DIY oil change part prices

[BlueSilver]

So I've been doing my own oil changes for many years now and always look for the best deal on oil, not so much filters. Big fan of Napa Gold filters too. This 3.5 takes 6 qts. and I buy the 5 qt jugs over the single quarts due to the huge price disparity over a total of 5 qts both ways.

Am I screwed having to buy a jug and a single quart to change my oil now? That's around 31.00 for the oil and another 7-8.00 for the filter. We are talking shop cost prices at this point. Been down the road of having a drain plug over tightened and a filter needing a flathead punched through it to break it loose. Don't they know not to do that? The 3/4 to 1 full turn after the gasket hits doesn't exist anymore. That's why I DIMyself.

Being my first Ford is it more marketing hype going with Motorcraft oil and filter vs Napa, Castrol or Mobil 1..... Which is what I primarily use. When I bought the truck and got the certification paperwork they put 5W30 in vs 20W. Any big deal there and is 20W too thin anyway? Thanks for input!

BTW I usually do 4K oil changes even with synthetic. But I was surprised to find the oil still pretty clean on the Ford so I'm going to 5K. My Saab which takes 0w40, different story. Pretty dark brown at 4K but then it's turbocharged as well.

 

[tmg19103]

Good vehicle choices! We both have an XLT and 9-5 Aero

I do a lot of work on my Saab. Have saved thousands doing repairs myself, but I don't bother with oil changes. I have a shop walking distance from home where I know the owner and he lets me bring in my own oil and filter I buy on sale (Autozone and the like are constantly having great sales) and they just quickly do the change.

I just got 5 quarts of M-1 0W-40 Euro spec full synthetic with filter on sale for $32 for my Saab. The indie shop I use charges me $20 to do the change so they keep me as a customer - not realizing I do most of the work on my Saab.

For my Ex, I just have them do the change with their own proper grade semi-synthetic. Hardly costs more than the oil and I give them some biz. They are big on getting people in for oil changes and inspections so when something goes wrong they get the bigger repair biz, so their oil changes are cheap.

Meanwhile, I will take my time and do most bigger repairs myself that I can to save $$$ since I always have a spare car sitting around.

 

[peterk9]

I've never bothered to do a DIY oil change. It just isn't worth it for me. For the $40 they charge the dealer does all the work. Plus they do a free alignment check and printout, a multipoint check, dispose of the old oil and provide a free wash and dry of the vehicle while I have all the free coffee I want.

Peter

 

[BlueSilver]

Good vehicle choices! We both have an XLT and 9-5 Aero

I do a lot of work on my Saab. Have saved thousands doing repairs myself, but I don't bother with oil changes. I have a shop walking distance from home where I know the owner and he lets me bring in my own oil and filter I buy on sale (Autozone and the like are constantly having great sales) and they just quickly do the change.

I just got 5 quarts of M-1 0W-40 Euro spec full synthetic with filter on sale for $32 for my Saab. The indie shop I use charges me $20 to do the change so they keep me as a customer - not realizing I do most of the work on my Saab.

For my Ex, I just have them do the change with their own proper grade semi-synthetic. Hardly costs more than the oil and I give them some biz. They are big on getting people in for oil changes and inspections so when something goes wrong they get the bigger repair biz, so their oil changes are cheap.

Meanwhile, I will take my time and do most bigger repairs myself that I can to save $$$ since I always have a spare car sitting around.

I do everything on the Saab.... Changed out WP, ALT, CPS, CBV, plugs, DI, etc.
I'm at 148K on it because I drive 52 mi roundtrip to work. Doing more research on the Ford oil.

 

[tmg19103]

I do everything on the Saab.... Changed out WP, ALT, CPS, CBV, plugs, DI, etc.
I'm at 148K on it because I drive 52 mi roundtrip to work. Doing more research on the Ford oil.

I hear ya. Have done some of that myself (ALT, DIC, CBV, plugs, vacuum lines) on my Saab with the great write-ups/how to's on repairs over at Saab Central. I just find oil changes so cheap for the effort involved I have my trusted indie do it. Since I work out of my house with several cars I only have 66k on my 9-5.

I don't see the need to go full synthetic on the NA Ex, but there are those who feel it helps. A must with a turbo like a Saab or the Sport, but I don't see the need for the NA Ex.

 

[BlueSilver]

I hear ya. Have done some of that myself (ALT, DIC, CBV, plugs, vacuum lines) on my Saab with the great write-ups/how to's on repairs over at Saab Central. I just find oil changes so cheap for the effort involved I have my trusted indie do it. Since I work out of my house with several cars I only have 66k on my 9-5.

