Looking for opinions on how many miles between oil changes.

[Shack]

Quote:

Some vehicles could go longer, I was just using the point that, your not saving much, and it is much simpler to just change it when recommended, then to use synthetics, and pay to send in an oil sample, to see if it is still good, when you could just put in new, and know it was good!

Yes, just getting the majority of my customers to come in at their recommended service interval was tough enough. Having them send in an oil sample at the half way mark would "not" be a priority with the majority of the customers I have helped over the years. Heck I am always working in the garage and I have no drive (cringe a little) thinking about having get a sample & sending it to be analyzed. I have a hard enough time getting to the bank to cash a check or the post office to send something in and get money back.

[BobT]

Quote:

No repair shop makes money at doing just an oil change.

Can't argue with that. When I bought my 2001 the dealership price for oil change was $21.95 including the filter, greasing the rack and pinion, checking lights, wipers, horn, rear-end and transfer case oils, transmission oil check, brake fluid, power steering fluid, windshield washer fluid check, tire pressure and wear depth, steering linkage lubricantion, oil/filter disposal and because I signed up for Ford credit I also got a car wash thrown in on every service visit.

I decided that I would do my own oil change as I had done for years. The oil and filter cost me over $17.00 and I still had to get rid of the used oil and filter. Had I given it a car wash, that would have cost me at least $5.00 and so my cost for doing it myself was over $1.00 higher than to have them do it and and I certainly didn't check every item they had on the list you see above. It's far more economical for me to hire the dealership to do it.

[Scott K]

I will at times have my wife bring our vehicles in for oil changes, when they are offering specials. Your right, it just doesnt pay to do it your self.

[DTro]

It's not the cost for me so much rather than knowing the job was done right.

[Scott K]

It's not the cost for me so much rather than knowing the job was done right.

Oh, I agree, I will double check everything after they do an oil change. I had a certain GM dealer tell me my wifes battery was good in her car, for 6 oil changes, even though, I knew it was junk. They also tried selling her an air filter, and a cabin air filter everytime, even though they were new! Oh well, you get what you pay for!

[BobT]

I've had just the opposite experience from my dealer. I was skeptical of dealerships before but not this one.

As I mentioned already, they advertised that their oil change included multipoint inspections and so one day after dropping off my truck I decided to nonchalantly watch when the mechanic got into my truck. I had parked it inside the service garage and could see it from the showroom through a small door window. The first thing he did when he got in was test the lights by shining them against the far wall, turn signals, brake lights, wipers, and horn. Then while the oil was draining I saw him pull the plugs from the transfer case and rearend and then test my tire pressure and tread depth. I also saw him grease something. When he was done I asked what he greased because until then I didn't think Ford still used grease zerks. That's when I learned that the rack and pinion had two zerks and they are hard to find unless you know they are there. That was the first test and they passed.

When I brought my truck in for the 30,000 mile service they told me that I needed a new air filter. I already read the service manual and realized that was one of the items mentioned so my skepticism came forward. I asked how much and they told me $27.00. Okay, now I figured how they made money with oil changes. I've never paid much more than about $5.00 for an air filter before so I figured I'd change it myself. I checked the filter and it was in fact filthy and needed to be replaced. Guess what I paid for a new filter at the local fleet supply? You got it, $27.00 and I had to install it myself. The dealer would have installed it for me for the same price. Test #2 - Passed.

When it was time to replace my transmission oil per the service schedule I decided it would be cost effective to do it at a local repair shop who is also a family friend. Ten thousand miles later when I brought it in to the dealership for my service visit, the mechanic became concerned about my transmission because the oil had a strange odor. I told him that I had it changed elsewhere and maybe it was a different brand. Since the mechanic didn't catch this on the previous visit, I thought it might be a good idea to replace the oil so they can be able to better diagnose any potential problems. Guess what? It cost me less at the Ford dealer to replace the oil than it did at the local repair shop. Test #3 - Passed.

Another time when I brought it in for service they informed me that my battery might be a concern in the near future. Because it was in the spring they suggested that I might get by until fall but then maybe it would be a good idea to replace the battery before winter. When I scheduled my service that fall I also told them to plan on replacing my battery as well. When I went to pay my bill I was informed that they did not replace the battery and that it tested just fine. Turns out they had a bad tester and their new tester showed my battery was fine. They could have easily just replaced the battery and I wouldn't have been the wiser. Test #4 - Passed with flying colors!

