Am I crazy for not using my complimentary oil changes ?

For starters , I've always done my own oil changes . I don't mind doing it , and I'm really meticulous with waiting a few minutes for every drop to come out . I always flush through 1/2 a qt of new oil since I always seem to have some extra in hand .

Plus I like to check everything out on the car .

This is my first brand new vehicle , and frankly its like my first child lol

I'm affraid to have some underpaid kid work on my new $35k truck , cause lets face the real mechanics are working on real issues and some high school kid is doing the oil changes .

I got complimentary oil changes for the first two years with my purchase , but I'm still thinking of just doin it myself . My wife and family members think I'm crazy , what do my fellow car guys think ?

 

Why not take the free changes? It's free!

 

I feel the same way but I used mine, I like free

 

Same as above, I used my 5 free changes then started changing my own

 

I feel/felt the same way ... my '06 had oil changes for life ... my '10, two years worth ... the way I see it ... if it breaks they fix it.

 

I've always done my own maintenance also, but on the Tacoma, i'm letting Toyota service it because I bought the extended warranty, and i don't want any headaches from Toyota if i had to use the extended warranty. Looks easy enough, but I'm not going to worry about the tech thats working on it, if they screw up its under warranty.

 

I can say where I have been taking mine they did a good job no kids and did what they said they would do. But at 30K I'm all done the rest is mine I'm not going to pay some one to screw in a hand full of plugs a few filters and fresh oil for big bucks.

 

I don't use mine either, don't trust them period.

 

I got free oil changes for life but after the first year started doing them myself. Most people (including your family and friends) just don't understand those of us who take pride in our rides. For most people, it's just a way to get from point A to point B and you can see who those people are just by looking at their vehicles. I can do it myself in 15 minutes. Taking it to the dealership is a hassle in itself and ends up taking 1.5 hrs door to door. The dealers only provide this service to get you into the shop so they can manipulate you into paying for 30, 60 90k service that is mostly inspections and that you can do yourself for 1/4 the price they want to charge.

 

i had the same and would not let them do any maintenance on my truck

 

my 2010 Tacoma included 2 oil changes...my 2012 includes 3 oil changes...

I do it myself. It's easy...and actually saves me time.

 

I'd bet not of them use a torque wrench on the pan bolt.

 

I used to do my own all the time, but it was a pain and seemed to take up half my Saturday to run to the store, buy oil, filter and air filter if needed, go home, do the change, then go back to the store to dispose of waste oil.

I like that I got the two year 25k maintenence thing free with the new taco.. I trust the dealer to do a good job and can have them check it for TSB's while I'm there and make sure I don't miss out on anything important.

 

Toyota gave me a year of oil changes but its just quicker to do it myself plus I prefer synthetic oil.

 

stock up on the parts...

it's a 30 minute job...one hour if you take your time, including cleanup.

the one way drive to my nearest dealer is 30 minutes...

 

I have always done my own also. That being said I will take the free changes as I did pay for them in the price of the truck.. I would take the free oil changes. If they break it they will fix it under warranty.

#1 Rule: Always verify the work was completed to your satisfaction Before you leave the dealers parking lot.

 

You are throwing tons of money away. Use the free oil changes and for craps sake stop flushing half a quart of oil through your engine. Its a useless practice. Any remaining old oil is diluted to almost non-existent levels when you add the fresh oil and any particulates will be grabbed by the new filter.

 

Big bucks? I cant even buy the oil for what Toyota charges for an oil change much less the filter too. I never pay more than $15 for a synth blend oil change with all OEM parts at the stealership.

 

I wouldnt call it throwing money away, I know the oil changes are free. But it would take up a few gal of gas and at least 1-2 hrs of my time.

While I can pickup the oil and filter on my weekly walmart trip. And spend a few minutes working on it at my own house at my own leasure .

Glad to hear Im not the only crazy one that doesnt trust the dealer lol.

Im still on the fence though , this has caught me off gaurd cause I do love free and saving money.

 

That's fair, and I used to do the changes on my xterra in no time if I had all the items, but that's not the point that makes me happy. Like I said, free is free, if I want to pay extra for Synthetic (I most likely will at the 1k mark. I'm a big fan of all synth oil.) I can and also make sure everything is done that comes up on TSB's.

For what it's worth, I also am a freak and document EVERY penny that goes into my vehicles including gas. I think it adds residual value to a vehicle to document that EVERYTHING was done when it was supposed to be, and by the dealer no less. This practice of having a receipt for every wrench turn and drop of fluids has added thousands to my private party vehicle sales in the past.

End of the day though, to each their own. I don't like leaving my vehicle in some dumb kids hands either.. I will watch them like a hawk.