Oil changes: dealership or generic oil change place? And how often?

[SteamingFish]

I bought my new 2004 Passat (with turbo) a year ago. Six months ago, I brought it in to the dealer for its first oil change, but they said to come back when I have 5000 miles, which I did this morning. A coworker who was a mechanic for nine years at both types of places said it's a waste of money to bring it in to the dealership and also that you should change the oil every three months or 3000 miles without question. I certainly don't have the expertise to argue with the guy, but why would the dealership turn me away when they could have gouged me then AND now, instead of just now? Also, isn't it worth it for them to do all the extra checks they do? Or am I just foolishly paying for peace of mind? I have no idea how much it will actually cost. What do you guys think?

[RunDownHouse]

I do every 3k miles, period. As far as I'm aware motor oil doesn't break down over any sort of short time period, so I don't know why you'd need new oil if you'd only driven your car 500 miles in three months.

[Shajen]

depends.

on the oil (some new synthetics are good for 5k miles

on the dealer's mechanics.

on the make and model of your vehicle

etc, etc.

[teamdonkey]

people who make money from you changing your oil recommend you change it every 3000 miles. People who don't, don't. Read the owner's manual for your car. The manual for my Accord recommends every 9k miles or so, my wife's Mini recommends longer than that. I imagine each car is different, but my guess is 3k is unnecessary for any car bought in the last 15 years.

[TeeJayORTj]

[ QUOTE ]
people who make money from you changing your oil recommend you change it every 3000 miles. People who don't, don't. Read the owner's manual for your car. The manual for my Accord recommends every 9k miles or so, my wife's Mini recommends longer than that. I imagine each car is different, but my guess is 3k is unnecessary for any car bought in the last 15 years.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I agree. For my Civic the manual says I think like 6K miles or 6 months. I usually try to bring mine in around 4500-5K. Also most of my miles are highway so I think that makes changing the oil every 3K even more pointless.

Also if you only drive you car 1K miles over 6 months it is good to change the oil it can get stagnant and go bad.

[benza13]

My dad got a BMW 535 or something last year and they recommended 15k miles between changes. This was due to the synthetics used and everything. He still changes it every 5k. I usually go 3-4k on my Jeep.

[imported_The Vibesman]

[ QUOTE ]
people who make money from you changing your oil recommend you change it every 3000 miles. People who don't, don't. Read the owner's manual for your car. The manual for my Accord recommends every 9k miles or so, my wife's Mini recommends longer than that. I imagine each car is different, but my guess is 3k is unnecessary for any car bought in the last 15 years.

[/ QUOTE ]

True.

I've never had an oil change done anywhere. It takes about fifteen minutes to change the oil and oil filter in a car and it's not rocket science. At most dealerships this shouldn't even void your warranty, tons of Americans do their own oil changes.

[BoogerFace]

For my gf's 2002 Passat 1.8L Turbo, the correct answer is 6 months/5,000 miles and get the synthetic oil. Conventional oil can result in the 'engine sludge' problem.

[vulturesrow]

Some of the answer has to do with what kind of driving you generally do. Lots of stopping and starting tends to break the oil down more quickly, whereas long highway type drives where you are more or less at a constant speed are a little easier on the engine and the oil. But generally speaking, the 3000 mile guideline is a bit outdated unless you are driving an older car.

[swede123]

I change my own oil, mostly. It takes about twenty minutes in all and you can ensure the stuff is done right (which may or may not be the case at Jiffylube or whatever).

The 3000 miles or 3 months thing is a great example of (false) marketing actually becoming a popularly accepted "truth." Why on Earth would the engineers at Honda only mention 7500 mile intervals on oil changes if there was some compelling reason to go with 3000 miles.

Basically, for most cars subjected to normal driving conditions 10000 miles is probably a pretty reasonable number. Of course you should do what you feel comfortable doing, so keep the grease monkeys of the world fat and happy, and change that perfectly good oil whenever they tell ya to.

Swede