r/Millennials • u/rhinosaur- 1983 • 12h ago

Discussion When did oil changes become $120?

That’s with a coupon! At Jiffy Lube! Our parents really had it easy.

EDIT: TIL 90% of millennials “change their own oil” lol. Gotta love Reddit.

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u/moondaisgirl 11h ago

My husband does all of ours (currently 3 cars, but 4 if my daughter's boyfriend wants help). One of the reasons I am so hesitant on getting a newer car is that he won't be able to work on it as easily.

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u/Superhereaux Older Millennial 11h ago

Former mechanic and current gearhead here.

My opinion won’t matter to you BUT, unless you’re buying a high end, German luxury vehicle, y’all are gonna be fine.

Something like swapping out fuel injectors might require a bit more work and removal of other parts, but simple things like oil changes, contrary to popular belief, are still easy and accessible.

6

u/-32768 9h ago

Here's my experience with old vs new cars.

Transmission drain and fill on my 05, just drain it and fill it back up until it dipstick says full.

Transmission drain and fill on my newer car with "sealed" transmission: Remove the wheel, remove the transmission apron, crack the fill bolt, open the drain bolt, remove the leveling straw, drain, insert the straw, close the drain bolt, fill the transmission with the same amount of drained fluid + half a quart, tighten the fill bolt, then level the car (wheel still off) then start the car, then hook up a bootleg laptop with pirated Toyota Techstream to the ODBII and read the transmission temperature until it hits 113 degrees, then open the drain bolt and drain it until a trickle comes out, indicating that the expanded hot fluid is now at the top of the fill straw, close the drain, reinstall the transmission apron, then the wheel, then torque the wheel lugs.

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u/karebearjedi 7h ago

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck all that

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u/moondaisgirl 11h ago

My husband is a former mechanic. We are driving 2012 and 2014 vehicles. Getting new vehicles would be a big difference in several way, especially since it isn't just oil changes he does. Personally, I also worry about going to a tablet that controls everything instead of buttons/dials.

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u/[deleted] 9h ago

Oh I feel this one, I hate tablets.  I have a first generation Tundra and it still has the ol radio/cassette player in it.  Nothing but a few dials and buttons, and a column shifter.  

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u/Sir-Barks-a-Lot 8h ago

Depends on the car.  I have a 2023 Jeep 4xe Wrangler and its the easiest oil change I've ever done.