Getting an oil change regularly is crucial to maintain the health of your vehicle. People often wonder if it is actually worth it to do it yourself, or take the easy way out by taking the car into the mechanic's shop or your local auto repair facility. With the economy the way that it is, people are looking to save money wherever they can and cut costs wherever possible. Changing your oil yourself can be a place where you save significantly without really having to sacrifice anything. While there are obvious pros to taking it to the mechanic, doing it yourself may actually be worth it when you look at the money you can save.
Let's look at some numbers. The average cost of an oil change at a mechanic's shop ranges from about $30. This price is for the conventional motor oil, not for synthetic or synthetic blends. For the purposes of this exercise, we will use conventional motor oil since it is what most people put in their cars.
You should get an oil change every 3000 miles or every three months (whichever comes first) as recommended by car manufacturers and mechanics. If you do this, and you put 15,000 miles on your car a year, you will get five oil changes a year, costing you about $150 a year. This may not seem like a lot of money, but what if you have two cars, or even three cars. This money can add up quickly.
On the other hand, say you decide to be handy and do your own oil changes. You will simply pay for the supplies, including oil and the filter. These items, depending on how much oil your car takes and what kind of oil you put in your car, will cost you about $13.00 for a 5.5 quart bottle of conventional motor oil, which is the amount that most vehicles will require. You will also need to change the oil filter and it will cost you less than $5. So you are looking at about $18 to change your own oil. So you will save at least $12 each time you change your own oil.
While the saving per year may not seem extraordinary, think about the amount of money you will save over the lifetime of the vehicle. If you keep a car for seven year and get oil changes five times a year. That will be 35 oil changes at $30 each for a total of $1050 over the life of your vehicle.
On the other hand, using the same amount of time, doing lubrication transfers on your own. It will cost you $18 times 35 times for a total of $540. This is almost half of what you would pay if you took it to a mechanic every time.
Think of the big picture. Think of how much you can save over your lifetime making small changes like doing this procedure yourself. Think of these numbers next time you go to bring your car to the local oil change shop, but also consider how much your time is worth.
