I went to Autozone to get my usual supplies because I knew that they had a deal on Valvoline oil where if you buy a 5 liter jug of oil and a Fram extra guard filter, it only costs you $18.99. That is all you need to change your own oil if you already own a set of tools and an oil pan+funnel. Since we left Mississippi though, I have not owned an oil pan or funnel for my own use. I'm sure Mrs. Poe wouldn't be too happy with me if I took her cooking funnel to use with a little 10w-30 motor oil. While I was in Autozone, I was going to get a pan and a funnel (cheapest ones they had) which was another $3 and $1.29, respectively. When I got to the counter, the very helpful cashier directed me towards a deal where I could get an oil pan, funnel, hand cleaner, and shop towels for a total of $5.00. So for a $0.70 more, I got the hand cleaner and shop towels (towels which make Mr. Brawny look like Mr. Wimpy):
Success!! What should have cost me $35.54 ended up costing $25.67, for a savings of around 28%. Now I am set up to save about $8 - $11 every time I change my own oil. Not much, but at least I know that I am getting quality work done, and with three cars, it starts to add up ;).
What is probably the worst thing about changing your own oil, is the used oil itself. You have to dispose of it in a proper way, but I have a system that I believe is the least bothersome option. I always put the used oil in the 5 liter jug that I just used to put new oil in the car with. After that, you can just take it to your local auto parts store the next time you need to buy supplies, and they will dispose of it for you. Maybe one Foto Friday I will do a video of a quick oil change at home so you can see how easy it really is. Until next time, happy motoring!
John does our oil changes too! He laughs whenever we pass those signs for oil changes. He did go to Walmart while we were on our trip, but that was highly unusual and only because he wanted freshly changed oil when we crossed the Rocky Mountains.
ReplyDelete@Cherry
ReplyDeleteGlad to see I'm not the only one who still does this myself. Also, I found out the other day that since one of our cars takes 6 quarts, they charge extra for the extra quart. So it's something like $33 plus tax. That got me laughing.