Oil Change -- Lesser of Two Evils

I guess living near a Discount Tire has it's advantages. They do free tire rotations on any vehicle you bring in. I learned that after paying $20 a crack at my Lexus dealer for a year.
 
We all know that the best way to change your oil is to do it yourself, no question. But some people can't, for whatever reason.

So if you don't have an independent mechanic who works on your car, or you can't deal with scheduling with one of them...

What's the better alternative: Dealer or Quick Change?

Your opinions please. Horror stories welcome!

I just go to the dealer. Cheap, and done right, along with snacks, detail, and inspection of systems. 100K miles of oil changes at my Mazda dealer. Zero bad to say.
 
I guess living near a Discount Tire has it's advantages. They do free tire rotations on any vehicle you bring in. I learned that after paying $20 a crack at my Lexus dealer for a year.

I don't think this is true. They will do free rotations if you have bought your set from them. Free air is another thing though.

I pay $65 for OC, rotations are free at DT. I do my own filters AEM dry ones. If I get my own oil Mobil1 from Sam's I end up paying $35 for filter and OC. So cost remains about the same. I actually know the dealer I go to isn't super trustworthy or reliable - they showed me a dirty air filter 5k miles after I had installed a new one. So they keep dirty filters under the desk and upsell it every single time.
I am actually considering a swap with 16 Rav4 Hybrid now (if my out of pocket is $1500 or less) - 40K miles Rav4 XLE for 16.5 CX5 Touring with Bose /Moonroof with 33K miles because dealer experience is very avg. / poor - I don't know how I can trust them for drain and fill Tx fluid or cleaning carbon buildup if needed. I am almost sure I will go to a Toyota dealer for my brakes - they have $199 for new pads / resurfacing rotors and I can add another 100 for fluids.
 
I don't think this is true. They will do free rotations if you have bought your set from them. Free air is another thing though.

It is true, as I was taking my Lexus there before I bought replacement tires from them. I think that's part of their marketing strategy. Once you have a relationship ,you usually will at least get a quote from them when the time comes. Since they price match, it makes it a no-brainer.
 
I don't understand all of this blind faith put into young & inexperienced dealership oil change people.
They are really no different than the techs working at quick lube places.

I guess dealerships are fine if you are retired and have a lot of spare time to waste, but would never do it myself at this point in life...
- A 15-30 minute drive to the dealership
- Waiting 1-2+ hours for the oil change
- A 15-30 minute drive back home

And you quote pricing for the oil change, but that doesn't include a tire rotation.
Are you paying for that separately or are you just not rotating your tires?

The one thing I'll throw out there is that you can drive your car to the dealership or service place in the morning, and they'll drive you to your job (or other local destination). At the end of the day or when the work's done, they'll pick you up and the service gets done while you're at work. You've wasted minimal time.

Depending on where you live and what your set-up might be, collecting and disposing of the used oil can be a problem, not to mention the mess.

I've done both. I've driven trucks since 1989, as well as a 1990 Volvo, and am small enough to get under them all without needing jacks (the Volvo was a tight fit but it was do-able). But if I have other stuff going on, or I just don't feel like messing with it, I've used the "take me to work/pick me up" option. The spread between paying for the supplies and paying to have it done is not that great. It's better than delaying the change.
 
It is true, as I was taking my Lexus there before I bought replacement tires from them. I think that's part of their marketing strategy. Once you have a relationship ,you usually will at least get a quote from them when the time comes. Since they price match, it makes it a no-brainer.

https://www.discounttire.com/services/rotation-balance


Tire Rotation and Balance

Through routine tire rotations and maintaining proper tire balancing, you*ll help extend the life of your tires and maintain their overall performance. At no additional charge to you, we*ll rotate and balance the tires you purchased from any of our Discount Tire stores for the life of the tires.

In your case since it is a franchisee model - they may have done free rotations for certain demographics - seems professional well settled and loaded vs a college student.
 
Someone gets it.

If the oil change doesn*t include tire rotation, it*s already a half assed job from the start.

Oil Change frequency does not overlap with Tire rotations. After 60K miles I am planning on spacing out OC at about 8-10K miles and tire rotations stay at 6K miles.
 
The one thing I'll throw out there is that you can drive your car to the dealership or service place in the morning, and they'll drive you to your job (or other local destination). At the end of the day or when the work's done, they'll pick you up and the service gets done while you're at work. You've wasted minimal time.

Depending on where you live and what your set-up might be, collecting and disposing of the used oil can be a problem, not to mention the mess.

I don't see how that minimizing wasted time.
You still have to drive to/from the Mazda dealer. And the time saved by not waiting at the dealership is mostly replaced waiting for the shuttle/ride in the morning, likely taking an indirect route to work, dropping off other people, then repeating this process for the trip back to the dealership in the afternoon.

And unless you live in an extreme rural area, virtually everyone has an auto parts store / Walmart / independent garage / quick lube / ect within a few miles.
 
Oil Change frequency does not overlap with Tire rotations. After 60K miles I am planning on spacing out OC at about 8-10K miles and tire rotations stay at 6K miles.
Good for you!

Just easier to do it all at once, and its included in the price of the OC, in fact, its free.
 
https://www.discounttire.com/services/rotation-balance


Tire Rotation and Balance

Through routine tire rotations and maintaining proper tire balancing, you*ll help extend the life of your tires and maintain their overall performance. At no additional charge to you, we*ll rotate and balance the tires you purchased from any of our Discount Tire stores for the life of the tires.

In your case since it is a franchisee model - they may have done free rotations for certain demographics - seems professional well settled and loaded vs a college student.

I guess I never looked up their written policy. I wonder if any of their franchise stores follow it. In my many years on auto forums, I've never heard of them charging anyone for a rotation.
 
The first thing I will do when I take delivery of my new Signature this or early next week is check the oil level. Today I traded in my current vehicle , a Renault Duster 4x4 model 2015. In the full analysis required by the new car dealer there appeared a bit of oil escaping from the top of the engine. All oil changes for the life of the car have been done by Renault. Being lazy I only checked oil level once after their servicing. Indeed it was overfilled by a bit. Probably the case with the other changes though I didn't check. I have always read that a principal reason for oil leakage is the over filling of the crankcase. I strongly suspect my engine leakage is due to that. I think it is pretty common that if the manual calls for 4,5 quarts the mechanic just dumps in all of the last (5th) can. Easier than emptying that half quart into ecologically friendly waste.
 
Oil Change frequency does not overlap with Tire rotations. After 60K miles I am planning on spacing out OC at about 8-10K miles and tire rotations stay at 6K miles.


Discount tires ftw.

I rotate every 5k miles and oil change every 10k miles. The last 2 tire rotations included free nail/screw removal and repair at Discount tires. Now that's time savings hitting 2 birds with one stone.

When I get home I do oil change on ramps. Easy peasy job with the Fumoto valve. While draining oil I clean the AEM dry flow filter by giving it a few good wacks to remove dirt/sand/leaves. Deep cleaned in water/soap every 3 oil changes.

$30-$35 savings from dealership at around the same time frame...not including cost and time savings with Discount Tires repairing tires.

Positive dealership experience includes: the free donuts/popcorn/coffee, free car wash w/free swirl marks:), and on a serious note they usually do a free inspection for leaks, damage, brake pads, ect. Not to mention they top off my windshield wiper fluids for free.
 
Last edited:
Given that many manufacturers will look for any reason to deny warranty coverage, I typically have all regular maintenance done at the dealer during the warranty period. That way, I have a documented record of work done at an authorized shop using Mazda parts and fluids.
 
Back