Where are people getting their oil changes these days?

Hi All,

Curious to hear where people get their oil changes? I just used up my free Toyota Care services for my 2019 Tacoma and am looking for a new spot. I personally have had bad experiences with the dealerships in my area (Portland, OR) and have always heard going to the Jiffy Lube's of the world is not a good idea.

I know a lot of people are going to tell me I should just do it myself, but for those that get it done elsewhere — where are you going? There are a couple mechanics in my neighborhood that seem to have good reviews and do oil changes, but they seem to be more focused on older vehicles.

Where y'all going?

 

Beroth tire & auto. Kernersville, N.C.

 

After I'm done with my free oil changes, I'll probably keep taking it to Toyota and just pay them to do it. My thought process is that I would like to keep a good record of my maintenance and I like the idea of the same place doing all my oil changes throughout my ownership of the car. On top of that, if there are any problems regarding my oil, the dealer won't be able to accuse me of negligence such as "oh since you took it to Bob's Big Oil, they messed up the oil change and now you're engine is burning oil". Also, if I do ever sell the car, I assume the next owner will appreciate a complete maintenance log from 1 specific dealership. Just my 2 cents.

 

Same here, though I do air and cabin filters myself. Not paying them for those.

 

My carport...

 

In my garage.
Its hard for me to pay someone for something i can do, then throw in waiting around for it to get done... nope.

I am impatient enough to pass on a free one if I am going to be waiting around for an hour and a half. Id rather pay $40 bucks at AutoZone and do it myself.

 

My garage. Oil, filter and all necessary tools combined were cheaper than a one time change from Jiffy Lube.

 

I do it myself. OE filter and Red Line 0w20 is cheaper than the dealer or quick lube shops. Plus I know it was done and done right.

 

My driveway

 

I just had Jiffy Lube do the labor on the oil change for my 2016 Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22R. (It actually fit in the bay!) I took in my own filter and synthetic oil.
Charge was $53 for labor. That's after checking out the Jiffy Lube at least 4 times and asking questions of the lube guys. For my Tacoma, I look for coupons online and take it to the Dealer. Charge for oil change tomorrow is quoted at $49. That's a jump of around $10+ from the last time I was in. I've done enough oil changes over my lifetime to splurge a little bit...sure don't want to do it myself any longer...been there...done that.

 

garage

 

As someone who bought a truck recently from an owner like you, it is much appreciated. I'm a bit OCD about routine maintenance, and when I saw that the truck I was looking at had thorough Toyota dealership service history with all services performed on the CarFax, it sealed the deal. Sure, the previous owner could do perfect oil changes and maintenance at home, but that info isn't making it through the Dodge dealer that I got it from and into my hands.

That said, I do my own engine oil changes and a good chunk of other basic maintenance items (that I can do at my apartment complex that technically doesn't allow us to work on our vehicles in the lot) and I keep a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet of everything. When I sold my last Tacoma to purchased the aforementioned one, even though 75% of my maintenance was on an Excel printout, it certainly helped me fetch a higher price than comparable trucks with less preventative maintenance/less documentation when I found someone who appreciated my work, time, and care.

 

You need a reputable independant mechanic. Because you'll eventually need non warranty work done anyway.

Pay him the $ to develop a service history with him.

 

Yes sir, my mentality is very similar to yours. I've always done my own oil changes on my other cars. But since I bought this one brand new with the idea that I'm going to hold on to it for a while, I decided its worth paying for the oil changes. Its not a "I can't do my own oil changes so I have to take it somewhere" thing. Its a "I want to keep a good reliable record of my maintenance even if it means shelling out a little extra dough" thing.

I fully believe in the "if you want it done right, do it yourself" ideology. But at the same time, the next guy buying this truck IF I decide to sell isn't going to know that or have a way to verify that. Excel sheets are definitely better than no record at all but at the same time, there is no way for anyone to verify that its legit. For all they will know, I could have written it up the day before the sale. But by taking it to a dealer, everything will be verifiable.

 

I go to my buddy’s shop. That said I’d go to independent shop to build a rapport.
Firsthand experience here- I’ve used Jiffy Lube and Valvoline for years, only because my company had an established account and discount. After numerous issues, I started going back to my independent shop and my employer is ok with this, after I showed them how much the cheap oil changes costs in downtime.

 

OP, it sounds like you don't want to change the oil yourself but here are some arguments for doing it yourself (if you are handy with a wrench).
1. Toyota stripped my skidplate bolts during my free 20K oil change. Free oil change was not worth the price.
2. I drive less than 10,000 miles per year, so I change my oil every June. June in Oregon is not too cold and not too warm. Just have to find a dry day.
3. I am able to change my oil in front of my house. I don't want to make a mess in my garage or driveway.
4. Oil change time is a good time for me to get under the truck to check everything out on the underside. My 2016 came with 5 Zerks, so I grease all 5 every oil change.
5. I keep service records myself, but when I traded in a 17 year old RAV4, the dealer never asked about service records because you could tell it was well maintained by how it looked and drove.

 

Very true. I agree that anyone could call out my spreadsheet as potentially phony, but I was fortunate that the buyers of my truck could see how clean everything was and how well it drove, and for lack of a better way of explaining it, you get a good feeling about a vehicle when you buy private party and talk to the owner, especially if they're very passionate and knowledgeable about their vehicle. Sure, some people are good actors, but I still feel that I get a gut feel about a vehicle based on the owner. Since I tripped across my current truck that was being sold by a dealer, they got lucky and benefited from the prior owner's care for their vehicle documented by Carfax.

It was funny, I had 3 Blackstone oil analysis reports to go with my last truck, all taken ~1.5 years apart with the last one being within the last year and all coming back excellent up to 230k when I sold it. If it were me, I would have glanced at each one before purchasing. They just said "thanks" and took them in the stack of other records I had. They could see and were appreciative of the care I put into the truck and could tell how sad I was to see it go. Just a good buyer in my situation, since I totally understand that chunks of my records were't verifiable, which is where some of the benefit of shops come in.

 

I live in K Vagas as well

 

my house...I'm not paying $80+ for $30 worth of parts

 

In my drive way