jowaldo

Sorry if this is a repost, all of the threads I found were just about how to change the oil yourself, or what kind to use.

I don't want to do it myself, so for those of you who don't do it yourself either, where do you go, what do you get, and how much do you pay?

Carl Spackler

I go to the dealership and they stamp my service record sheet. Great service and oil change for $19.95. Free loaner car too!

jowaldo

thats it?? man i thought it was way more at the dealer! freakin jiffy lube wanted $65!!!!!

Aznpersuasion

dealership trying to charge me 30 bucks for an oil change and 80 bucks for an alignment
~Jason

SouthernBoy

I know you don't want to hear this, but do give some serious consideration to doing this yourself.

Just for my own edification, why are you opposed to doing this?

subinf

Thats when you say "no" to synthetic.

A lot of dealers are trying to pull customers away from teh quick lube joints by offering 20 or 30 dollar oil changes and about an hour wait. If you dont know whether your local fast lube is corporate or a franchise take it to a garage you hear good things about...or you can go to the dealer

jowaldo

Honestly I just don't want to... I know I could, but I'd rather just pay the money to have someone do it, and not have to worry that I screwed something up... even tho I know they could where I take it in.

Now that I know the dealer isn't that expensive, I feel comfortable taking the car there to get it done, since they would be more familiar with the car, and the dealer close to me is pretty reputable.

jlbrannen

for the price of a case of good oil and a filter, you can change your oil at least twice for what the "quick-change" guys charge. i just did my car this weekend in 20 mins, if a 60 y/o guy can do it, so can you. and i live in sd too

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

United Automotive Group San Diego that used to be Cush Acura does oil changes for $29. Just don't let them wash your car Its on 5202 Kearny Mesa Road Right off the 163 and Clairemont Mesa

jowaldo

Thanks for the heads up... I live close to Hoehn tho up in Carlsbad... I think I'm gonna try them first.

I bought my TL from the escondido one while it was still Cush, but the car I had before was from Cush in kearny mesa.

KatyTL

I go to the Dealership for EVERYTHING (even the oil change) - I use Mobile 1 Synthetic ONLY and it runs me about $90 + tax + tip.

jowaldo

woah you must realllllllllly like your car a lot

rbf351

so you spend the same i spend on 4 1/2 oil changes, and i can bet your car doesn't run any better than mine or anyone else who uses regular oil

koloa818

when you run that mobile 1 stuff, do you change every 7k miles?

bob shiftright

I change the oil every 5000 miles and use a new filter.

I use my local ASE certified shop, bring my own Mobil 1, my own crush washer, and my own my own oil Honda filter.

He uses his lift for the oil change, rotates my tires, and charges me $20. I'm getting old, so it's worth $20 not to crawl around in the driveway and worry about getting rid of the old oil.

About $25 for the Mobil 1, $6 for the filter $0.10 for the washer plus $20 -- $51.10. No pastel-leather chairs or cappucino machine, though. The car may not run any better on the Mobil 1 than on dino-juice, but the engine should last a lot longer.

pttl

At what Milage did you guys do your FIRST oil change?

leedogg

if you do use the dealer, at least bring your own oil. They charge like $50 just for the oil...

SouthernBoy

I understand and I respect your take on the matter.

But for me, the cost is irrelevant. I can certainly afford oil changes done for me by whomever. However, the real issue with me is my analness and the fact that when I do it, I KNOW it was done right and with loving care. The 40 minutes is nothing in my life. And since there is virtually no mess, that is not an issue. Money? Also not at issue. It's just knowing that I was the one who did the work and I was the one who did it best.

KatyTL

I change my Mobile 1 synthetic within every 2500-3500 miles. Which comes out to doing it around the 1st of every month. I got my first oil change at 2000 miles

KatyTL

Also it takes my dealership 2-2.5 hours to change the oil. They let the car cool off completely before working on it.

frenchnew

It is better to drain the used oil while the engine is still hot as you get more of it out quicker.

I remember reading in an engine manufacturer's service manual a few year ago to run the engine until it reached operating temperature before doing an oil change (Darn If I could just recall where?).

One word of caution, you do have to be careful has the oil is hot enough to burn so proper work method ad shop safety has to be taken in consideration.

pttl

That's a lot of oil changing. Isn't Mobil 1 supposed to be good for 7500 miles?

I'm at 2900+ miles and my computer says the oil is at 70%. I'm just curious as to why you did your first change at 2k.


Thanks for your reply.

jeffie7

Here's my beef. almost everytime I've taken a car in to have the oil changed I've had to spend time driving to and from and then the wait. at the very least 1 hour total time. on top of that when I get the car home I have to make sure they use the oil I want. and also have to check the fluid levels becuase they almost always over/under fill the car. then you have those AHOLES that use a wrench to tighten the oil filter and drain plug. (happens too often)

long story short. Not only does it take less money but it also saves a lot of time to do my own oil. plus I know it's done right. and after its done I dont have to check it yet again...

Time is money, I'd pay someone to change my oil if they would drive out when I was at home and do it in my parking lot and had a check list of all the thing they did in fact check (like the oil level) till that happens Im not wasiting another 1hour + waiting for a simple oil change.

pimpin-tl

You are right. The engine oil needs to be warm to drain. It's best to do the oil change about 15 min after the car was shut off for optimal results.

