First Oil Change....KaCHING!

[waynerd]

Maybe I got spoiled.....Maybe I'm cheap...But I paid almost $30 for my first oil change today. What are others paying?

Where I took the Exploder for most oil changes, and take the Scubaru (VanBortel's for those in WNY) it used to be $11, but more recently it has skyrocketed to $17. When something went wrong with the Exploder, I usually ended up having to take it to a local Ford stealership, and I never noticed the cost of the oil change (if it was close to needing changed) with the high cost of the repairs.

Two other Honda dealerships had " Lifetime Oil Changes", but I didn't think that was such a good deal. Free regular oil changes, empty your wallet at the big maintenance intervals. I suppose I could change it myself, but its one of those jobs I REALLY don't like to do.

[thomasj2]

I change my own and even with synthetic oil and a Honda filter I'm well under $20 every 5000 miles. The oil change takes less than 15 minutes. I also rotate the tires at every oil change and I am well under an hour for the whole process. I installed the fumoto oil valve, no more crush washers or worrying about over torqueing the drain plug.

I have a used oil analysis in progress, if the oil checks out fine, I'll be extending the oil changes to take further advantage of the synthetic oil.

[john802]

thomasj2 - What brand of synthetic oil are you using?

BTW, don't forget to post the result of your oil analysis.

Thanks,
-john

[chowgirl]

my neighbor has a 350Z and said he pays about $30 for an oil change at the dealer.

I'm at 6500 miles, so am thinking of going in soon for my 1st oil change..expect about $30 since I've read your post.

[waynerd]

Yeah, please post results. I've been thinking about using synthetic oil. I thought you could go extended mileage with synthetic oils, like 10,000 miles.

I usually went 3000 miles per oil change, but I figured I'd stick with what the owner's manual says for now. 3750 miles is kinda goofy to remember, though.

And I CAN change my own oil, I just prefer not to. I used to change the oil in all our vehicles as a teen, and just got no satisfaction out of it what so ever....much more fun to wash and wax. My brother usually dealt with the undersides, and I dealt with the topsides.

I rotate the tires every other oil change, but where I bought my Michelins, they will rotate and check the alignment for free, and having them balanced is cheap. I usually have the alignment checked every other rotation.

[FLPilot]

At my dealer they offer an oil change along with tire rotation for $29.99. Check to see if your dealer will price match other dealers as mine does. It doesn't even state that it has to be a local dealer, makes for a great offer if you ask me. Below are all the links you will need.


Best Price Commitment Statement

Oil Change & Tire rotation for $29.95

10% off scheduled service

Timing belt special $329.00 - Not sure if it's a good price

[waynerd]

Cool!

Thanks, I'll try.

I noticed the price for the timing belt service was normally around $400.....if I remember correctly, timing chain service on '90 Integra was around $800 at 60K intervals. Different service now?

[Alexandra242628]

My dealer offers a $21.95 special.

[FLPilot]

Originally posted by Alexandra242628
My dealer offers a $21.95 special.

Ok you got me begging....who?

I actually think Rick Case does it for the same price still, I have just been getting my tires rotated so that's why I used that other coupon.

[GoAvs]

Originally posted by thomasj2
I change my own and even with synthetic oil and a Honda filter I'm well under $20 every 5000 miles. The oil change takes less than 15 minutes. I also rotate the tires at every oil change and I am well under an hour for the whole process. I installed the fumoto oil valve, no more crush washers or worrying about over torqueing the drain plug.

I have a used oil analysis in progress, if the oil checks out fine, I'll be extending the oil changes to take further advantage of the synthetic oil.

The Fumoto valve caught my eye. See their web site for details. I also found a 10% discount code, YM2 that seems to be valid.

CORRECTED 8/21, the discount code is YM4.

[Bugshu]

Most Wal-Mart stores will change your oil and filter for between $10-$12 if you bring in the oil filter and oil that you would like changed. Most likely for the price of parts and the $10 service fee you could have your oil changed for less money than the dealer charges.

Its also worth noting that the Wal-Mart supertech filter is generally one of the more highly regarded oil filters on the market and its also one of the cheapest. The Supertech filter is made by Champion Labs which is the same company that manufactures the Bosch premium filter and other premium oil filter lines. The Wal-Mart part number for a filter that should fit the pilot is ST6607. Anyway, for $15 and the price of purchasing oil you can have your oil changed at Wal-Mart with a brand new supertech filter installed.

Ive mentioned before that the new Phillips Trop Arctic which is the first oil to meet GF-4 standards should be out soon and my local WMT carries it for a $1.04 per quart. An oil change with a supertech filter and 5 quarts of GF-4 rated troparctic oil should run about $20 at your local Wal-Mart and you are getting a fine oil and an above standard filter in the process.