I have been very impressed with the service department at John Wiese Ford in Sauk Centre and find them to be very competitively priced and straight with me.

[Scott K]

I agree Bob, I came from a dealer, we were very straight forward with our customers. We checked every thing on every vehicle, we may not have been cheaper then local shops all the time, but we were very competitive on our pricing. We were there to please the customer, we would bend over backwards for our customers. This was a Ford dealer as well!

We had a few customers that we drove more then 40 miles one way to pick up their vehicles for an oil change, even when we knew, it would only be an oil change. Although, these customers were loyal to us, they would get their service work done from us, and purchase new vehicles from us, when they needed one.

Service like that is hard to come by these days, and when you find it, hang on to it, as there may not be another place like that anywhere else near you.

[theoilman]

Shack - where is that 100 square mile portion of central Florida?

[Whoaru99]

I used Amsoil in the 94 Chevy I'm driving now. It was my company vehicle before I bought it.

Changed oil anywhere from 10K to 25K miles, and now I change it once per year. The truck has 203K miles, doesn't use a drop of oil, and runs good. No evidence of sludge when looking as best I can in the oil fill hole. Rocker arms still look like clean, bare metal. Wish the body looked as good as the engine runs.

My 09 Impala I plan on using the oil life indicator as my guide and changing at 20%, give or take depending on convenience of timing.

[Jeremy airjer W]

If you own a Nissan I suggest sticking with the manufacturers recommendation and checking your oil at least every 2k miles. We have had several in the last couple months for check engine lights and cam solenoid errors. All of them where over there recommended service interval and low on oil. The fix so far has been to change the oil and reset the light.

$130 oil change after the diagnoses and tax!

[Shack]

Shack - where is that 100 square mile portion of central Florida?

I was told somewhere's between Disney World & Jacksonville.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Are you sure its not in the center of Daytona Speedway?

[solbes]

It's not the cost for me so much rather than knowing the job was done right.

The last time I had a quick change type place change my oil, they left a large screwdriver and pliers sitting on the battery. I found them 2 weeks later. I have no idea how I avoided them falling into the accesories belt and screwing something up. Since then I have done all of the changes myself, even though it saves just a little money and time.

[Ralph Wiggum]

The last time I had a quick change type place change my oil, they left a large screwdriver and pliers sitting on the battery.

I got a nice Snap-on sidecutter from a deal like that

[Jeremy airjer W]

The last time I had a quick change type place change my oil, they left a large screwdriver and pliers sitting on the battery.

Tools get left under the hood and inside the car all the time. There isn't a GS, Mechanic, or Technician that hasn't done that. Judging a shop based solely on that is really unfortunate.

[Sonicrunch]

It's not the cost for me so much rather than knowing the job was done right.

I refer to those guys as the head-stripping, cross-threading, over-torquers.

They rush through the jobs...bad things happen.

Oh, yeah, the upsells and waiting...no thanks.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I refer to those guys as the head-stripping, cross-threading, over-torquers.

Those words are a lot kinder than the ones we use! lol

[Hwood]

I change my own oil because I need to know it was done right as well. (not that I want to) I have been shorted 2 to many times. Always with the Mrs. car, and have heard to many stories. Got one buddy were they drained his trany and addes 5 more quarts of oil to crankcase. I change mine when it looks dirty, dont keep track of numbers but I would guess around 4000-4500. I would caution people that run higher number of miles between changes to look once in awhile at the level. Easy to forget about it and not notice oil level has dropped.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Got one buddy were they drained his trany and addes 5 more quarts of oil to crankcase.

Does he own a Subaru by chance?

[MNice]

Airjer, we bought an 09 outback sport and I had to look twice. Sure will make tranny maintenance easy though!!

[harvey lee]

I go 4,000 miles with Mobil 1. The last 4 vehicles I have had have run close to or over 200,000 with no issues.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I go 4,000 miles with Mobil 1. The last 4 vehicles I have had have run close to or over 200,000 with no issues.

I'm throwing the Bee S flag, there's no way those Chevy's go 200k with NO issues!

[Macgyver55]

If we're only talking about oil changes and its affect on engine longevity, I'll back up Harvey 100%. Very few vehicles of any brand will go 200,000 with no issues of any kind, but a large percentage will go that far with no "oil related" issues if oil is kept clean.

[CaptainBly]

I had a 2000 Chevy, 235,000 miles regular oil changes and it ran great. Got rid of last summer wanted a crew cab. I'll agree with Harvey too.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Tough crowd!