Have you ever thought about oil change from your oil's point of view? Hopefully considering this aspect of regular vehicle maintenance from a new perspective will be motivational.
If you’re like most people,
you think of getting an oil change from your own perspective: You care only about what it will do for you, your vehicle’s health, your financial standing. Have you ever thought about it from your oil’s point of view? Like most of your engine’s fluids, it plays an important role in keeping your car running effectively. After a few moments to consider what it might be like to drip in its pan, hopefully you’ll agree that it’s at least deserving of the minimal attention it asks of you, 4 or 5 times a year.
1. It often goes unnoticed.
This fluid doesn’t have the premier position of being an important part of a vehicle, like a transmission, carburetor, or engine. No, it’s just the stuff that provides lubrication so that your engine can run effectively. In many ways, it’s similar to support staff in an office or a water boy on a baseball team. It often goes unnoticed, unappreciated, and unrecognized, even when it’s doing its job well. It works hard, nonetheless, thankless trip after thankless trip.
2. It endures harsh working conditions.
American workers have unions, labor laws, and legal recourse available to make sure working conditions aren’t adverse to good health. But for your engine’s lubricating fluid, there is no defense available. Working in hot, cramped, filthy conditions really takes its toll. All it wants is some relief, someone else to take its place so it can rest. It’s tired and hot and wasting away. It just can’t bear the unpaid overtime with no vacation time, any longer.
3. It doesn’t ask for much.
Other aspects of your car require prompt attention or expensive service calls, but not oil. This fluid isn’t going to ask you to spend thousands, or even hundreds of dollars, in order to keep it doing what it needs to do. It just asks for a $20 to $50 commitment ever few months, in order to replace it with another batch that has the energy to carry on. Is that too much to ask?
4. It gets really tired and dirty.
Once oil gets to be dirty, it simply can’t perform for your engine, as it once was able to. It wants to, but it simply can’t. Imagine comparing a young athlete who’s just finished training for a triathalon, and comparing his stamina to someone who’s been sick and living on the street for over a month. If you hired both to help you move, which one would you trust with the heavy lifting?
5. It’s old and shrinking.
By the time 3 months or 3,000 miles goes by, evaporation and other environmental factors have taken their toll. By that point, even the most efficient driving will not make a difference. There is only one thing you can do for your old, less voluminous oil: Change it.
