what's everyone paying for oil changes?

[TheRiver]

5 hours ago, shudog said:

Going to the dealership, they catch those things also having it up on the rack, multi-point inspection.  There's some value to that.  Those guys look at same vehicles day in & day out, they know what to look for.  I had free software updates installed when getting oil changes at dealer on my last vehicle.  Sometimes you find out about a recall issue that might need attention.  Its something to consider

 

Glad you think so.......................

[Gangly]

6 hours ago, shudog said:

Going to the dealership, they catch those things also having it up on the rack, multi-point inspection.  There's some value to that.  Those guys look at same vehicles day in & day out, they know what to look for.  I had free software updates installed when getting oil changes at dealer on my last vehicle.  Sometimes you find out about a recall issue that might need attention.  Its something to consider

I've had my fair share of dealership ineptitude and deficiency.  I am young enough, and capable enough, to be able to avoid going through it again by performing my own maintenance and repairs, but as I age I wont be able to and will need to rely on a dealership.  I recently had my transmission fluid changed at the dealership because I didn't have the time to do it myself, and sure enough when I get home to check the work performed, its leaking at the pan gasket because 2 bolts weren't adequately torqued.  I have no doubt that the technicians know how to perform adequate services, I just doubt the ability of a rookie technician performing a menial task for the 1000th time, to stay focused on the task and to not get sloppy.  For more involved work such as head gasket replacement, transmission rebuilds, etc. that a senior technician would perform, I don't worry about a dealership messing it up.  Its the little tasks with the beginner mechanics that worry me the most.

[Grumpy Bear]

I'm sure someone has noticed. 

 

Most of you know that I use boutique lubrication products. What I noticed reading this tread is that my cost for an oil change is typically less than dealer bulk changes done there. So... trade product quality of effort? 

 

Just say'n. 

 

 

[KARNUT]

26 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

I'm sure someone has noticed. 

 

Most of you know that I use boutique lubrication products. What I noticed reading this tread is that my cost for an oil change is typically less than dealer bulk changes done there. So... trade product quality of effort? 

 

Just say'n. 

 

 

Really Grumpy? I’ve noticed. Until recently you had a shop or person do your oil changes. Was it free? Since about 90K miles on your little suv has cost a fortune in oil and additives to keep it going. And your oil changes are about 1/2 of the extreme service schedule. Way more than a normal even an extreme OCD person would do. Fine you reached over 200K miles with extreme effort. It’s not really comparable to a normal high mileage vehicle. Probably 99 percent of the new vehicles sold will reach 200K miles with reasonable oil changes with off the shelf oil like those crappy oils from Valvoline, Mobil one, redline etc. If I remember right pepper goes about 5K miles between oil changes on normal oil. I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to change their own oil. It doesn’t cost me anymore getting it done. With coupons and sales. 

[Grumpy Bear]

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Really Grumpy? I’ve noticed. Until recently you had a shop or person do your oil changes. Was it free? Since about 90K miles on your little suv has cost a fortune in oil and additives to keep it going. And your oil changes are about 1/2 of the extreme service schedule. Way more than a normal even an extreme OCD person would do. Fine you reached over 200K miles with extreme effort. It’s not really comparable to a normal high mileage vehicle. Probably 99 percent of the new vehicles sold will reach 200K miles with reasonable oil changes with off the shelf oil like those crappy oils from Valvoline, Mobil one, redline etc. If I remember right pepper goes about 5K miles between oil changes on normal oil. I don’t begrudge anyone who wants to change their own oil. It doesn’t cost me anymore getting it done. With coupons and sales. 

 

First the Terrian isn't on boutique oils.

 

Second all the oil money I spent on it was over the last 155K mile OR 5K over a legal lifetime. So life of a NEW car.  I've averaged 2K miles per oil change so 78 oil changes. By factory OCI of 7.5K that would have been 21 so 57 extra services. Then 57 services at $45 a pop is $2565 in oil changes. $25 for a gallon of Rotella, $12 for the HPL and $8 for a filter = $45. 

 

Tell me Stan. What NEW car can I buy for $2,600 tax title and license? 

I couldn't by a used motor with install for that.

