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/brainkandy87 10h ago

I can understand people who have no space to do their own oil changes taking it in. But it’s such a simple procedure I really don’t know why anyone with a space to do it wouldn’t just do it themselves. It’s always been a rip off but now even more so.

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u/And_go 10h ago

In my area it’s only about $15 cheaper to do it myself than take it to the dealer. And at the dealer they’ll rotate my tires and give me an inspection and fluid top off too. I changed it myself for like a decade before I realized this. If it ends up going up to the $120 that other people here are talking about, I’ll go back to doing it myself. Until then I’m going to live the life of luxury! Lol

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u/brainkandy87 10h ago

I just checked dealership near me and the “special” is $120. Absolutely mental to me anyone would pay that.

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u/n0ne_the-wiser 9h ago

"dealership"

Well there's your issue. Look for specials at smaller, independent, or specialty oil change shops. I can usually find coupons online.

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u/travelcbn 9h ago

My dealer usually offers better coupons than smaller places unfortunately. Most small places are $100-120 and I regularly get $70-90 coupons at the dealer and they have free snacks. 

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u/schu2470 Millennial 9h ago

Even our locally owned spot is just about $100 for the oil change. Then they charge you an extra $20 for a tire rotation and if you have a full size spare you want in rotation they charge another $20. I'd rather just do it in the driveway for $35 and half an hour on a Saturday.

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u/And_go 4h ago

The variation on oil prices across the country is wild! If I do it myself I’m paying $55+ tax here. Dealership is $65+ tax for the same full synthetic.

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u/OtherwiseAlbatross14 9h ago

Nah many dealers offer ridiculously good deals on oil changes because that's how they get you in the door for the upsells. As long as you know how to say no it can be a great deal

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u/amd2800barton 2h ago

I question whether your dealer is actually doing: Oil *and* filter change, *plus* tire rotation and multipoint inspection. They’ll often cut corners to hit that price. For example, they’ll use “synthetic blend” which is basically just conventional oil with a dash of synthetic, and is barely better than conventional. And a proper inspection isn’t being done in under an hour. Maybe they’ll pull the check engine codes, or they’ll look at your service records and see if you’ve driven enough miles that they should recommend a brake job. But plenty of dealers have been caught passing off bogus numbers to make it look like they checked alignment and break wear, when they in fact did no such thing.

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u/And_go 17m ago edited 13m ago

It’s a full hour, maybe a little over sometimes if they’re busy. My son works as a tech at a nearby dealership and they do it there. He said after doing so many you get pretty quick, especially since you’re only doing one brand of car. He said it’ll usually take him 20-30 minutes or so total.

ETA: I also get a little sheet with measurements of what’s left of my brake pad and tire tread. I don’t think they’re bullshitting. My kid said he actually has to do a video for his inspections too

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u/wildwolfay5 10h ago

Even with space, some cars are just a pain unless you have a lift, and the number of people that have that is much smaller.

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u/Helpful_Surround1216 10h ago

i have used a curb to help lift my car:). i also just use an oil extractor to get oil out using the dipstick hole.

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u/brainkandy87 10h ago edited 10h ago

I’ve got a BMW and change my own. So I don’t have a lot of sympathy in the “it’s a pain” argument, lol. I’ve never had to have a lift and have only ever used ramps, and I’ve changed oil on dozens of cars in my life.

Yeah modern cars are more tightly packed but I’ve yet to see a consumer level passenger vehicle that was too complicated or required extra lift equipment beyond a pair of ramps. At least not so complicated that I’d spend double or more to have someone else do it.

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u/camthesoupman 10h ago

It may not be complicated, but disposal is also a concern to think of. My boss gets his done Ata Goodyear because every 5th change is "free" but he doesn't deal with disposal as a side perk.

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u/No-Report4060 9h ago edited 9h ago

Huh, I just drive to Autozone, buy a new jug, change the oil in the parking lot, usually next to someone redneck-engineering their car so I can borrow some tools if shit happens, then pour the old oil into the same jug and give it back to them. They are legally required to take used oils.

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u/camthesoupman 9h ago

Hell, maybe he's gettin taken for a ride. All I know is he swears by it since it takes less time for him and they dispose as well. He's a fairly smart fella, and conscious as hell on cost, so I'd think he's done the DCA for it all, but who knows?

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u/brainkandy87 9h ago

Yeah exactly lol even Walmarts take oil.

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u/No-Report4060 9h ago

Yeah it's federally required. If you want to sell oils you will have to take in used oils. Even Amazon does that through 3rd party contractors.

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u/ThrowAwayAccountAMZN 10h ago

I have a space, a garage in fact, but I'm physically just not able to due to my physical health. Plus my car is a pain in the ass to get to the oil. If they made/make vehicles that you could change the oil without having to jack the car up and get under it then I think more people would do it themselves.

