Are You Extra Oily?

Don't fall for the Jiffy Lube propaganda. We have all been conditioned to have our oil changed every 3,000 miles. This might be fine for some cars, older ones in particular, but newer cars are made to go longer between changes.

Check your owners manual and talk to a trusted mechanic first.

We have 7 cars, hey we have 13 kids, 5 who drive. So back off man.

2 older ones that I change every 3,000 miles
1 that needs it every 7,500 miles
2 that need it every 5,000 miles
2 that have oil monitoring systems, the "change oil" light usually fires up every 3,000-5,000 miles.

Let's assume that changing the oil on my Van, 7500 miles recommend, costs $30. It's a 7-quart system not 5-quarts like most cars.

After 100,000 miles that works out to:
If changed every 3,000 miles. 33 oil changes at $30 each = $990
If changed every 7,500 miles. 13 oil changes at $30 each = $390

That's a nice amount of savings for not doing anything. How often do you get to save money by being lazy. And you save even more money, and time, if you do it yourself. It takes all of 15-20 minutes to change your own oil. It takes that long just to drive to and from the Jiffy Lube.

Obviously waiting too long to change the oil and ruining a $3,000 motor would be much worse than getting your oil changed too often, so be smart.

***all posts apply to my family only - your results will be different***