 

FYI, I paid, past tense, Jason $20 a change to do the pickup and only the pickup. I do Dizzy and both Buicks and used to do the Honda now sold. And the bikes and power equipment.

 

 

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

If I remember right pepper goes about 5K miles between oil changes on normal oil.

 

Nope. Red Line HP for most of her miles. AMSOIL for a few. But yea, 5K per OCI and now at 175K using maybe a half a pint. 

 

 

 

[KARNUT]

30 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

First the Terrian isn't on boutique oils.

 

Second all the oil money I spent on it was over the last 155K mile OR 5K over a legal lifetime. So life of a NEW car.  I've averaged 2K miles per oil change so 78 oil changes. By factory OCI of 7.5K that would have been 21 so 57 extra services. Then 57 services at $45 a pop is $2565 in oil changes. $25 for a gallon of Rotella, $12 for the HPL and $8 for a filter = $45. 

 

Tell me Stan. What NEW car can I buy for $2,600 tax title and license? 

I couldn't by a used motor with install for that.

 

FYI, I paid, past tense, Jason $20 a change to do the pickup and only the pickup. I do Dizzy and both Buicks and used to do the Honda now sold. And the bikes and power equipment.

 

 

 

Nope. Red Line HP for most of her miles. AMSOIL for a few. But yea, 5K per OCI and now at 175K using maybe a half a pint. 

 

 

 

So the easiest one to change the oil on you didn’t do. But the ones you can’t just slide under you do yourself. Hell I sometimes do my truck because I don’t have to jack it up. I must admit it getting to be much less. In the 30 plus years of using oil change services. I haven’t had a single problem with getting my oil changes done. It isn’t rocket science and not worth the do it yourself effort. And yes it’s nice to get the  check list of all the other things they check. Pretty soon I’ll probably quit doing my own lawn. And I probably won’t build my next house, but I could. 

[Grumpy Bear]

52 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

So the easiest one to change the oil on you didn’t do. But the ones you can’t just slide under you do yourself. Hell I sometimes do my truck because I don’t have to jack it up. I must admit it getting to be much less. In the 30 plus years of using oil change services. I haven’t had a single problem with getting my oil changes done. It isn’t rocket science and not worth the do it yourself effort. And yes it’s nice to get the  check list of all the other things they check. Pretty soon I’ll probably quit doing my own lawn. And I probably won’t build my next house, but I could. 

 

What are you talking about? Dizzy is so easy a caveman can do it. I explained the process. Are you drinking? I spend more time waiting for bottles to drain than my effort takes. 

 

If it were any easier it would do itself. Why would I pay someone to do a job my eight-year-old grandson could do, and has? 

 

Besides, I ENJOY IT. Brother I come from a family where Saturday was car day. Tub full of ice and brews. Clean plugs, change oil, set dwell and timing. Tweak the carb. Swap a gear set or rebuild an LSD. Wash and wax. It was fun and still is. This isn't a chore. It's a hobby. I could change oil like this for a million miles and not incur the $30K that SUV cost. Not even a fraction. I gave you the basics, you do the math. 

 

You want to hire it out? Have at. I don't pay your bills. All I said was my DYI oil change lets me use top shelf for less than a bottom self, bulk oil dealer change. Take a breath. No need to send ants to my picnic.  

 

 

[KARNUT]

6 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

What are you talking about? Dizzy is so easy a caveman can do it. I explained the process. Are you drinking? I spend more time waiting for bottles to drain than my effort takes. 

 

If it were any easier it would do itself. Why would I pay someone to do a job my eight-year-old grandson could do, and has? 

 

Besides, I ENJOY IT. Brother I come from a family where Saturday was car day. Tub full of ice and brews. Clean plugs, change oil, set dwell and timing. Tweak the carb. Swap a gear set or rebuild an LSD. Wash and wax. It was fun and still is. This isn't a chore. It's a hobby. I could change oil like this for a million miles and not incur the $30K that SUV cost. Not even a fraction. I gave you the basics, you do the math. 

 

You want to hire it out? Have at. I don't pay your bills. All I said was my DYI oil change lets me use top shelf for less than a bottom self, bulk oil dealer change. Take a breath. No need to send ants to my picnic.  