Dealer does not wait 2-2.5 hrs. Why do you think people wait for the oil to be changed in the waiting room for only 30 min usually? lol.

pimpin-tl

True, that is why I usually do mine. Or should I say use too. But now I am getting older and I rather have the dealer do it. Service records are very important, without them you will get screwed.

SouthernBoy

I agree with most everything here except for the "time is money" thing. Unless you're paid 24 hours a day, everyday of the year, the time you take to change your oil (or cut your grass or do just about anything else not related to paid work) is not chargable time.. so it costs you nothing in terms of time/money to change your oil.

But I fully agree with the rest of it, oh, except for paying someone to come to my house and change my oil. I just do not like anyone touching my car for any reason.. too darned anal, I guess.

jeffie7

That's why I keep all invoices on any filters or oil bought and I keep a .doc with the date and milages when the oil was changed. If Acura wants to debate that with me they'll get a letter from my lawyer asap.

I've yet to have a issue with any of my cars or bikes by doing that.

They have to prove with out a doubt that you didnt do the oil changes before they say sorry your warrenty is void.

As far as time is money... it's all in how much you work and how much you get paid.

Mike 06 TL

Sorry but some of you guys are INSANE changing out perfectly good Mobil 1 synthetic at 3000 miles! Have a look at some of the change intervals for Porsche's, vettes, AMG, etc that use mobil 1 as the factory fill. 15,000 miles plus is not uncommon.

I'm an ME by trade and used to work with some old time Gulf Oil guys. They would tell you that even changing out regular old dino oil at anything less than 5000 miles is crazy. More like 7500 is fine.

I used to own a '99 C5 with mobil one factory fill. I ran the snot out of that car and only changed the oil when the computer said so. The C5/C6 vettes use a fairly complex algorithm to calculate oil life. Usually worked out to about 9-10K miles. Car had 75,000 on it when I got rid of it. I'm willing to bet that, internally, that engine is as clean today as the day it rolled out of the factory.

Oil companies make tons of money when people buy into that 3 months / 3K miles crap.

KatyTL

pttl: Why I did it at 2000 was only because it was a new car and I wanted to make sure everything was running clean and fresh in it. As to why I do it every 2500-3500 miles is for the same reason. My last TL I ran on Mobile 1 synthetic and it had NO problems ran great - not saying other oil will affect your car badly just my experience. When I got my first TL my Dad started the oil thing and I keep on doing it in my new TL maybe just habit also. Yes Mobile 1 synthetic will last you about 7000 miles (not to exceed 7500 miles) and it will be just fine. In time where there was no time to get to the dealer I have run all the way thru my 7500 miles on my old car and all was well. I do a lot of driving - about 200 miles a day - so therefore I must get it changed monthly.

pimpin-tl: Come to Houston baby and you will wait easily 2-2.5 hours in the waiting room for a simple oil change. I wish it was different and now they have a new dealership with an "express service" where they hope to have you out within 1.5 hours so we will see. Maybe I should drive up to SA and get an oil change I might save time that way then hang out on the river walk HAHA.

Love~
Brooke

KatyTL

Another factor is the heat here in Texas. The hotter outside the faster the oil goes yuck - this is at least what I have been told. I wouldn't doubt that our cars down here do need extra TLC with 100+ temps for months at a time. It doesn't get cold here

pttl

Thanks for your response Brooke. All good reasons. I'm curious what do you do about resetting the computer? Does your oil change frequency affect the other scheduled maintenance items? Thanks again.

KatyTL

That's a great question. The maintenance minder goes by the miles on your car - so they say however I just re-set it every other oil change which works out to be about every 6,000 miles. Yes the dealership does it for me and they have gotten into my insane habits - I have used them for almost 5 years now HAHA. Poor guys there.

JAB00

Yeah I'm in San Antonio. There's only one Acura dealership but fortunately oil changes take less than an hour. Still one could always go down to the riverwalk after their oil change

pimpin-tl

Wow, that would suck to wait that long for a oil change. Come to SA, show you sites .

KatyTL

OKay you SA guys when I come down there I'm going to try yalls dealership - are yall going to show me around SA? I will hold you to it HAHA

pimpin-tl

You bet. Just give us some notice and if its on a weekend its a plan.

tnmg

Did you say tip? Why in the world do you tip the dealer? Trust me, the gratuity is included already when you take it to the dealer. Please tell me you're kidding.

SilverUA5

I saw on tv that Jiffy Lube does nothing but rip you off. The tv news crew had hidden cameras intalled inside the engine compartment and the manager at Jiffy Lube charged for tranny fluid change and new fuel filter, but they didn't perform the work. It was told that Jiffy Lube's upper management puts pressure on these types of work or making a quota for their shops. I would say do it yourself is the best way since it's very easy and you know you did it right, otherwise, bring it to a mechanic you trust. Dealer is out of the question because they charge too much and I don't trust the 3rd rate mechanics.

subinf

you will find that to be true with a lot of shops. best to go with an ind. shop that other people have told you does good work.

KatyTL

Tnmg: Yes I do tip. $30-50 each (the tech and advisor) depending on time of year (more if it is hot outside or closer to a holiday).

SilverUA5: I saw the same thing! Which is why I only go to the dealer. Very scary!