Cheapest Oil & Filter Change

theloft

Some time ago I started a thread about low cost oil & filter changes. At the time National Tyres & Autocare were the cheapest and personally gave me good service. Things have changed a bit. A. their prices have shot up, mainly due to oil price but also they have changed from Duckhams to Castrol. I was quoted £41 for a 2 litre Mazda 6 (cheapest garage price £59.99). But apparently they are not allowed to carry large amounts of oil on the premises and instead of doing it while you wait, it was a 6 day wait before they would have the oil. However I have discovered that ATS Euromaster also do oil & filter changes (Shell oil) and they were cheaper at £39.99 and could do it the same day. Am going in later so will advise what the service was like.

tomstickland

The cheapest way is to go and buy a box of oil and a set of filters from a motor factors and then do it yourself.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Exactly. And if you don't want the bother of going underneath the car, a boat sump oil extractor will save you the trouble.

theloft

Thanks guys, we all know that it is usually cheaper to do it yourself, but there are a few things to take into consideration, some of us are oldies and not up to it any more, some are not mechanically minded (I am not specifically mentioning the fairer sex), some of us don't have the time and as regards the boat sump oil extractor, who would know where to buy one, are they expensive and do they change the oil filter for you ? Then you have the old oil to dispose of, plus shopping for the oil & filter. For those who do prefer to get it done at a reasonable price, my visit to ATS Euromaster was very satisfactory, apart from the fact that when I got there they had had an oil spillage due to a malfunction on their machine. But eventually I got my oil changed new filter and sump plug washer - and they knocked off a fiver as I had to wait longer than expected. About 1 hour and a quarter instead of 35 minutes. Total cost £34.25. Very polite, clean premises etc.
I will definitely use them again.

Inactive

Thanks for that, sounds good to me.:T

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

theloft wrote: »

Thanks guys, we all know that it is usually cheaper to do it yourself, but there are a few things to take into consideration, some of us are oldies and not up to it any more, some are not mechanically minded (I am not specifically mentioning the fairer sex), some of us don't have the time and as regards the boat sump oil extractor, who would know where to buy one, are they expensive and do they change the oil filter for you ? Then you have the old oil to dispose of, plus shopping for the oil & filter. For those who do prefer to get it done at a reasonable price, my visit to ATS Euromaster was very satisfactory, apart from the fact that when I got there they had had an oil spillage due to a malfunction on their machine. But eventually I got my oil changed new filter and sump plug washer - and they knocked off a fiver as I had to wait longer than expected. About 1 hour and a quarter instead of 35 minutes. Total cost £34.25. Very polite, clean premises etc.
I will definitely use them again.

Sump oil extractor - any boat shop up and down the land. £20 or thereabouts. Insert the end down the dipstick, pump away, old oil comes out. Disposing of old oil? The tip. Oil and filter? Nearest motor factors.

And a garage that charges £34.25 will be using the cheapest mineral oil you can possibly buy - in other words, rubbish.

Inactive

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Sump oil extractor - any boat shop up and down the land. £20 or thereabouts. Insert the end down the dipstick, pump away, old oil comes out. Disposing of old oil? The tip. Oil and filter? Nearest motor factors.

And a garage that charges £34.25 will be using the cheapest mineral oil you can possibly buy - in other words, rubbish.

So you have a drive to the tip ..then another one to the Motor factors, then you have to buy an oil drainer on top of that.

The price of £34.25 was for Shell Oil, hardly " rubbish ".

theloft

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Sump oil extractor - any boat shop up and down the land. £20 or thereabouts. Insert the end down the dipstick, pump away, old oil comes out. Disposing of old oil? The tip. Oil and filter? Nearest motor factors. And a garage that charges £34.25 will be using the cheapest mineral oil you can possibly buy - in other words, rubbish.

Car manufacturers stopped using the dipstick extraction method some years ago because it was inefficient. Garages also. The oil used was Shell Helix Diesel Plus Oil and the filter was a Unipart. I still think it is great value, but you pays your money and makes your choice!!

loofer

theloft wrote: »

Car manufacturers stopped using the dipstick extraction method some years ago because it was inefficient. Garages also. The oil used was Shell Helix Diesel Plus Oil and the filter was a Unipart. I still think it is great value, but you pays your money and makes your choice!!

Yup I second that about the extractor. You can't be sure the end of the thin pipe is at the lowest point of the sump, so there could still be oil in the engine. Additionally, it may not suck up any thick sludge that might have built up.

National Tyres will change oil & filter in may car for about £38. The oil is Castrol Edge Turbo which costs about that much itself from Halfrauds

goldspanners

i use an oil extractor,whats wrong with it?
you know how much oil is in the engine,you know how much you drain off with the fliud extractor,so if the engine should take 5 litres and the dipstick says there is enough oil in there you can expect to take out 5 litres, you can feel the hose hitting the bottom of the sump when you put it in so you know its at the bottom.

if you have a sludge problem then an oil and filter change wont really do much good anyway regardless of how you drain the sump.

a little outlay for a fluid extractor and you can service your engine whenever you want,get an oil filter for about £3 and a gallon of oil for £25,this means your next oil change is half the price.
and most importantly you know its done with the right oil for your car and done properly.

theloft

goldspanners wrote: »

a little outlay for a fluid extractor and you can service your engine whenever you want,get an oil filter for about £3 and a gallon of oil for £25,this means your next oil change is half the price.
and most importantly you know its done with the right oil for your car and done properly.

Trip to buy parts (don't forget sump washer),
time spent to see who has the best price for oil. £30 outlay - hardly half price !!