 

 

No worries. I had explained that if you do your due diligence you can easily find a trusted oil change service. I also pointed out they will send coupons that will offset the labor. My Valvoline quick lube uses a torque wrench on all fasteners. And the oil is pretty good. Especially if their new oil is as advertised. There’re some people on here ( not you) that claim you’re an idiot if you don’t change your own oil. The oil change services will ruin your engine, even the dealership. There’s inexperienced people who will actually believe that. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true. If you want to use extended mileage oil like you do, it’s your money. Remember it’s not the oils fault for its deteriorating performance, it’s the engines. Or let’s lay it at the manufacturers where it belongs.

[Haufski762]

I wish the 0w20 was cheaper as I don't mind changing it myself but the cheapest I can find is 85 with a filter.  Hopefully more manufacturers start making it. 

[diyer2]

I will change my oil until I can't do it anymore.

[gemarsh]

1 hour ago, diyer2 said:

I will change my oil until I can't do it anymore.

 

I'm starting to get there. Getting too hard to get back up. Thinking this year, the farm is going to buy a lift.

 

Farm equipment is still easy. It's all standing up to service, minus the semi.

[Grumpy Bear]

1 hour ago, KARNUT said:

No worries. I had explained that if you do your due diligence you can easily find a trusted oil change service. I also pointed out they will send coupons that will offset the labor. My Valvoline quick lube uses a torque wrench on all fasteners. And the oil is pretty good. Especially if their new oil is as advertised. There’re some people on here ( not you) that claim you’re an idiot if you don’t change your own oil. The oil change services will ruin your engine, even the dealership. There’s inexperienced people who will actually believe that. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true. If you want to use extended mileage oil like you do, it’s your money. Remember it’s not the oils fault for its deteriorating performance, it’s the engines. Or let’s lay it at the manufacturers where it belongs.

 

You make a lot of solid points in this post. Yes, one must be careful with their words. Inexperienced people believe even what Un trustable people say.  Some people just can't take YES for an answer.  It's not hard to believe at all.

 

Some funny stories that shaped my habits. 

 

1.) Fifty years ago, my new wife and I are headed to California for our honeymoon in our new to us 66 Ford Custom 500. A bit before Nationwide Jiffy Lube. A time when 'Full Service" stations were still the non-OEM option for mechanical work. Tech tells me that my Transmision is a bit low on fluid. They pull it into a bay and add two quarts (so I was told). And we were on our way. Oh, it made it Californian and back to Iowa......on three cases of AFT. They had added Type A to my Type F transmission. $700 repair. 

 

2.) Forty years ago. Dealer does a Diff service on my 76 Corvette and greased it. Used the wrong lube. Non-Posi fluid of the wrong weight and type. (motor oil) Burnt up the LSD and bearings. $1200 repair. Whined like a mule and had another 'shade tree' shop do it over with new gears. Another $1800.  

 

3.) 20 years ago. Have a dealer put a clutch in my 98 Honda and took my own Red Line fluids. Do an oil change and MTF change while you're at it. They put the MTF in the motor and the PCMO in the transmission. Then failed to refill the clutch master. Clutch it the floor before I left the lot. Caught the oil mix up looking while under the hood. (vastly different colors) Then I find out, (witness paint Honda uses on most fasteners) the clutch had been bled but not changed BUT I was charged for the entire job. That one got police involved and a lawyer. I was not happy, Got my money back and OEM fluids replaced my boutiques. Lost the fluid money, had a second dealer do the clutch. Ate the tow bill. Redid the fluids myself on my dime. 

 

4.) Ten years ago. Honda puts a new motor in the wife's Civic under warranty. (That's story of its own.) The transmission is drained but not refilled. These are very small capacity transmissions. Even though the fluid was not even visible in the pan it still worked well enough as to not be immediately noticed. Two miles to my normal garage I stop by for a cuppa. Jason is looking over the work and HE finds it. I drive it back to the dealer. (Oh if it burns up they get to eat it). Show them and they blame ME...add two quarts and say 'hope it's okay". It did last the life of the car. System holds like 3-1/2. 

 

2 hours ago, KARNUT said:

Remember it’s not the oils fault for its deteriorating performance, it’s the engines.

 

In this case HPFP failure started the ball rolling. Stupid design the ALL share that use GDI. 

