DIY Oil Change Deals (Updated 8/5/2012)

Quote from ima4ltrwrd : can anyone post a link to teach how to change your car oil?

that can vary WILDLY. my advice to you would be to check online for a forum regarding your specific brand of car. my family has a BMW, Saturn and a Subaru WRX... and there are enthusiast forums for all three with tons of traffic and lots of good advice on technical stuff...

I am hating these oil change specials that include oil and filter.

I have a stock of filters, all I need is oil, gone are the days when one could get $1/qt (AR) good conventional oil. 3-4 months ago I bought Castrol GTX at Pepboys for <1/qt and Purolator oil filter for $2. For <$6 that was a cheap oil change.

Why dont they sell oil by itself, I dont want it packaged with filter.

Sweet find. I'll be saving myself 15 bucks for the mobil 1 stuff @ advanced, thanks!

Nice deal, thanks!
Bit of a technical issue here: Is oil just oil and gas just gas or does it really matter what you're using??

I'm not going to mention the brand, but ever since I've "matched" the brand of oil with the brand of gas my car's using, I'm getting better mileage, much better - can this be true or be attributed to other reasons?

I've been trying to make sense of it, so far the only logical explanation (except for tampered gasoline from previous brand) seems to be that if a certain Oil brand does its testing and enhancements, it can be safe to assume that they're using their own brand of gasoline and vice-versa to establish certain parameters?

just wondering...

Why does no one consult their owner's manual? All automobile manufacturers state when the oil should be changed specific to your vehicle's engine.

Think about where "every 3000 miles" comes from. Oil companies. Don't you think the engineers that designed the actual engine have a better idea of when the oil should be changed through countless hours/years of research and testing? There are standards that motor oil manufacturers must meet and that your automobile's engine is designed for.

Besides the manual, many new cars have the ability to tell you when the oil needs to be changed. Manufacturers trust the ability of these systems enough to warranty the vehicle.

Just something to think about. You are of course free to form your own opinion.

Quote from Josh79 : Nice deal, thanks! Bit of a technical issue here: Is oil just oil and gas just gas or does it really matter what you're using?? I'm not going to mention the brand, but ever since I've "matched" the brand of oil with the brand of gas my car's using, I'm getting better mileage, much better - can this be true or be attributed to other reasons? I've been trying to make sense of it, so far the only logical explanation (except for tampered gasoline from previous brand) seems to be that if a certain Oil brand does its testing and enhancements, it can be safe to assume that they're using their own brand of gasoline and vice-versa to establish certain parameters? just wondering...

No, There is no correlation. Perhaps you were driving differently, or changed air filter, or switched to better performance synthetic oil (you don't mention the brand or type), or removed some ballast from your car. Any of these, or combination of some could cause better mpg. Either way, there is no correlation as you describe. Those more interested in the topic should visit this forum: www.bobistheoilguy.com

every 5k miles would be fine. I have a family member that bought the same car as mine and was offered a package deal for oil change. at first it sounded good but then, they said that oil change is every 5,000 miles versus the 3,000 miles that I was told. The package was not worth it and it just shows that your car doesn't need an oil change every 3k miles. THey just say that to get people to spend money on additional oil change per year. I just do my oil change twice a year and my car is in great condition according to the service company. save myself a minimum $50/year probably more now cause of the dollar sitiuation.

Quote from mustardayonnais : the amount of oil used to do oil changes PALES in comparison to all the other resources that get torched in your car (specifically, the gas). PLUS, motor oil, if properly disposed, should be RECYCLED at your local oil change place or Kragen or whatever. personally i think it's better to take good care of your car, thus extending the life of it, thus not having to buy another one sooner, for which manufacturing takes a big environmental toll, etc... i do agree, however, that 5k miles is appropriate for synthetic. some motors (like BMW or Audi) can go even longer.

I was going to write just this. Nice post mustard. I use Mobil 1 full syn in my VW and change at 5K intervals. The Honda gets conventional and changed at 3K. We have curbside recycling for oil here which is nice. The key to reducing environmental damage is to stop driving so much - a lot less gas, less oil changes, and less cars produced.

By the way, thanks OP!

Quote from ucfdoughboy : Think about where "every 3000 miles" comes from. Oil companies. Don't you think the engineers that designed the actual engine have a better idea of when the oil should be changed through countless hours/years of research and testing? :

Do you trust the oil company who wants to sell you more oil or the auto manufacturer who wants to sell you a new car? Who has more to gain? I use Walmart Supertech oil and filters which are usually within a dollar of any of the other deals without messing with rebates.

Is it "safe" to switch from regular oil to synthetic oil?

I've had a couple of people tell me you can squeeze an extra 2 to 5 mpg by using synthetic so would like to switch.

Quote from ucfdoughboy : Why does no one consult their owner's manual? All automobile manufacturers state when the oil should be changed specific to your vehicle's engine. Think about where "every 3000 miles" comes from. Oil companies. Don't you think the engineers that designed the actual engine have a better idea of when the oil should be changed through countless hours/years of research and testing? There are standards that motor oil manufacturers must meet and that your automobile's engine is designed for. Besides the manual, many new cars have the ability to tell you when the oil needs to be changed. Manufacturers trust the ability of these systems enough to warranty the vehicle. Just something to think about. You are of course free to form your own opinion.

how many motors have you torn down. you can tell

changing to syn aint gonna get you significantly more mileage, if that were true, all auto manufacturers would recommend synthetic

I switched to synthetic 2 oil changes ago. After 4000 miles I changed my oil since I was driving from New Jersey to Georgia and wanted every ounce of MPG I could muster (I also changed my Air Filter).

Does anyone think that was a wise idea or do you think before your 5000 miles it was just a complete waste; this is specifically in regards to taking a long road trip (500 miles or greater).

Also I use Pennzoil Platinum (at least the last two I did, the first time was becuase of a SD to get the complete oil change for free, and the last one was because of the deal I got from Autozone). Anyway, next time up should I switch to anything such as Mobil 1. I heard Mobil 1 you can buy in a gallon case from Walmart for cheap.

Feel free to chime in on any of these ideas. Rep to the OP for combining all of them, I thought about that two weeks ago when I posted the Autozone deal and saw the Pepboys deal, but was way too much work for me. So be sure to Rep the OP, ESPECIALLY if he keeps updating it. Perhaps we should start a permanent DIY Oil Change special thread? Lets at least open the Wiki up to this idea.

I spoke with a few mechanics regarding this synthetic vs conventional motor oil. They referred to a "study" where at 3000 miles oil changes there was slightly more wear, but nevertheless, negligble wear on the conventional engine compared with the synthetic. I know nothing of the study, and this is also in regards to 3000 miles. However, with the increase in gas prices I go by the general consensus in virtually all the forums stating that you do indeed get more MPG when you switch to Synthetic; this includes Bob The Oil Guy.

Quote from mike23w : Is it "safe" to switch from regular oil to synthetic oil? I've had a couple of people tell me you can squeeze an extra 2 to 5 mpg by using synthetic so would like to switch.

Yes, you can switch over and switch back anytime. IMO, you get about 1-2 MPG better than using regular dino oil.