Changing your own oil can be a great way to gain more confidence in your car, to save a couple dollars every few months, or just to give yourself some peace of mind in knowing that your oil was drained completely and refilled with the oil of your choice. Alternatively, you might see it as an hour-long chore that you can have done while you’re running other errands.
The right answer depends on your comfort level in working on your own car, and on how you value your free time compared to the modest cost savings. Advance Auto Parts covered this recently, highlighting the fact that it’s easier, faster—and cheaper, especially when you buy discounted OEM filters and oil— than you think.
Is it Cheaper to Change My Own Oil?
This is pretty straightforward at first. Yes, it’s cheaper to change your oil.
As you look at it, though, you may not save as much as you’d expect.
One reason for this being closer than you’d expect is the up-front costs. If you’ve never been the type to roll under your car before, odds are you’ll need a few supplies to allow you to do the job—an oil drain pan, a set of car ramps, a filter wrench—all in all, you might need about $50 worth of equipment.
When it comes to the consumables you need for the job – the oil and filters – you can expect to save about $15 per oil change, compared to what you might pay at a local quick-lube business.
One way to juice the savings from changing your own oil is to buy in bulk, especially for non-perishable items. For instance, an OEM Honda oil filter costs nearly $9 on Amazon, but a Honda oil filter pack from Bernardi Parts makes them less than half as expensive.
How Much Do You Save By Changing Your Own Oil?
This is harder to quantify. Many lube shops price their oil changes intentionally low – some even at a loss – because it’s a way to get a customer in the door. Once there, the add-ons are always offered and, not to sound cliché, but that’s where they get ya.
There’s also the questions of time and trust. An oil change at your local lube shop isn’t instantaneous, but you might be able to use that time to knock out some other errands. Changing your own oil is a quick and easy process – once you’re familiar with your car, it really only takes 5-10 minutes of your time, plus however much wait time you leave for the oil to drain. If you find yourself at home on the weekend with nowhere to go for the next hour and don’t mind crawling under the car a couple of times, you can easily save yourself $15.
One thing you can’t control for is quality. Lube shops may not be as attentive to your car as you would be, and stories of customers driving off from an oil change at any number of national chains with no drain plug in their oil tank are surprisingly common. Sometimes, there’s no satisfaction like knowing you did the job yourself, in which case saving a few bucks in the short term may not be as valuable as avoiding catastrophe in the long term.
Why You Should Change Your Own Oil
At the end of the day, if you’re able and willing, changing your own oil is a great way to save a few dollars. If you’re comfortable rolling your sleeves up and (potentially) getting your hands dirty, foregoing the lube shop can be an easy way to bring yourself some peace of mind when it comes to maintaining your car.
And Bernardi Parts is the perfect place to get all of the OEM fluids, filters, and tools you’ll need.