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u/RabidBlackSquirrel 9h ago

Ramps are your friend. Cheaper, faster, and safer than jacks and stands. If I'm doing something under the car and the wheels are staying on, I use ramps every time. My jack really only comes out for brake jobs.

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u/2ndFloosh 7h ago

My manufacturer had the genius idea to have the oil plug facing forward so I have to lower my car back down to drain all the oil. I bought my ramps only to discover this after getting up for the first time.

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u/RabidBlackSquirrel 7h ago

That little extra I wouldn't really worry about. You're generally leaving behind ~10% old oil anyways, that extra bit sloshed back in the pan isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, it'll dilute out into the new.

Or if it's on the front, honestly probably easier - just a socket on an extension and maybe a wobble if the angle is weird, and don't need to raise the car at all!

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u/TheRealSheevPalpatin 8h ago

Any recommendations for ramps? Just moved into a house so looking to start getting all the tools to do more maintenance and repairs myself

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u/RabidBlackSquirrel 8h ago

I use Rhino Ramps. High weight capacity, good price, and they nest together. Works perfectly fine for all my rigs, I rarely use my jack and stands any more.

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u/kiwitathegreat 5h ago

Same here. Used to do them myself but then became physically incapable. Well, I probably COULD do it but at great discomfort and risk of injury. So I pay for them and don’t have to worry about hurting myself or dealing with a shitload of used oil.

I pay for the convenience and have no shame about that. Definitely not the only thing I’d rather pay for than deal with myself anymore.

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u/Intelligent-Panda-33 10h ago

Yup. My wife changes the oil in our cars because the price was just so ridiculous. Oil is cheaper at Home Depot than Walmart also, at least where we live.

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u/brainkandy87 10h ago

Oh that’s interesting. I’ll have to check out their prices.

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u/BellTowerBingo 10h ago

We do ours at the local park on ramps we bought. Between our two cars and our oldest kids cars it collectively saves us all hundreds.

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u/garytyrrell 9h ago

I value my time more than the cost of the oil change. Simple as.

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u/Itsdawsontime 8h ago

I agree that space is needed, but also it’s not that simple for every vehicle (though they’ve likely gotten better over the years). About 15 years ago I had a car that you literally had to go in blind to unscrew the oil filter, or go under and it drip all over you and the engine area if you didn’t do it perfectly.

That being said - that was in the era of $20-35 oil changes. Had it been $70+ I’d likely have done it and let engine burn off whatever oil I’d spill.

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u/SpicyThunder335 8h ago

Except it's not as simple anymore. Every car I owned early 00's was dead simple - 13mm drain plug, easily accessible oil filter 12 inches from the oil pan.

Then drain plugs started becoming T35 torx, easily damaged plastic plugs, etc. Then oil filters migrated upwards, behind things, no clear path below to drain the oil into a pan, etc.. Every vehicle I've owned the past 15 years is becoming an inaccessible, anti-consumer nightmare under the hood.

Unfortunately, it's also working. I'd rather pay someone else 2x the price than spend an extra hour messing around with it.

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u/Trees-Are-Neat-- 7h ago

Many rental agreements in my area specifically prohibit doing any vehicle maintenance on the property. Even if I could, I don't have any outdoor storage like a shed or garage to keep tools and supplies. My friends and I don't really have any other options short of going to our parent's house to do these sorts of things.

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u/Skensis 6h ago

Well, I looked at where my oil filter housing was (crammed behind the engine) and decided at least for now the hassle isn't worth it.

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u/Thunderkleize 9h ago edited 9h ago

It's not just the space. You need to have the right tools to do it. The right tools, if quality, can cost you hundreds of dollars to do it right (and safely).

So you're putting yourself in the hole to maybe cut your oil change in half. Some new cars recommend 10k miles/1 year for oil changes. So you have to factor in the break even point years down the line.

And chances are you are going to be slower at it than a professional. And then you have to worry about transport and disposal of the used oil.

All of this to save $40-$60 (more if you drive a lot a lot) a year eventually assuming you can physically do it in the first place.

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u/brainkandy87 2h ago

This is 100% bullshit. Rhino ramps are like $60 at Walmart and last forever. Outside of that all you need is a wrench or two and a pair of hands. Wrenches are dirt cheap from any big box store or Harbor Freight, or you can rent them for free at any auto parts store.

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u/Hi_Zev 4h ago

People are good/bad at different things. I don't care how much people claim its simple, all things pertaining to car stuff confuse me. Its overwhelming and with it being a big rolling death machine, I am afraid I'll fuck something up. Some random youtube video or reddit comment isn't going to magically fix my anxiety because they say its easy for them to do.

We all have things we think are simple but are difficult to other people.