 

That said I would disagree that your statement is universally true. 

[KARNUT]

19 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

You make a lot of solid points in this post. Yes, one must be careful with their words. Inexperienced people believe even what Un trustable people say.  Some people just can't take YES for an answer.  It's not hard to believe at all.

 

Some funny stories that shaped my habits. 

 

1.) Fifty years ago, my new wife and I are headed to California for our honeymoon in our new to us 66 Ford Custom 500. A bit before Nationwide Jiffy Lube. A time when 'Full Service" stations were still the non-OEM option for mechanical work. Tech tells me that my Transmision is a bit low on fluid. They pull it into a bay and add two quarts (so I was told). And we were on our way. Oh, it made it Californian and back to Iowa......on three cases of AFT. They had added Type A to my Type F transmission. $700 repair. 

 

2.) Forty years ago. Dealer does a Diff service on my 76 Corvette and greased it. Used the wrong lube. Non-Posi fluid of the wrong weight and type. (motor oil) Burnt up the LSD and bearings. $1200 repair. Whined like a mule and had another 'shade tree' shop do it over with new gears. Another $1800.  

 

3.) 20 years ago. Have a dealer put a clutch in my 98 Honda and took my own Red Line fluids. Do an oil change and MTF change while you're at it. They put the MTF in the motor and the PCMO in the transmission. Then failed to refill the clutch master. Clutch it the floor before I left the lot. Caught the oil mix up looking while under the hood. (vastly different colors) Then I find out, (witness paint Honda uses on most fasteners) the clutch had been bled but not changed BUT I was charged for the entire job. That one got police involved and a lawyer. I was not happy, Got my money back and OEM fluids replaced my boutiques. Lost the fluid money, had a second dealer do the clutch. Ate the tow bill. Redid the fluids myself on my dime. 

 

4.) Ten years ago. Honda puts a new motor in the wife's Civic under warranty. (That's story of its own.) The transmission is drained but not refilled. These are very small capacity transmissions. Even though the fluid was not even visible in the pan it still worked well enough as to not be immediately noticed. Two miles to my normal garage I stop by for a cuppa. Jason is looking over the work and HE finds it. I drive it back to the dealer. (Oh if it burns up they get to eat it). Show them and they blame ME...add two quarts and say 'hope it's okay". It did last the life of the car. System holds like 3-1/2. 

 

 

In this case HPFP failure started the ball rolling. Stupid design the ALL share that use GDI. 

 

That said I would disagree that your statement is universally true. 

I have some experience with Toyota. They are a well regarded long lasting manufacturer. They recommend 10K oil changes. My granddaughter has my last Toyota going past 100K miles following that schedule. We bought a used Mazda with 180K miles for my other granddaughter 3 years ago from the original owner for 500$. She’s still following their recommend maintenance going past 200K miles. My grandson is driving our old Elantra a 2005 with regular 7k oil changes on a synthetic blend. But I do agree on modern engines 5K oil change intervals should be the rule for most engines. Not the oils fault it’s the changes in the engine. My odyssey up to 127K miles got oil changes on the light . Probably between 8-10k miles. Another well known long lasting vehicle manufacturer. I dropped it to a maximum of 5K oil changes. Only for cylinder deactivation. As far as your bad experience with vehicle service. I can’t recall any. I drove a minimum of 50K miles a year. As far as someone putting the wrong atf in your vehicle. That’s very un Grumpy like. I wouldn’t have allowed that under any circumstances. Up to 40 years old I only touched my vehicles. With the internet, and local watch groups. If a shop does a bad job there’re usually finished. 

[ember1205]

57 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

With the internet, and local watch groups. If a shop does a bad job there’re usually finished. 

 

I somewhat disagree but wish I didn't have to.

 

Shops that do sub-par work are generally the norm from what I have found. People don't know how to publish factual information without all of the emotion, so any sort of "I just got screwed" reviews turn into emotional roller coasters. You're far better off writing up a factual timeline of events and submitting to BBB and your state's Attorney General's office in the hopes of getting action taken. Maybe a local Chamber of Commerce.

 

Whining on Facebook won't do a thing and you're likely to end up just getting kicked out the group and banned anyhow. You can post to Yelp and Google for reviews, but again... it needs to be detailed and factual and having the ability to back any of it up matters. 

