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From my experience, the only ones not AARP age that do that are those who get them free because they bought a new vehicle and they get free oil changes for the first few years. Everyone else I've known that does that is AARP age.

aTm2004 said:

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CDUB98 said:

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Love these posts of, "my time is worth eleventy-billion dollars," as if none of the rest of us make decent money.

Sometimes, it's simply about enjoying doing your own work and making sure it's done right.

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But you have to remember, he's an engineer and his time is valuable, so instead of making money while someone else does his work, he goes next door and blows $50 on lunch and getting liquored up before driving back to the house.

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That's part of what amuses me. I'm an engineer as well.

Hell, my senior project was to design and build a race car. Formula SAE.

Some of us just like to do our own thing. I mean, I even make my own salsas. Cost really isn't any cheaper because of volume, but no whacked out preservatives and they also taste REALLY damned good.

But hey, Mr. Deep Pockets gotta be bankin' all them dolla bills us LOLpoors can't.

CDUB98 said:

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akaggie05 said:

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I agree it's gotten out of hand. Combination of things, IMO.
- Price of synthetic oil and more exotic grades like 0w-20 required by many new cars that only comes in synthetic
- Oil capacity of many new cars/trucks is 7-8+ quarts, where ~4-5 was the norm 20 years ago
- General public's knowledge of cars and car maintenance in general is at an all time low. Most everyone I know falls into the trap of "need to take it to a professional" even for an oil change.
- FJB

I can do an oil change in my driveway for around $60. Depending on which vehicle, can get two jugs of M1 or Rotella T6 + filter at Walmart for that price. Figure shop overhead and labor and there you are at $100+.

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This is a good answer.

I still change my own oil. I have to use synthetic and it costs me $50-60 for oil and a filter. I dislike that cost until I see prices for a change at one of those places.

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Still do my oil changes about 90% of the time. I like to make sure it's done right and I don't mind saving a few bucks. Probably takes me about an hour including the time to run to Walmart to buy the oil and filter. I pour the used oil in the jugs/bottles the new oil came out of and drop it off at the Jiffy Lube.

I've more more than once found that after I take a car to a quick lube place, that the next time I do the oil change myself I find a bolt or two missing on the shields that often times have to be removed to get to the oil filter.

aTm2004 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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texsn95 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

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Probably not. 7 quarts of full synthetic is about $35.

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Five qts of Mobil1 0w-20 is on sale at O'Reillys for $35. So, he still needs 2 qts at $11/each (price on website this morning). Plus, I assumed he'd get a filter.

And I also figured in that he had to pay Uncle Sugar his 8.5% (for the big guy).

ETA: Just checked Wallyworld prices and you could probably get that for around $48 with filter. BUT...you have to deal with Wallyworld...

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It's getting into the rainy season. You may want to bring that nose down or you'll drown.

And LOL if you think dealing with Walmart is any different than dealing with an oil change place. Actually, Walmart will be better because they don't come to you and tell you a list of things wrong with your vehicle, which happens to be the same thing every time. Just put an air filter in? It's not as good as theirs and you should get theirs or your car will blow up 1.89375 miles from home. You just grab the oil and filter and pay, then walk out the door by the register and to your car that's in an empty part of the lot with easy exit to the road.

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Haha, it's a long way down from his ivory tower.

I mean how hard is it to walk into Walmart and buy a few jugs of oil? Hell these days you can buy it online and they'll ship it to you for free. And at Wally world, full synthetic 5 quart can be had for about 19 bucks for Super tech, 23 for Quaker State, 26 for Castrol edge, which is fine for 99% of the vehicles on the road.

Engineer here as well, and maintain our fleet of 4 vehicles, and use the time changing the oil to inspect other things under the vehicle while I'm there.

aTm2004 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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texsn95 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

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Probably not. 7 quarts of full synthetic is about $35.

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Five qts of Mobil1 0w-20 is on sale at O'Reillys for $35. So, he still needs 2 qts at $11/each (price on website this morning). Plus, I assumed he'd get a filter.

And I also figured in that he had to pay Uncle Sugar his 8.5% (for the big guy).

ETA: Just checked Wallyworld prices and you could probably get that for around $48 with filter. BUT...you have to deal with Wallyworld...

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It's getting into the rainy season. You may want to bring that nose down or you'll drown.

And LOL if you think dealing with Walmart is any different than dealing with an oil change place. Actually, Walmart will be better because they don't come to you and tell you a list of things wrong with your vehicle, which happens to be the same thing every time. Just put an air filter in? It's not as good as theirs and you should get theirs or your car will blow up 1.89375 miles from home. You just grab the oil and filter and pay, then walk out the door by the register and to your car that's in an empty part of the lot with easy exit to the road.

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I have spent more time in Wallyworld than probably most people on here that don't WORK there. Having 9 kids meant I was ALWAYS needing SOMETHING...I've done my time.

I still shop there because I like their prices, but I DO acknowledge that it's a much bigger chore than running into O'Reillys...

