Should You Do Your Own Oil Change?

An oil change is something that every car requires, regardless of the make or model. It does not matter what color your car is, how long you have owned it, whether you bought it new or second-hand or whether you have an automatic or a manual transmission. Your oil must be changed regardless of how many doors your car has and regardless of the year it is. Whether you do a lot of highway or city driving or both changing the oil according to your user guide is vital to the functioning of it. The more miles you put on it the more frequently you will need to get an oil change.

Once you accept the fact that as a responsible motor vehicle owner and operator you must do regular oil maintenance on your car the next question becomes should you go through the process yourself or should you take it into a garage and get a seasoned pro to do it for you?

Not everyone answers this question in exactly the same way. Some people like to do it themselves because they are handy with such things and like to tinker with their cars. They also believe that it saves them money. They can also choose the time slot to do it in so it can be done at their convenience.

On the other hand some individuals do not want to take the time to learn how to change their oil. For some people it is simple but for others it is more complicated and it is easier to take their automobiles into a service location. As well some people do not feel comfortable crawling under their vehicles and feel that doing their own oil change would be more time consuming then leaving it to a mechanic who does this work on a daily basis. Some people that live in apartments may not even be allowed to perform their own changes of oil in the parking lots of their buildings.

You may decide to change your own oil and not like it and then take it to a garage for future oil maintenance. Or you may take it to a shop but then decide to try your hand at doing the oily job yourself. It is up to you.

There are good reasons however to get an oil change at a location that is set up for this type of work. In many cases the amount of money you save when you get your own hands dirty is not very much. If you can find a service center with affordable prices then you may save $5.00 at most by doing your own oil, so that is not a big savings at all.

Regardless of whether you do your own work or take your car to a shop the used oil and the old filter needs to be gotten rid of and there is still a disposal fee to be paid. When you go to a garage they have the tools needed to get the job done fast and efficiently. To do your own brand of work you need to purchase the proper tools.

There are other extra services that you may decide to get at the same time as the oil change that you cannot perform yourself. For instance you may wish to have your other fluids topped up and have the mechanic do a regular maintenance check. You may also wish to have your tires rotated at the time. These things can only be accomplished if you decide to go into a service location.