That's pretty gross. Unfortunately I'm an idiot about cars and have no idea what a well maintained engine looks like inside -- for all I know they all look like that. However, I was under the impression that rental car companies are exceptionally anal-retentive about maintenance like oil changes. Oops. Yet another reason not to buy a used fleet car.

I've heard conflicting things about how often to do it. I check my oil reglarly to make sure the levels are good, but do I really need to change it every 3 months? I have a 2007 focus, FWIW. I can't change it at home per condo rules and really steep hills

Good fsm! I thought I was bad for going to 12,000 miles this last time (SHUSH I KNOW).

edwardso: You don't need to change it every 3 months. It really depends on your use. If you do a ton of city driving, with lots of stop-and-go, 3 months may be a good timeframe. My wife and I do mostly interstate driving, so 6 months or so is fine (when we hit about 5-6000 miles).

This just proves why you should never buy a former rental car.

Changing your oil? I can't get the economics to work on a mainstream car.

5 quarts of oil ~ $13.50
1 filter ~ $5

So just under $20 in fixed costs or you can take it somewhere and get it done for < $25 and get all fluids topped off.

I do however change the oil on my Volvo V70 because you can't take it to a mainstream garage and it costs ~ $50-75 just for the labor- I can justify getting dirty for $50.

I had an Enterprise car delivered to my house once. After they left and I started it up, I hear this awful knocking in the engine. I checked the oil and the dipstick came out clean. No oil. They had to bring me another car on a tow truck so they could take that one back.

@JeffM I'd love to change my own oil, but I live in an apartment, and I'm not about to do it there. But I have an awesome mechanic so it's okay.

Correction, this is what happens if you don't change the oil in your SATURN for 30,000 miles. If you drive a Toyota, you never have to change your oil.

@edwardso - oil change intervals are dependent on both your specific car / engine and your driving habits, as well as (to a MUCH smaller extent) the oil you use. 3000 miles / 3 months is a safe interval because it's almost impossible to actually need a change in that interval.

I do my oil every 3 months, but only because I have an older car (1990) and do 99% city driving. I figure it's worth the cost($10-15 a change) to make sure my old beast doesn't develop any problems. It's really an easy and fun weekend project and once you get a few tools for the job (socket wrench, drainage tub, rags, etc.) it's cheaper than letting a shop do it.

There are a few other upsides, imo, to doing your own oil changes.

#1. If you're a car noob, it's a good chance to get your hands dirty and your feet wet. It allows you to get familiar with your engine compartment without really doing anything too crazy.

#2. My gf won't let me touch the oil in her car because she likes to have the shop check all the rest of the fluids. The problem is, the shop never checked 'em, as most of these fluids don't need routine maintenance. It's just a typical upsell.

#3. My sister and one of my uncles have both had Jiffy Lube forget to put oil back into the car. I'm guessing this happens more often than most people think. Very scary.

#4. Who knows what kind of slack-ass job the shop will do. They might leave in the old oil filter. They might not clean up drips(which will lead to oil spots on your driveway), or who knows what else. Do it yourself and you know exactly what's happening to your car.

Other simple and easy projects for car noobs to try.

-change the spark plugs
-change the air filter (should be change or cleaned whenever you change your oil)
-wiper fluid, fuses, tire pressure, replace bulbs, etc.

@nataku83: Never change your oil in your Toyota. That sounds like excellent advice.

@Thunderdome - spark plug replacement difficulty varies quite a bit from car to car, and if you aren't careful, you can do some pretty serious damage to your car (stripped threads, getting dirty into the cylinders, etc...). I really wouldn't recommend a "noob" to try that on their own, until they at least have enough experience to know the dangers of overtorqing things going into an aluminum head.

@nataku83 "Correction, this is what happens if you don't change the oil in your SATURN for 30,000 miles. If you drive a Toyota, you never have to change your oil."

Can't tell if you are being sarcastic about that, I hope so. If not, good luck with that.

[www.yotarepair.com]

@nataku83: Um, yeah, Toyota's need oil changes too, it was in the last TPS report.

@Thunderdome My mechanic said it's probably okay to go to Jiffy Lube aside from once a year, when my mechanic can take a look at everything. Does Jiffy Lube allow you to stand there with them while they change your oil? I've never been to one. My mechanic lets me stand around and chat with him, and I can see everything he does. But he's more expensive than a Jiffy Lube, and I can't change my oil in my apartment complex parking lot (even if mgt won't frown on it, I don't really like dealing with my neighbors when I do shit like that, nosy bastards).

Changing your own oil is one of those things that no longer makes sense if the goal is saving money. Not counting the time it takes, the mess, and the trip to the auto store for oil and filter, you save only a couple of bucks.