BTW...my post wasn't talking about oil change places. It was about places to buy oil to do your own oil change. Don't conflate things.

texsn95 said:

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aTm2004 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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texsn95 said:

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Ag with kids said:

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jja79 said:

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Paid $110 for 7 quarts synthetic.

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That's probably $60-$70 in supplies...so $40-$50 saved by doing it yourself. As long as time and gas are left out of the equation.

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Probably not. 7 quarts of full synthetic is about $35.

---

Five qts of Mobil1 0w-20 is on sale at O'Reillys for $35. So, he still needs 2 qts at $11/each (price on website this morning). Plus, I assumed he'd get a filter.

And I also figured in that he had to pay Uncle Sugar his 8.5% (for the big guy).

ETA: Just checked Wallyworld prices and you could probably get that for around $48 with filter. BUT...you have to deal with Wallyworld...

---

It's getting into the rainy season. You may want to bring that nose down or you'll drown.

And LOL if you think dealing with Walmart is any different than dealing with an oil change place. Actually, Walmart will be better because they don't come to you and tell you a list of things wrong with your vehicle, which happens to be the same thing every time. Just put an air filter in? It's not as good as theirs and you should get theirs or your car will blow up 1.89375 miles from home. You just grab the oil and filter and pay, then walk out the door by the register and to your car that's in an empty part of the lot with easy exit to the road.

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Haha, it's a long way down from his ivory tower.

I mean how hard is it to walk into Walmart and buy a few jugs of oil? Hell these days you can buy it online and they'll ship it to you for free. And at Wally world, full synthetic 5 quart can be had for about 19 bucks for Super tech, 23 for Quaker State, 26 for Castrol edge, which is fine for 99% of the vehicles on the road.

Engineer here as well, and maintain our fleet of 4 vehicles, and use the time changing the oil to inspect other things under the vehicle while I'm there.

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I did all that for many years...

I'm old enough now to realize I'd rather not...I pay people to do that work for me. BTW, what do you charge for an oil change?

OP was about the cost of an oil change.
I think current prices for an oil change are fair.

Who gives a shot if you do it yourself or not?
I understand there is some pride in doing it yourself, but really nobody cares and it doesn't matter. What's more important is that it gets done.

If a vehicles cost of maintenance is too much for you, then you're either a lowearner or bad at your personal finances.

Vehicle maintenance cost has been a race to the bottom on price because there is so much competition. It's cheap these days.

Assume fully synthetic.

If you do it yourself let's say it cost you $50 And if you do it at a dealership (other extreme) let's say it's $125. (5 quarts)
And assume you get it done 2x a year.

Self = $100/yr or $8.33/month
Dealer = $250/yr or 20.83/month

So doing the work yourself averages out to a savings of about $12.50 per month.

My car payment + insurance is about $550/month (and this much lower than the national average). An extra $12.50 is only 2.2% of the combined $562.50 total.

At any income level, 12.50/month is not breaking most people's retirement.

Want to save money? Get a different vehicle with a smaller payment and cheaper tires, and lower oil capacity. The cost of the oil change is pretty fixed for 5 quarts. Other things make a much larger difference in the cost, namely the vehicle itself is the biggest cost, not the maintenance.

Synthetic oil is expensive, but getting an oil change ever 9-10,000 miles makes it very reasonable.

I have seen that a few times on vehicles I worked on and and it was always on chevy 350 engines. What type of engine did your's happen on ?

bmks270 said:

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OP was about the cost of an oil change.
I think current prices for an oil change are fair.

Who gives a shot if you do it yourself or not?
I understand there is some pride in doing it yourself, but really nobody cares and it doesn't matter. What's more important is that it gets done.

If a vehicles cost of maintenance is too much for you, then you're either a lowearner or bad at your personal finances.

Vehicle maintenance cost has been a race to the bottom on price because there is so much competition. It's cheap these days.

Assume fully synthetic.

If you do it yourself let's say it cost you $50 And if you do it at a dealership (other extreme) let's say it's $125. (5 quarts)
And assume you get it done 2x a year.

Self = $100/yr or $8.33/month
Dealer = $250/yr or 20.83/month

So doing the work yourself averages out to a savings of about $12.50 per month.

My car payment + insurance is about $550/month (and this much lower than the national average). An extra $12.50 is only 2.2% of the combined $562.50 total.

At any income level, 12.50/month is not breaking most people's retirement.

Want to save money? Get a different vehicle with a smaller payment and cheaper tires, and lower oil capacity. The cost of the oil change is pretty fixed for 5 quarts. Other things make a much larger difference in the cost, namely the vehicle itself is the biggest cost, not the maintenance.

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Don't forget: move a lot closer to your work. This will put fewer miles on the vehicle and require fewer oil changes - bonus points because you spend less on gas, too.

JP76 said:

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I have seen that a few times on vehicles I worked on and and it was always on chevy 350 engines. What type of engine did your's happen on ?

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Honda Odyssey.

Somebody has to pay for Biden arming Hamas and Hezbollah via Iran.