 

My local dealership has been horrendous to deal with for my new truck. Within a week of taking ownership, I went back to discuss some small items. Finally built up a list of things to be dealt with that was long enough to schedule a visit right around the time it threw a CEL (about 400 miles into ownership). Called to schedule an appointment because the CEL was due to ABS comm issues. They couldn't take it in for the entire list for a month because I would need a rental / loaner. Had it a week and fixed absolutely nothing. 

 

They don't listen, treat you like you're a complete moron, and don't actually troubleshoot issues. On the way home, CEL again, limp mode, every warning known to mankind in the dash. Truck went right back to them along with a new case from Chevy Customer Care. They had it ANOTHER week and fixed exactly one item - corrupt software in the Communications Gateway Module. Still ignored the other defects and I had to complain about them AGAIN when picking it up to get them on the radar. Finally getting the new plastic trim piece for my steering wheel that they claimed wasn't defective in another two weeks...

 

The Service Manager doesn't want to be told that they suck and he just wants to argue with you at every step. I won't waste my time. I also won't waste my time trying to leave them a "review" anywhere because I just don't need the headache of all of it. I will, however, be certain to recommend to anyone looking for a Chevy of any kind to NOT patronize them.

[KARNUT]

10 minutes ago, ember1205 said:

 

I somewhat disagree but wish I didn't have to.

 

Shops that do sub-par work are generally the norm from what I have found. People don't know how to publish factual information without all of the emotion, so any sort of "I just got screwed" reviews turn into emotional roller coasters. You're far better off writing up a factual timeline of events and submitting to BBB and your state's Attorney General's office in the hopes of getting action taken. Maybe a local Chamber of Commerce.

 

Whining on Facebook won't do a thing and you're likely to end up just getting kicked out the group and banned anyhow. You can post to Yelp and Google for reviews, but again... it needs to be detailed and factual and having the ability to back any of it up matters. 

 

My local dealership has been horrendous to deal with for my new truck. Within a week of taking ownership, I went back to discuss some small items. Finally built up a list of things to be dealt with that was long enough to schedule a visit right around the time it threw a CEL (about 400 miles into ownership). Called to schedule an appointment because the CEL was due to ABS comm issues. They couldn't take it in for the entire list for a month because I would need a rental / loaner. Had it a week and fixed absolutely nothing. 

 

They don't listen, treat you like you're a complete moron, and don't actually troubleshoot issues. On the way home, CEL again, limp mode, every warning known to mankind in the dash. Truck went right back to them along with a new case from Chevy Customer Care. They had it ANOTHER week and fixed exactly one item - corrupt software in the Communications Gateway Module. Still ignored the other defects and I had to complain about them AGAIN when picking it up to get them on the radar. Finally getting the new plastic trim piece for my steering wheel that they claimed wasn't defective in another two weeks...

 

The Service Manager doesn't want to be told that they suck and he just wants to argue with you at every step. I won't waste my time. I also won't waste my time trying to leave them a "review" anywhere because I just don't need the headache of all of it. I will, however, be certain to recommend to anyone looking for a Chevy of any kind to NOT patronize them.

I don’t disagree that there’s bad dealerships out there. I had two bad experiences with our local Ford dealerships. We had a mid 90s Mercury mid sized car. We had a Mustang before it. I drove Ford trucks. We took the car in for warranty work. Bringing the car back around the kid driving it bottomed it out shoving one cooler into the AC condenser. On the way home it quit cooling I was following her. Took it back the next day showed them where the speed bump was and scrapes from cars bottoming out. They said she must’ve done it. I canceled our new car order a new thunderbird and quit doing business with them. It wasn’t a service problem, it was a customer relationship problem. I JB welded it drove it a year until her Acura Type R came in. Every time I bought a new GMC from across the street I would show my old Ford salesman at Ford until he retired. He missed out on a 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007 etc up to my last 2014 new Chevy or GMC. And about 1/2 dozen new cars. The service was fine, the customer relationship failed on that one. I just moved on. I’ve been with my GMC, Hyundai dealership ever since. Except for one Mazda ,one Toyota and two Hondas. I didn’t buy the Hondas.