@cmdrsass Exactly. I can see why people still do it -- some people enjoy that kind of thing, and they like working on their own cars. I don't have the time, or the space, to change my own oil, and I'm not going to save much in the way of money.

Except I'm still learly of Jiffy Lube. TOO MANY HORROR STORIES.

@cmdrsass - I really like the piece of mind associated with knowing that the job was done correctly.

This one is simple, to keep your motor running properly it needs 3 things; clean air, clean fuel, and clean oil.

Do the service yourself or find a trustworthy shop to do it for you. If a shop, watch them, ask questions, learn to spot mistakes (like draining the automatic transmission fluid (red) instead of the engine oil (black)).

Service intervals, check the manual for the vehicle or the manufacturers website. However, as your vehicle ages do changes more often. Example, my 2001 Diesel VW has oil changes every 18000km (11k miles), but as it is approaching 200 000km's I do the changes every 10k km.

Regular oil vs synthetic... don't listen to the BS from the store, use only what the service manual says. Synthetic in a motor that isn't designed for it is a wast of money. Regular oil in a motor design for synthetic oil is a death wish.

Very minimum for cars rarely driven change the oil at least once a year.

Change your air and fuel filters as specified in the owners manual. Don't let the stores talk you into doing it any more frequently unless you know how bad it should be.

Finally, do the work you can. Buy a shop manual ($20) for your car/truck and basic tools. This stuff is very easy to do as long as you have somewhere to do it. Dispose of your used oil and filter properly.

If all of this is beyond you... lease your car and walk away from it at the end of 3 years.

@Edwardso

When I bought my car, I get a free "first" oil change at 5000 miles or after 6 months. When I buy the 2nd oil change at 10,000 miles, I get a free 3rd oil change and the cycle continues.

@cmdrsass You save alot if you have a car that requires synthetic oil, That stuff is expensive.

10w5 Synthetic(5.99) x 7quarts = Alot

// 2002 BMW 525i

@Thunderdome: Agreed, I used to change my own until I started getting regular coupons from the dealership that make the cost difference only about $5 more to let them do it. $5 is worth it for me, and if I include the fact that every 5th oil change is free it's really about even if I'm consistent.

I do however always check the dip stick and filter before I leave the dealership. There's one guy there who now shows it to me before having me sign any paperwork, I think theirs a notation in my account or something. I've had a dealership forget to put the cap on the engine back on and it spilled oil all over my driveway. They were great about fixing it before anything happened, but it taught me always to double check.

My Aunt had a Cadillac CTS that she leased and right after she turned it in they found out she changed the oil only once in 36,000 miles!

I change my oil every 5000 miles (Lexus recommended) and have it done at the dealer, it costs more but then I know it's a Lexus trained tech not some yahoo working at Jiffy Lube.

Oh and don't be afraid to take a course at your local high school, college or AAA on how to care for your car. You can save thousands of dollars over the life of the vehicle if you do the basics yourself.

Also, you will likely better understand your vehicle and be less likely to get screwed by a shop... "Lady your carb needs adjustment, $500." "But dude, this car is fuel injected, there is no carb!"

Rental car company maintenance is usually pretty poor. If I were to ever buy a used fleet vehicle, I'd buy one from a private, non-rental car business or the government. Utility companies usually keep their light trucks pretty well maintained and tend to buy models that are super reliable anyway. I'm on the quest for a used Chevy S-10 and have found some reliable, albeit bare bones former utility trucks in pretty good shape. The hubby wants something a little nicer so we've had to pass on those though.

I've used the cheapo SuperTech brand oil Wal-Mart sells for years in my '92 Bonneville without a problem. I actually use SuperTech for all of my fluids. I think it sells for $1.79 a quart when you buy it in the gallon jug. As an experiment my husband and I did use an expensive brand of "high mileage" oil once and didn't notice any difference. He's a former mechanic and if your car doesn't require a specific type of synthetic oil, don't bother investing in a high grade of "standard" oil. Synthetics are good if your car takes a lot of abuse though. A lot of it is just marketing hype on the basic refinery oil, aside from the obvious viscosity differences. I see it as a brand name versus generic thing. Some people might disagree but I haven't had any problem with "generic" oil so that's my take on it.

It does not call for it but I have always used synthetic oil since I have owned my car. The reason is I have a friend who is very high up in automotive manufacture who said that the amount of service calls dropped off a cliff when they switched to synthetic from conventional oil in their vehicles.

As a 17-year old girl saving to buy my first car, I bought "auto repair for dummies" for $12 and learned to do oil changes and tune-ups. I practiced on my dad's 82 GMC suburban.

