How much $$$ for oil change?

In reply to Patientzero :

$84 for the Mini.  That is using synthetic oil.

mr2s2000elise said:

914Driver said:

My brother pays >$500 to change his Range Rover, he sold it 15 months in.

Yup $539.85 here for a RR HSE. 

Do they use whale oil? That's insane.

In reply to Cactus :

Well the penis of RR owners are sizes of whale penis, so maybe they do. 

The local Toyota Indy was $29.95 for an oil change.  We used to take our GX470 there until they poured oil all over the front of the motor, to the point it was leaking out past the skid plate.  When my wife took it back to them they wanted a days labor to clean the motor and see where the leaks were coming from.  This despite them *just* doing an oil change on it.  After that I did it myself.

Oil change at the dealer for my 996 Turbo is something like $450, on the Cayenne Diesel it's $350-400, don't know on the Golf R.

I change all the oil myself.  996 Turbo is ~9 quarts of M1, plus filter, plus 4 crush washers, so ~$60 or so.  Cayenne diesel is ~9 quarts of M1 ESP oil, plus filter so again around $60, Golf R is 7 quarts of M1 plus filter, so $40 or so.

docwyte said:

The local Toyota Indy was $29.95 for an oil change.  We used to take our GX470 there until they poured oil all over the front of the motor, to the point it was leaking out past the skid plate.  When my wife took it back to them they wanted a days labor to clean the motor and see where the leaks were coming from.  This despite them *just* doing an oil change on it.  After that I did it myself.

Oil change at the dealer for my 996 Turbo is something like $450, on the Cayenne Diesel it's $350-400, don't know on the Golf R.

I change all the oil myself.  996 Turbo is ~9 quarts of M1, plus filter, plus 4 crush washers, so ~$60 or so.  Cayenne diesel is ~9 quarts of M1 ESP oil, plus filter so again around $60, Golf R is 7 quarts of M1 plus filter, so $40 or so.

And in the Doc's favor is the fact he get's to see if anything else is awry .....the 'V'  7qts M1 + WIX o/f  equals approx $47 US ..not to mention piece of mind ....late

I just did the motorhome -17 quarts for the Cummins & 3 for the diesel generator. So 5 gallons total. Advance had a $7 off mail-in rebate for Rotella T6 plus it was already on sale for $7 off per gallon. The rebate had to be sent in 1 for each gallon & I really hate rebates as most people do. The manager was on a register so I had my 5 rebate forms in hand & I said I would need 5 individual receipts unless there was another way we could take care of the $7 off per gallon. He said "I got ya". He took $7 more off per gallon & I was on my way. So it went from $29/gallon to $15/gallon. 

Yeah, we got zombie thread canoe'd

Yes but true story. I was just surprised he did that. 

Five quarts of NAPA brand synthetic and a middle-of-the-road filter ie exactly what I use for my $39 oil changes here costs me $24.37, I'm paying a guy 30 min to do this, check brakes/tires, chassis, top off fluids, etc.  Give me one solid reason why it should cost me money to work on your car and you get a lifetime of free service. I'm sorry stuff isn't as cheap as it used to be that doesn't however inherently mean I'm overcharing. 

The only reason I'm willing to lose money on oil changes is because of the heating fuel offset, it's spendy to keep an oil block building with doors opening all day warm in the winter. 

Lately our local Honda dealer has been courting us with $29.99 synthetic oil changes. 

It's $80 for 6qt of 5w50, and a Motorcraft filter for the Focus. 

I'm just not there yet.

Mobil 1 is 23 bucks for 5 quarts. OEM Kia filters for my wife's car are 5 bucks each when I buy them by the case (with a baggie of crush washers included) and everything else I use WIx filters I buy from RA at about 4-5 per each. 

My town has a free oil dump station next to the road at the county barn. I collect the old oil in a 5 gallon fire foam bucket that I get from work. 

Maybe someday I will be to the point where I take them somewhere to have it done, but not quite yet. I like to be the guy who torques the drain plug on my stuff and I like to take a few minutes with a flashlight when I'm under there to watch for developing problems. 

The biggest reason I do my own oil changes is that it's just faster.  It takes me about 30 minutes working at a relaxed pace and I can't really drive to an oil change place and back in that amount of time.  Even if I had a commute and stopped on the way home the time would be at best be equal and I've have to sit around waiting for it.

