Why has the price of an oil change gone up so much over the past year? I thought it was just my mechanic, so I decided to shop around today. The prices range from $27-$40. Even Walmart is $30. For as long as I can remember I could find an oil change for under $20, then suddenly over the past year they have gone to $30? Why?
Some vehicles require more oil. An eight cylinder engine can take 6 or 7 quarts of oil and a lot of oils are now synthetic blends or they're 100 percent synthetic, which raises the price some.
Call TAG. I think I pd $21 last time. Walmart has been a ripoff ever since they opened on 42 for auto service.
You have to be careful, too at some of these places. They'll strip your drain plug. (Okay, there's some more material there for our resident comedians. :jester Seriously, though that can cause a pretty bad oil leak. You should check to make sure your vehicle isn't leaking from the underside, check your dipstick and oil levels before driving too far. I actually had a major dealership one time forget to screw the drain plug back in fully and didn't even put the dipstick back in all the way. I had driven it several miles and had to have it towed back in because the oil had drained out enough that it wouldn't have been prudent to drive it any further. Naturally, they picked up the towing tab.
Does it not make sense that it's because the price of oil has gone up? Do you people sit around and do drugs all the time or what?
No it doesn't. Oil has not gone up $2.50/quart in one year. That's why I was asking. I called TAG. They quoted $36.22 for up to 5 quarts.
I paid just shy of 70 the other day at the Texaco Quick Lube place in Smithfield. Then again, they replaced my windshield wipers (was so wonderful to have working wipers today as I drove in the rain) and used the high mileage oil since my car has over 200K miles.
It does, but I'll bet they charged her a pretty penny for budget wipers. I'll bet just the wipers were $15-$20. You can go to Advanced Auto or Auto Zone and get Bosch wipers probably for what they charged for Anco...and they'll put them on for free if you don't know how to put them on yourself. I'd skip the high mileage oil myself as well and skip the offer to change the air filter. I guarantee a Fram filter at Walmart will cost you a few dollars less and changing it is usually nothing more than 3-5 minutes worth of time. I went to one of those quick lube places one time and they were going to charge me $10.00 to replace the blown license plate light, when I could go get a twin pack at Walmart and do it myself for $2.00.
$70 is high unless it was synthetic oil. You can save money just by watching for deals at Advance or Autozone. Just like Jester said, you can buy your wipers there and they will put them on for you. If you look for their ads you can get a good deal. I saw them advertise 5 quarts of Havoline with a Purolator oil filter last month for $13. To get Castrol or Pennzoil was less than $20 too. Of course you have to Do It Yourself oil change.
"$19.95 oil changes" Go down 70 like you are headed to smithfield, it's on the right. It's just passed Bayer. Saw it yesterday.
Walmart's a good place to buy oil, but if you have a foreign car or need a rare oil or transmission fluid, try Petroliance in Apex. I called over a dozen stores looking for transmission fluid for my Volvo. The stealership charges over $20 a quart for the stuff. I picked it up by the case for $51.50. If you're serious, they sell by the gallon, keg and 55-gal drum, too.
This has nothong to do with the OP but I feel like writing something. I use synthetic oil, but I rarely have it done in the shop. I did for my last oil change and it was $69.00. I can do it at home with synthetic for about $25.00 including the filter. Between myself, teenagers, etc I have, or take care of five cars and trucks so it would break me if I paid that for every one every time. IMO synthetic is worth it, you can go twice as far between changes and you have less engine wear.
Unless you already have an older engine with a lot of miles on it. And if that is the case the synthetic stuff will find any spot it can to leak. As a side note, I used to have a friend that would never change his oil, just once a month he would change the filter and top off the oil. Last time I saw that vehicle it had s little over 300,000 miles on it with no engine work or repairs having been done to it.
Good place for oil changes A good place for oil changes is Cleveland Auto Repair, on Commerce Drive (behind the Bojangles on Hwy 42 at I-40). They charge 16.95 for a basic oil change (oil, filter), and I think 24.50 for the next level up (topping fluids, etc). They are very nice, efficient and I've been happy each time I take my care there. A great local business.
