Is it Worth it to Change Your Own Oil?

This post is part of a sponsored automotive series. All opinions are mine. 

It came up in conversation recently, on whether or not it’s worth the trouble of changing your own oil in your car or if it’s just easier and/or cheaper to bring it to a mechanic to have it changed. If you’ve ever wondered the same, I wanted to share what types of details go into answering this question and hopefully help you determine whether or not it’s worth it in your case!

First off, I enlisted some help from my friends at this Ohio Jeep dealer to assist in covering what to consider when it comes to changing your own oil vs. bringing it in. Here are the details to think about.

Financially

Looking at the costs of changing your own oil versus bringing it in to a mechanic to have it changed is an easy comparison. It’s definitely cheaper to change your own oil. You can find oil filters and oil at your local auto parts store and change it at home for pretty cheap.

For example, an oil filter for my Jeep Grand Cherokee runs about $7-8. Beyond that, 5 quarts of oil for this will cost about $19-20. So my total cost for changing my own oil would be around $26-28.

If I wanted to skip the hassle of changing it myself, and just bring it in to be changed, I’d be looking to spend probably $50-70 depending on where I took it and if they were running any specials. So I could save about half the cost ($24+) by doing it myself.

Equipment Costs

Now that’s assuming you have all the equipment necessary already to change your own oil – including the tools, oil pan, car jack and stands, funnel, etc. Obviously if you’re going to be doing this for the first time, your investment is going to be more than maybe your initial oil change cost at a mechanic.

Time and/or Labor

Obviously changing your own oil is going to take your own time and labor. But then you’re going to compare that to what you would spend in time and labor at a dealership or mechanic. You’ll likely wait roughly an hour there while they work on your vehicle. Now that might not be a big deal to some people (like my husband who just brings his laptop and works while they work on our vehicles).

So when it comes down to it, it all depends on what’s worth it to you. Is the savings worth the time put into servicing your own vehicle? Or would you rather spend the $20-40 extra dollars and have someone else do it for you?

It’s nice to have the option, which do you choose to do?

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