Who changes their own oil & filter

Mr.Generous

I do mine, the wifes and the daughters. I buy a few 5ltr cans of oil at a time from eBay to get a better price. Filters etc usually from Carparts4less or EuroCarParts - whichever is cheaper. On my Skoda (no jokes please - its a fab car) 1st service was over £200, and its an oil and filter change. Same as my previous car - A Saab I had from new and kept 10 years. Did all my own servicing, car still in the family and going strong at 14 years old. I have saved thousands of pounds, and I enjoy doing it.

The oil sump plug is plastic on mine for anyone considering doing the job that well may be the case on modern cars. The oil filter is cartridge type and has a mechanism that prevents overtightening, its right in the top front of the car so easy to reach. The sump plug is beyond the undertray so no messing removing that. A petrol Skoda Octavia is a delight to work on.

Wife's Fiesta Eco Boost is also very simple to work on, Daughters Seat FR a bit more difficult, but nothing major. Other daughter used to have a Volvo C30, try working on one of them!!

Ibrahim5

Just buy everything online. Next time you go to the recycling centre take the old oil. No need for special journey.

Mr.Generous

Ibrahim5 said:

Just buy everything online. Next time you go to the recycling centre take the old oil. No need for special journey.

That's what I do, I use an old washing up bowl to collect the oil then use a funel to refill either the empty oil can or an empty 5ltr screenwash bottle or similar. It just sits in the garage till I visit the tip.

Grumpy_chap

Ibrahim5 said:

Wriggling under a car is good for keeping the 6 pack in shape.

I think it would be more of a quads exercise.  Not a great one though.

motorguy

Ibrahim5 said:

Just buy everything online. Next time you go to the recycling centre take the old oil. No need for special journey.

Nah.

I'm longsince over all that.  Dont have to, dont want to.

If someone wants to and / or takes pleasure from it, then great.  But most people dont.

Ibrahim5

This is a money saving forum. We give tips on ways to save money. If you don't want to save money you don't have to.

motorguy

Ibrahim5 said:

This is a money saving forum. We give tips on ways to save money. If you don't want to save money you don't have to.

Ibrahim5 said:

This is a money saving forum. We give tips on ways to save money. If you don't want to save money you don't have to.

Where did you mention saving money?

Ibrahim5 said:

It's got to be much faster to do your own. I was always amazed how much palaver it is for someone who is car dependent to take it to a garage. Once you have changed the oil a couple of times on the same car you have all the socket sizes and torque wrench settings in your head. Wriggling under a car is good for keeping the 6 pack in shape.

We were discussing the time and effort involved in each, where we not?

The original post also was with regard to perceived ease of doing it yourself and finding the motivation to do so,  not the cost saving of DIY.

[Deleted User]

Same here, got all the tools and knowledge to service my car but I take it to my local independent family garage that I've been using for about 20 years because I combine it with the MOT and get other important jobs done that are often overlooked such as brake fluid / coolant changes for example.

When I got my first car in the 90's I did it all myself and did for many years after that, can change brakes, sort out electrical issues and even changed a drive shaft.

I do actually complete some work myself, resoldered wires on the boot loom for example when my boot failed to open, I knew it was faff labour wise but a clean job and no parts costs. 

I see it as an insurance against get ripped off by being loyal to a family garage that I know really well. When something major goes wrong they treat me well, they've gone above and beyond to save me money by sourcing components / substitutes or repairing things that other garages won't bother with.

Long term I think it is worth building that relationship and giving them some regular business each year.

Richard53

[Deleted User] said:

Long term I think it is worth building that relationship and giving them some regular business each year.

Good advice. I had a local garage I trusted totally. As I got older and less interested in crawling about on the driveway, I took the car to them more and more for routine stuff. Annual service + MoT, plus any other odd things that cropped up in between. It was great to know there was somewhere reliable where my face was known. And then the owner went and died. His partner (who ran the office) wanted out, and his chief mechanic couldn't afford to take the business over, so it folded. Now I need to find a new garage that I can trust, and it's proving difficult. So if you have a good, reliable local garage, support them and hang onto them.

molerat

Just about impossible to do mine on the ground.  First you need to get the massive plastic undertray off then reach up between the engine and bulkhead to get to the filter.  On a ramp a piece of cake.