I don't see the need to go full synthetic on the NA Ex, but there are those who feel it helps. A must with a turbo like a Saab or the Sport, but I don't see the need for the NA Ex.

66K? Damn that's good. No one sells a 04-05 they keep em. I'm wanting a white one once my steel gray is retired. Still looks good though. Don't care for the GM infused 06-up years. I'm on SC as well as 05Aero21. Keeping it to the Ford now I'll do a syn blend on it. It's all highway miles on it anyway.

The issue I have is my 2 local indies ( not brand specfic) used to do top notch work. Now their getting sloppy and cutting corners due to a cheapo competitor in town doing 15.00 oil changes with 70+ cars a day, on top of brake jobs, etc.

My piece of mind diminished when I couldn't break my wife's Mazda front rotors loose. Took the new ones in to the shop got the car back and they didn't tighten the lugnuts up after hand spinning them on while up in the air. Wife calls me with major clunking noises on stop and go. Too much in a hurry anymore. And that could also be accident waiting to happen.

 

[pingbling23]

walmart has castrol full synthetic on sale for $22 for the 5 quart jugs. they usually have it for around $26 and advanced sells it for around $35 i believe. just follow your computer, no need to change the oil at 4-5k miles.

 

[Sgt1411]

I've never bothered to do a DIY oil change. It just isn't worth it for me. For the $40 they charge the dealer does all the work. Plus they do a free alignment check and printout, a multipoint check, dispose of the old oil and provide a free wash and dry of the vehicle while I have all the free coffee I want.

Peter

Peter you forgot to add all the Canuckastan taxes.....that oil change costs you over $100 when add all those taxes!

 

[dco43054]

Just changed my oil yesterday. It's really simple and took longer to drag the ramps out put them away.

The Explorer will tell you when it needs its oil changed. Most time it's around 10k miles. The intervals are based on time and engine loads.

Changing modern oils too frequently is like flushing money down the drain. They are so much more durable than old oils.

The Ford oil spec for my 2011 is 5w-20 semi-synthetic. I usually run Valvoline and put in a Fram filter. Market prices vary. I usually wait til it's on sale and buy then.

 

[amd2800barton]

Look into adding a Fumoto oil drain valve. Its a 1/4 turn ball valve that screws into the oil pan drain plug hole. You can get one that has a nipple on it to allow 3/8" tubing to slip on so you can drain directly into an old jug, and not spill a drop. I'll take some pics next oil change. Currently debating with myself whether I go my usual 5k or simply wait until the oil life monitor gets to 10-15%.

Getting that 6th quart, I just bought a second 5 quart jug and labeled that I used 1 of the 5 quarts. Runs slightly less than $30 bucks with tax for the oil when you split that second jug up over the next 5 oil changes, which for you should be 20,000 miles at your 4k interval. I ordered a Fram Ultraguard off of Amazon. All told - it runs me about $35 a change for a full synthetic oil change.

I've never bothered to do a DIY oil change. It just isn't worth it for me. For the $40 they charge the dealer does all the work. Plus they do a free alignment check and printout, a multipoint check, dispose of the old oil and provide a free wash and dry of the vehicle while I have all the free coffee I want.

Yes Peter, we know that in your opinion the car should be kept bone stock and only be worked on by the dealer's highly trained high school dropouts. The $40 isn't covering a full synthetic oil change (which is what makes most DIY worth it), that multipoint inspection is bogus and an opportunity to up-sell services, but I will concede to you the free wash and coffee.

 

[peterk9]

Peter you forgot to add all the Canuckastan taxes.....that oil change costs you over $100 when add all those taxes!

Oil change etc, $40.50 + 13% tax = $45.77. No different than having to pay taxes on the oil etc for a DIY job and I have nothing to dispose of either. Also I have a freshly washed vehicle that has had an inspection and alignment check.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

......Yes Peter, we know that in your opinion the car should be kept bone stock and only be worked on by the dealer's highly trained high school dropouts. The $40 isn't covering a full synthetic oil change (which is what makes most DIY worth it), that multipoint inspection is bogus and an opportunity to up-sell services, but I will concede to you the free wash and coffee.