I did oil change, coolant flush, spark plugs/wires, changed the airfilter, and changed the flywheel (yes, I worked on the transmission) Singlehandedly. Without supervision. And I didn't even break a nail.

If I could do it, so can you.

Good weekend job? More like something to do when you have 15 free minutes.

@nakedscience: Most Jiffy Lube type places won't let you in the garage area ("for safety reasons"). There's usually a window you can watch from.

ponycyndi: OMg,..I think I love you. Your every mans dream. A woman that can work on cars without us having to fix your mistakes.....
.....
we can work on cars together

lol

Those photos look better than those of the circa 2000 TOTOTA SIENNA's that have been affected with the "oil gel" problem caused because of poor engine design. Even those that changed their oil on schedule lost their engines... google "toyota gelling" for more information, especially if you have this generation vehicle.

In the case of GM cars, you are told to go by the oil life monitor but change it before 12 months if it doesn't go off before then. So I'd say just change it out at the intervals Ford recommends or dump it out once a year, whichever occurs first.

@dashdjot: Yeah, I think I would have to eat a pint of Mangurt to really understand the gravity of these pictures.

@nataku83: Some of the Toyota engines are known for being sludge monsters even at reasonable oil change intervals.

Too bad they didn't have an extended warranty with US Fidelis!

@JeffM: if you're strictly considering the $$$, yeah, it doesn't work out. i can think of plenty of other reasons i prefer to do the work on my own, & most of them gravitate around the shady practices of quick lubes & the incompetence of their uncertified greasemonkeys.

if your using synthetic, that's where changing your own oil makes sense economically. what's a synthetic change these days? $60-$80? it's not hard to do it yourself for <$40.

I worked as an auto mechanic for 2 years in college. The stories I could tell you just like this one...

One time this guy comes in with a Caddy for A/C service. The car was older and in good shape, and my boss commented on it. The guy says, "Yeah, it's been a great car. I've only had to change the oil twice since I bought it." Had to? Hmmm...my boss sticks his head in to look at the odometer reading and it's at 120,000. My boss told that guy to get lost because we weren't going to touch it even to put air in the tires - it was a disaster waiting to happen and we weren't going to be blamed for it.

@nataku83: HA! keep telling yourself that. let me know how it works out for you...

its a rental. there is a big difference in a rental and a personal car. your gonna dog the shit out of a rental just for the fun of it, that on top of the no oil change is whats wrong with that car. i might change my oil twice a year at most. thats about every 15k miles. and it is never near that bad, but im a very good careful driver, driving a 14 year old plymouth neon.

@ponycyndi Well aren't you special! Yay, you worked on the transmission!

Some of us would rather not. I'd trust my mechanic more than I'd trust myself. I also don't have the *time* to fix my car. Some people enjoy it or want to have that control, but I don't. I love my mechanic.

Here's a question. I usually drive about 4,000 miles a year. How often should I do oil changes? I tried the 3,000 mile rule, but once a year seems wrong. And the three month rule doesn't seem to make much sense either. Ideas?

@JohnDeere "that on top of the no oil change is whats wrong with that car."

Wow, really? We wouldn't have guessed from the post or anything...

I knew a girl that got a new car for her high school graduation. About two years later the engine died. It seems she added fresh oil but never had an oil change!
She didn't know anything about an oil filter. I think she a lawyer these days..

Yeah. I was surprised when I got my MINI that it only needs an oil change every ~18k miles, or once a year; whichever comes first.

@edwardso: 3 months or 3000 miles is rubbish. It's put out there by people who want to sell you more oil.

I agree with Click and Clack when they say 6000 miles is more than sufficient. Anything less is a waste of money and oil.

Yes but that $5 filter you just bought is lots better than what most of those places use (unless you bought a Fram,they are proven junk).

I just did my first oil/filter change on a used Land Cruiser and a mechaninc friend noted the Jiffy Lube filter that I took costs around 35cents when a dealer he worked for bought them years ago.

If you do it yourself you have piece of mind from using higher quality parts and knowing it was done right.

My friend drove 50,000 miles on his mustang (late 90's version). It ultimately died due to being a piece of crap but the engine still ran. Pretty amazing that I rode in his car knowing full well the oil was that old.

@JeffM: But you need to factor in all of the needless upselling, dubious "scheduled maintenance", and other stuff that these Quik Lube places try to give you. One had my mom in tears because he threatened to not let her leave unless she had a transmission flush. He said it was a matter of life and death and she might crash.

Her car had 22,000 miles on it, well before any sort of transmission maintenance was required by the owner's manual.