APEowner said:

The biggest reason I do my own oil changes is that it's just faster.  It takes me about 30 minutes working at a relaxed pace and I can't really drive to an oil change place and back in that amount of time.  Even if I had a commute and stopped on the way home the time would be at best be equal and I've have to sit around waiting for it.

This is the biggest part of it. Even a quick lube place will cost an hour plus. At home, it takes 30 minutes.  The oil and filters I keep on the shelf. 

with identical cars now that each take 3.5 quarts, and walmart 5-qt jugs of synthetic at $17 and my 6-pack of OE filters for $4.50 each it's silly cheap. Every third oil change requires no oil purchase.

I've only had someone else change my oil one time and it was a nightmare...

They (Jiffy Lube) cross threaded the drain plug and refused fix the problem despite my having the receipt in hand and the window sticker next oil change mileage number agreeing with my odometer.

It's not about saving money, I just don't want anybody messing with my car if I can avoid it.

I know a guy that pours his used oil into the empty 5 qt container and just tosses it in his recycle bin sandwiched between other non identifying materials to lessen the GHG emissions created by making a special trip to the recycle center...personally, I think he should get some kind of eco award for his thoughtful stewardship of the environment.

I just paid 125 for an premium synthetic oil change at the dealer on the ram. its 10.50 per quart, takes 7 quarts of oil and the OEM filter was 9 bucks. I think thats what I would pay at orelieys per quart of 0w40 as well...

labor was only 31 dollars in total... those wheels and tires are about 110lbs each too... 

plus I had to get a warranty claim started because the bezel around the light under the foldable seat is MIA... oh how posh I have become. but I really don't miss working on my GMT900 every week so theres that. 

not to mention the documentation facts to support my future warranty needs instead of taking john Q public's word for it but I have no intention of selling this truck in the next 15 years to be honest. 

The city we normally visit to get stuff has been growing like crazy. I've noticed a number of quicky lube places opening up and it gave me an idea. There are an awful lot of high end, or expensive cars on the road these days and I wondered if there's a market for an oil change business that caters to people who either don't trust the cheap lube places, or who would rather pay more money for a premium product and a high end experience. As far as I know that does not exist here.

In reply to Mr. Peabody :

work that in with a standard oil analysis report and we can combine businesses.

In reply to Mr. Peabody :

It depends.  A lot of folks who buy expensive cars are notoriously cheap when it comes to maintaining them.  Or they just take it back to the dealer where they either A) get a loaner so they can continue on with the rest of their day, B) the dealer has a shuttle service that takes them to the office and back again when the car is done, or C) they hang out in the dealer waiting room where they have WiFi, comfortable seating, fancy coffee and usually decent snacks.  This is all going by what an old co-worker with a couple of Lexus cars has done over the years.

I guess to bring this thread full circle I just paid $284 for the oil change on my Ducati.  :(

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

And that's probably not the guy who wants to spend extra on his car. I was thinking more along the lines of the enthusiast who doesn't want to change his own oil, but doesn't want a kid making minimum wage to do it either, or the people that want to use a premium or specialty lubricant. More focus on the premium product, and technical expertise and less on the wifi and snacks. And Bob's idea is an excellent one.

The more I think about it the more I think it's a good idea.

bobzilla said:

with identical cars now that each take 3.5 quarts, and walmart 5-qt jugs of synthetic at $17 and my 6-pack of OE filters for $4.50 each it's silly cheap. Every third oil change requires no oil purchase.

Check the labels,  If it doesn't have ACEA certifications, it's probably not very good for the qualities you want for a synthetic.  Just because the label says "synthetic" doesn't mean it's good - the legal spec for calling an oil synthetic is laughable.

W**mart is a big enough elephant that they can strongarm manufacturers into making lower-spec things for them.  Read your labels.

I buy Mobil 1 from Autozone because company discount.  I only buy the regular stuff, not the "high mileage" bullE36 M3, because I buy synthetic for the reduced additives.  $30 for 5 quarts and $9 for the additional quart for my 6 quart system is not a hardship.  Every 3000 miles, which is like six or seven weeks.

Patientzero said:

I guess to bring this thread full circle I just paid $284 for the oil change on my Ducati.  :(

Wait what?  How?