It is kept stock because it is a lease. As for the "high school" drop outs that definitely does not apply to my dealership. As I've mentioned before, it is a smaller 62 year old family owned dealership. The kind 'where everyone knows your name'.
As for the synthetic oil, I don't know what the MKT uses since I haven't had an oil change yet. Since I change the oil every 6 months, which in my case is about 2000 miles, using full synthetic would be a waste of oil and money. I'm going to the dealership this morning as they are holding a cheque for me for the Husky liners I sold to the owner of my previous 2011 Explorer. Now I just have to deliver the liners to them. I'll inquire about the oil type.

Peter

 

[amd2800barton]

It is kept stock because it is a lease.

Then why even reply in every DIY / mod thread if your only comment is to say that you keep your stock? OP gave his reasons for wanting to handle his oil changes himself, and then set about discussing what do other DIYers handle this. To boil your comment down, "I have all my work done at the dealership, and so I have nothing to contribute to this thread, but want to make sure I make my presence known"

 

[peterk9]

An oil change is something that I could do on a lease but chose not to for the aforementioned reasons. The topic is on DIY oil changes and as such I offered my opinion on the subject. That what forums are about. Members are free to express their feelings, pros and cons, as long as they stay within the boundaries of the topic.

Peter

 

[Maniak]

Since you know your are going to to a bunch of oil changes, look into case prices for your filters..

I buy my filters (wix) for the Fords 51515, 51372, plus the one for the honda (I can't remember it's numbers) by the case..

I pay around $4 per filter when I do it this way for my Wix filters..

Also, have you done a used oil analysis yet?

I did a few on our '06 mustang as I wanted to increase the oil change interval some. I checked it at 5k and again at 8k. At 5k the oil was still clean, at 8k they said it was still fine but would need a change in another 2k or so..

So, Oil changes on the mustang are done between 5k and 8k. More like I start to think about it at 5k and by 8k I have it done... This has been working well as we have > 260k miles on the motor already... I am probably going to do another used oil analysis to see what condition the motor is and to verify we can continue to use the 5-8 intervals.

Also, I've been using Mag 1 synthetic oil for the last 160k miles and used Mobile 1 synthetic for the first 100k (other than what the dealer did for the first 35k miles)...

The Mustang was our first "new" vehicle and we let the dealer handle the oil changes for the first 36k. For out trouble we got a stripped drain plug, cross threaded pan and a cracked valve cover (where the cap goes)..

Needless to say, we won't be using that dealer for anything anymore, the next "new" mustang will be picked up somewhere else... they don't deserve any of our money.

~Mark

 

[Sgt1411]

Oil change etc, $40.50 + 13% tax = $45.77. No different than having to pay taxes on the oil etc for a DIY job and I have nothing to dispose of either. Also I have a freshly washed vehicle that has had an inspection and alignment check.

Peter

Plus Doughnuts!

 

[adamjeeps]

It is kept stock because it is a lease. As for the "high school" drop outs that definitely does not apply to my dealership. As I've mentioned before, it is a smaller 62 year old family owned dealership. The kind 'where everyone knows your name'.
As for the synthetic oil, I don't know what the MKT uses since I haven't had an oil change yet. Since I change the oil every 6 months, which in my case is about 2000 miles, using full synthetic would be a waste of oil and money. I'm going to the dealership this morning as they are holding a cheque for me for the Husky liners I sold to the owner of my previous 2011 Explorer. Now I just have to deliver the liners to them. I'll inquire about the oil type.

Peter

The MKT takes 6 quarts of 5W30 Motorcraft synthetic blend. And yours will be free courtesy of Lincoln!

 

[peterk9]

The MKT takes 6 quarts of 5W30 Motorcraft synthetic blend. And yours will be free courtesy of Lincoln!

I was at the dealer today and the parts manager who looks after all this, according to the service advisor, says they just use regular 5W30 oil. I'll ave to discuss this with him again since the Owner's Guide shows WSS-M2C946-A which I believe is a synthetic blend. No free oil for me. Lincoln has these offers on and off up here but the offer wasn't in play when I got mine. It is now and I believe it applies to those that get one between July1st and the 30th of September.

Peter

 

[adamjeeps]

I was at the dealer today and the parts manager who looks after all this, according to the service advisor, says they just use regular 5W30 oil. I'll ave to discuss this with him again since the Owner's Guide shows WSS-M2C946-A which I believe is a synthetic blend. No free oil for me. Lincoln has these offers on and off up here but the offer wasn't in play when I got mine. It is now and I believe it applies to those that get one between July1st and the 30th of September.

Peter

That's right you mentioned that previously. Stinks!

I think I'm going to bring service my own oil since they will most likely not use full synthetic for free oil changes.