I change my own oil. Most of you have provided the same reasons:

1) It's easy
2) It's cheaper (case of Mobil-1 from Costco is cheaper than entire non-syn change anywhere around here)
3) I use the Toyota filter (recommended for VE engine) and the hacks at the local garages would all look at it like I was stupid.
4) It lets me inspect under the car
5) I can be sure that if something is flucked up, it was my own doing and I don't have to fight with some grease monkey or his manager to get it straightened out

 

That's a huge benefit. If I screw up something on my car and have to pay hundreds to get it fixed, I will feel stupid, but I won't feel ripped off, and I'll take the former emotion any time over the latter. If I screw something up (albeit impossible when changing oil, unless you are a $6/hour grease monkey!) I'll know who's fault it is and nobody will try and pretend it's somebody's elses

For me changing oil was the first DIY thing I did. That branched out into changing an O2 sensor, thermostat, spark plugs, ignition coils, brakes, fluids...all pretty straight forward things but I've no doubt saved $1000 or more in the past couple of years by doing these things myself.

 

what can you screw up doing an oil change though???

 

Over-tightening oil pan screw, forgetting to put new oil in, overfilling oil are a few that I've read about.

 

how can you forget to put the new oil in?? thats like very moronic

 

Buying 4.5 Quarts of Super Synthetic Oil = $25 dollars
Buying an Oil Filter from Nissan Dealer = $7 dollars
Having your hands all dirty but knowing that you did a great job = Priceless

Do it yourself, no one will do a better job than your own.

 

coming from a person that changes his own oil, I find it hard to understand the time in money theory; however I posted it as a reason for why maybe some people choose not to change their own oil and rather pay someone to do it.

I remember as a kid my father always made me walk home from school because he claimed that he could have been making money when he wasted time coming to pick me up. Call it lazy, or call it anything you want... I guess some people just opt to relax on the weekends or are too tired after weekdays to wrench on their car no matter how easy or how much money it saves.

 

personally i think its more convenient to change your one oil. unless your taking your good old time theres no reason why it should take more then 10 mins to change it. thats less time then what it would take me to go somewhere and drop off/ pick up my car to have it done. unless your having someone pick your car up, or doing it while your having other work done i dont really see how having someone else does it saves time.

 

how can you say you never have time to chage it yourself. it takes time to drive down to the shop sit there wait for them to have a open spot change your oil then drive back home. that has to be a good hour you just killed.by that time you could have done it yourself in less time and for alot less

 

Sometimes A

Sometimes B

 

Definitely B

 

Here's a dumb question, anyone ever hold the Nissan dealer to the 30-min thing? Because I used Nissan exclusively until my car crossed 60k. I think it helped me because they fixed the oil sender after my car crossed 36k because they knew I had mentioned it before and had a regular svc. history (if only oil changes). Why Nissan is a waste of time is at least in metro Phila. I have yet to find a dealer who didn't take over 2 hours to change the oil, even if you are there at 7:30 am when the doors open...

I like DIY because I will notice the condition of things. Next change I'm going to see what's rattling in the exhaust--don't see anything wrong looking under the rear bumper.

 

Yes, but it's happened.

 

The same way you can forget to tighten the oil pan plug, put the plug back before pouring in the new oil, forget to put the oil filler cap back on and forget to check the mounting surface for the oil filter for a stuck gasket among other things. We are only human and everybody forgets something sometimes.

 

Its much easier and less time consuming to change oil yourself.
You take it to a shop, you'll have to wait at least 30mins till their done.


I can change my oil in 10min easy, car up to car down. Plus you'll get to examin your oil and see if your oil is unusually dark or particals in your oil.




As an enthusiasts I cant see who wouldnt change their own oil.

 

I take it somewhere to have it done for many reasons. I don't have the tools. I don't have a garage/driveway. And a lot of the time my car needs other work done around the same time it needs an oil change for one reason or another, and I don't trust myself to work on my car myself, so it's just convienient.

 

i just changed it today, 5w30 castrol gtx. i need to start using synthetic oil.

 

Any particular reason?

 

i hear it protects the motor better. also the change intervals are extended, and since i do a lot of highway driving, this makes my life a little easier.

 

It is true, synth is superior to dino juice in every way, shape, and form. Except value. Also, the former lacks mineral spirits, which all the rubber internals are used to in the Maxima. Some say it causes minor leaks. I dunno, never used synth but I will when I get a German car, because it'll come with it.

I would never put dino juice in a car that was filled with synth at the factory. But I feel it is unnecessary to put synth in a car that comes with dino juice from the factory. Also, I think the belief that one can drive further with synth between changes is an urban myth. Dirt does not discriminate between dino juice and synth. I'd change the oil every 5k no matter which is used. My .02, when money is no object, synth is superior. But the marginal difference is negligible imho.

 

I agree with eeryting you said here. I have never been able to justify the added expeense of synthetic oil when conventional does the job well enough.

 

i really dont agree with letting other people do it for you when its so easy. unless ur a really busy person i just dont think there is much of an excuse. i know of a girl (not bad lookin) who does her own, so why cant a maxima driver?

also its good because u know whats going in, i did mine today, and being as i did it myself i was able to add in Engine Restore and use a filter of my choice.

 

choice B All the Way!!

 

they only reason i have brought it anywhere but my own garage at my house is:
#1 it's cold out
#2 no where to put the old oil

 

Indifferent. I sometimes change mine, I sometimes have a local shop do it when they mail me a coupon for $12.99

 

I do for less then $30 bucks for a box of oil and 2 filters. I do both my maxima's.

 

super syn is always best for the car. Heat is the enemy, so we need to lubricate everything as good as possible and with super syn, everything is well lubricated.

 

i've never done my max cuz:
1. when i used to do the old cars i HATED having to get rid of the oil
2. they wash my car
3. they actually take only 20 min for everything and it takes about 2 min to get there

if i feel the need to go synth or synth blend i'll do it myself, but till then i'm ok with the current situation. even though they always try to sell you on something else, it usually forewarns me that something needs to be replaced (ie. brake pades, etc). sometimes i just like keeping my hands clean what can i say

 

Is that assessment based on your opinion or some unbiased fact?

 

synthetic is better but dino will do the job. if your gonna change you oil every 3k on the dot you may be wasting your money with synthetic. go check the fluids section on here and you can read about this stuff for weeks. personally i use mobil 1 in my car.

i like to change my own oil. its gives you a feeling of a job well done. if i need one in the winter ill have my dad do it at his garage. dont want to be laying on the cold cement and feeze my fingers off.

 

I think you are dead-on. There is no question that synth is better, and I think in a climate where the temps reach -40C or -40F (they are the same) it may be justified to use synth in the winter, because it can still flow better. I have a friend in Russia where the amb. temp reaches -40C regularly, and she says the car cannot be started (coincidentally it is a Nissan) when it's that cold. Believe it or not, the dog must still be walked, and a heating system failure in the flat could mean death or injury.

But the argument against synth is the marginal benefit--it is far less than the marginal cost. Some people always buy the best regardless of cost without regard to benefit, and that's life too.

 

Does your friend in Russia plug in her block heater? I've driven my max in ambient temperatures below -40C quite a few times and it starts just fine. It rattles like crazy and the clutch and transmission are pretty darn stiff, but other than that it is fine.

BTW, I use M1 5-30 synthetic.