Oil Change

chris73

I've just been quoted £146+VAT for an oil change at the local dealers. However in the interests of saving money i've bought some manufacturer approved synthetic oil and a filter at a 3rd of the price and now all I need is to find a local fast fit centre or independant to change the oil and filter.

Very few of the garages locally seem interested in doing the job on a labour basis only, perfering to supply their own trade lubricants, however I don't trust the brand of oil that they may use, as i've ran into this problem before, where the wrong spec / grade has been used.

Can anybody recommend a national fast fit chain who are happy to use your own oil and just charge for the labour, ideally where I can wait with the car

i'm in the Cheshire / Staffs area.

northern_munky

Why don't you have a go yourself Chris, buy a set of wheel ramps (£10), an oil change bowl (£5), just use a spanner to undo the sump plug and buy a cheap oil filter removal tool (£5), very very easy job for a novice and nothing better than having the satisfaction that you have done it properly and saved yourself some money

Other than that, why not ring round a few independant garages and see what they say?

highguyuk

Why do you want a fast fit chain? IMO, independants will offer you a much better service at alot cheaper price.

Jorgan_2

Have you tried looking for a local mobile mechanic who will come to you & do the job?

lisyloo

Halfords have done mine before.
It was a few years ago but it was about £30.
£146 sounds ridiculous unless you have a specialist car.

lisyloo

Why not try offering a mechanic cash in hand?
You would have to use some discretion of course, so obviously you can't walk in to the main dealer and ask, but I reckon most of them will bite your hand off.

aardvaak

You do not need to purchase a special oil change bowl - just cut the side out of an old oil can and use that - you will however need a filter removal tool and a spanner to undo the sump plug you should also get away with not buying wheel ramps.

waster_2

Why do you not use someone like National Tyres. As long as your car is less than 2300cc and takes less than 6 litres of oil they will do a change for £25 using Duckhams fully synthetic oil. See their website ad for details. If you do not have one close by I'm sure other afst fit outfits would not be too differnt in price if you showed them the ad.

I do not normally like the national fast fit chains, but this price is less than I can buy the oil and filter to do it myself for.

northern_munky

aardvaak wrote:

You do not need to purchase a special oil change bowl - just cut the side out of an old oil can and use that - you will however need a filter removal tool and a spanner to undo the sump plug you should also get away with not buying wheel ramps.

Oil change containers make life a lot easier when carting the old oil to the tip, better than trying to pour it into another container later. You may get away without ramps or jacking the front end up, depends on the car really, but it certainly makes the job easier for a novice and if the sump plug is at the back of the sump, raising the front end will let more of the old oil drain out.

chris73

Thanks for the info so far.

£146 sounds ridiculous unless you have a specialist car

I agree, and its a BMW which means that the dealers sting you for everything, i've had quotes ranging from £120 to £200, and the £120 was from a dealer miles away.

I've got the 0W-30 approved oil and a genuine filter for less than £54, even if I pay £30 in labour i'm quids in, compared to the quote from the dealer.

independants will offer you a much better service at alot cheaper price.

Thanks, I looked into that, but the only independant with a good rep is in Stockport which is 25 miles away and due to workload they want the car leaving with them for the day which means the expense of insuring a courtesy car and fuel for a 100 mile trip. Its a 20 minute job for most mechanics, its stupid having to have the car off the road for a day for what is a routine wait-with-vehicle option elsewhere. But if you know of another closer independant that you can recommend then please let me know.

As on my original post, i've tried the three local garages and they aren't interested in anything which doesn't involve a few £100 worth of work or selling you a new engine.

I would tackle it myself as i've done it before on other cars and do have the ramps, but its a matter of keeping the service history updated, and even if its not a stamp in the book, a receipt will at least prove that the work as been done at the correct intervals.

Its really opened my eyes today whilst ringing around!, I never realised that getting a local oil change was such a challenge, if anybody wants a script for an Ealing comendy then let me know!.

rdwarr

chris73 wrote:

I agree, and its a BMW which means that the dealers sting you for everything, i've had quotes ranging from £120 to £200, and the £120 was from a dealer miles away.

When I worked for Mobil we once ran a BMW as a test car for Mobil 1. After 1,000,000 miles round a track (and carrying out services every few days) there was no perceptable engine wear.
There are other oils just as good, all expensive, but nothing like £146. I'd ask for the quote to be itemised.