As for synthetics you need to be careful in what you are buying. A few years ago a government ruling allowed oils manufactured from grade 3 basestocks to be labelled as synthetic. A grade 3 oil is one thats been highly refined and purified so that its generally cleaner than regular oil. A grade 3 synthetic oil would be an improvement over a regular oil but its not anything you would want to run your car on for 10,000 miles between oil changes. To simplify the concept, a grade 3 basestock oil is an oil thats been run through a filter and is cleaner than most oil. A grade IV or grade V synthetic oil has been redesigned to meet higher standards of oil performance.

Grade 3 = Hydrocracked or basically purified through refining. A clean oil.
Grade 4 = Synthetic oil thats been changed to meet performance standards.
Grade 5 = Esters often used for extreme protection such as jet engines.

http://www.vr6.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard...ct=ST&f=9&t=11

IMO, the only "true synthetic" oil that can hold up to a 10,000 mile oil change interval called "OCI" is Amsoil and unfortunately they dont make a really good 5W-20. Even Amsoil rates its only offering in the 5W-20 range as being a 7500 mile oil.

Royal Purple suggests that their oil can be run for 12,000 miles between OCI's but I think 7500 is all that I could personally stomach. (Grade 4)

Mobil 1 0W-20 could hold up to 6000-7500 miles nicely in normal driving conditions but I wouldnt push it beyond that level. (Grade 4)

Redline 5W-20 should hold 7500 miles without a problem but its an expensive oil. (Grade 5)

These are the 3 "true synthetics" that are generally commercially available on the market and even then one might have to purchase the Royal Purple and Redline through mail order if they wanted to buy them. Make no mistake that there are others but these are the "name brands" in the synthetic world that have a history and are proven performers.

For normal driving, I wouldnt hesitate to recommend any of these 3 synthetic oils and suggest a 6000-7500 mile oil change interval between them.

The price of two normal oil changes at $20 a pop during normal 3000-4000 mile OCI's would approximate one Wal-Mart oil change at $15 (including a Supertech filter) + 5 quarts of a high quality synthetic oil at $5 per quart. In other words, 2 oil changes of traditional oil will probably cost about the same as 1 oil change with a high quality synthetic. Both options have their pros and cons.

There are other benefits of the synthetic oil besides extended oil changes and of course your time value of not having to get the oil changed as frequently as you might with a traditional oil.

Synthetic oils dont break down as easily, usually offer better engine protection, and clean your engine as they do their job.

Im not trying to sell anybody on synthetics and if you wanted to use TropArctic, Penzoil or even other brands like Exxon Superflow or Motorcraft then you should be ok.

With the added demands placed on 5W-20 oils as we evolve from the 5W-30 standard, I would certainly want the best oil that I could afford.

The best oil wont protect against lead footed driving and the worst oil will do well for you if you drive like an 80 year old grandmother.

Still, good oil can help lengthen a vehicles lifespan.

For around a $10 bill, You can buy the oil of your choice that you feel comfortable with and the filter of your choice and Wal-Mart will happily do the work for you and perform the labor and change at a reasonable cost. With the savings of a Supertech filter should you choose to use this brand you can save even a bit more money and end up with a good deal. If you wanted even a better deal and were willing to live with supertech oil in your car you could get an oil and filter change for around $15. Im not recommending supertech oil at all. IMO, The ST filter is great. IMO, The ST, oil is low end cheap oil.

Make up your own mind and do your own research. My point is that $10 plus oil and a filter will get your oil changed nicely and you dont "need" to pay the dealer to do it.

Happy Motoring All,



Bugshu

[03pilotish]

those things seems little sketchy to me... it only got one kind of lock that looks like it can come undone easliy... does lotta people use this thing?

here's the links:

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_2029/article.html

http://www.fumotovalve.com/merchant.cfm?id=298&step=2

[thomasj2]

I too was nervous at first, the valve has a notched locked position and for the truely anal retentive folks, (myself included), you can get a $1 stainless steel retainer clip that must be removed with pliers. It locks in the groove and the valve cannot be opened without removing the clip and then pushing and rotating the lever.

I've installed these on both my CRV and my Pilot and absolutely love the valve. I even bought 1 for my parents CRV, just haven't done an oil change so I can install it.

[GoAvs]

See my post above for a discount.

I bought one and am waiting for my next change to install it. The locking mechanism seems pretty secure and, at least on a new valve, it takes a little effort to open. Since I don't do any off-roading, it should be okay. I'm thinking the chances that something will hit it and open it up are about the same as running over something that punches a hole in the oil pan.

[Sunday Rider]

Bugshu,
Thanks for all the detail on your post. Really makes you think about what seems to be just routine stuff.