Best place to get an oil change?

[Bobbyg123]

screw the dealers

As a seasoned car/truck owner in my 40's and a life long sales professional, I always chuckle when I read how people "trust" their dealers. I won't mince words here. They are the least trustworthy of any auto shop. Period. $199 for a 15K mile inspection? Are you kidding me?

I learned how to beat the system a long time ago. Screw the dealers AND screw the lube chains (jiffy, penzoil, grease monkey, etc.) With just a little bit of research, you can find a locally owned, PRIVATE auto mechanic in or around your home town who can provide you with quality, reliable, and reasonable work for your 4runner (or any car/truck). My local shop owner depends on people like me to make his living, therefore he has no incentive to rip me off or get lazy on the job. He runs a small outfit and has no problem if I sip my coffee and watch him work on my vehicle.

Trust me on this guys, there are a lot of privately owned auto shops that offer great service at SIGNIFICANTLY reduced prices. Believe it or not, there is a middle ground between the stealership and the cheapo oil & lube chains.

 

[Jacobzky]

my local auto mechanic lets you watch over their shoulder while they do their job. and they only do maintenance job.

 

[T?@\7]

im going to autozone tommorow to buy 7 quarts of mobil1 synth. and then go to my dealer and let them use their oil as i stand their shoulder and watch.

yeah sure, you've gotten ripped, but I HAVENT. And will NOT. I dont give a flying fvck if i have to stand there and watch them, everytime, do it as they compliment me on my truck and its modifications, thats STILL MUCH EASIER than doing it thine self. Ive done it plenty of times, and its always messy and a headache to remove & re-install the skid, amongst other things.

I TRUST MY DEALER. maybe its because i surf with my service manager on a frequent basis, and I think that SHE is a very nice person, OR maybe it is the fact that the techs always personally deliver my keys to me and take the time to talk with me about the workings of the 4R's and AGAIN how much they like my truck and how its the nicest lift kit they've seen in there.....
I HAVE NO DOUBT.
And if you do, then I think you should have bought your truck at another dealership.
Its not supposed to work like they way you guys are letting it.

 

[Bobbyg123]

I TRUST MY DEALER. maybe its because i surf with my service manager on a frequent basis, and I think that SHE is a very nice person, OR maybe it is the fact that the techs always personally deliver my keys to me and take the time to talk with me about the workings of the 4R's and AGAIN how much they like my truck and how its the nicest lift kit they've seen in there.....

Hey man, no worries. I don't blame you one bit. That's the problem with these message boards. My opinions are generalizations, but there are obviously exceptions. The reason why I don't trust dealerships has to do with their fee structure. They inflate their rates up to 200%. My Japanese auto mechanic recently charged me $56 for the 15K mile service. My dealership wanted $199 for the same service, and they told me it was a special price. lol

I have no doubt that dealerships provide quality work. My point is that there are a lot of privately owned auto shops that provide the same service for hundreds of dollars less. That savings amounts to well over $2000 in 90K miles.

 

[Ill4Runner]

I bought my 4Runner used from Alton Toyota two years ago. I make an apointment and wait while the service is done. Takes about 20 minutes and I haven't paid for an oil change yet.

 

[4by4th]

... Ive done it plenty of times, and its always messy and a headache to remove & re-install the skid, amongst other things.

Do you really have to remove the skid to change the oil on a V8? The only tool I need to change the oil on my V6 is an oil filter wrench, and the filter's on top so it's a piece of cake.

 

[pat161]

DOn't know about the 4th gen but I would be surprised to hear there was no access to the drain plug w/o removing the skid, not saying its not true, just would be surprising. On both my 3rd gens, 2.7 and 3.4 there is a hole in the skid for the plug, problem is the oil drips all over the skid, so removing it helps keep it cleaner. But removing 4 bolts to pull that skid is no big deal to me, perhaps it is more of a PIA on the newer ones. On my 00 I eventually got the Fram drain plug, so you remove the dust cap and thread a hose on and the oil drains where you want, it is slower, but in 4 years mine never leaked. I would remove it every now and then just so it wouldn't seize up. I thnk Fumoto makes one as well and some like it better. Changing your own oil is the way to go, if I am paying someone I don't want to have to watch their every move, if so I'll do it myself. You know it was done right, get to know your truck a little, can do extra things like lube the chassis and you may see future issues before they are a big deal. And 18.88 is a steal for the 5 quart jug of M1 here in MA, where everything costs too much, they are closer to $27 at Walmart. I remember paying the $20 5 years ago.

 

[Casper]

own garage...

cheaper, and job will get done properly 100% of the time

 

[T?@\7]

Hey man, no worries. I don't blame you one bit.

:bigok: No worries indeed!

 

[iLLWiLL]

wow, i just did the oil change this weekend (my first time ever, after owning a blazer and grand cherokee in the past )

...and it was NOT so simple. But the hassles of doing it the first time around on a 4Runner (finding the damn oil filter and the locating the two rear nuts holding up the front skid plate was a pain) will obviously make things go quicker/easier from here on out...

having to remove the front skid plate, and positioning the oil filter wrench between the narrow steel bars was, for lack of better terms, a B!&TCH...all of it is almost a deterrent to doing it yourself.

but as i said things will go much faster from now on. Having to only do this 3 or so times a year isn't too bad, and with the aforementioned horror stories about dealers/shops/grease monkeys ripping ppl off, i'd much rather make myself and do it the RIGHT WAY.

 

[FateOne]

Sorry for reviving a dead thread but I want to complain.

I usually change my own oil and put Mobile 1 in but since moving to a new house our garage has been a bit crowded with boxes and winters in Oregon or too wet to be working outside under a vehicle..anyway...

I took my Audi to a local chain of lube joints called "Oil Can Henry's"... I paid extra to have them put in the fuel additives/etc. because it was cheaper to have my oil changed with synthetic when I do it as their package.. and they didn't do it.. okay.. no problem. but what really pisses me off is that the Mexicans that work there obviously can't read English. My Audi has in HUGE f-ing letters "mineral oil ONLY" on the cap for my power steering fluid. Those idiots "topped me off" with their regular power steering fluid and totally ****ed up my car. They also didn't put a f-ing washer on and my car has been leaking oil.

With my new 4Runner I'm either paying to have it done right and going to make sure I can watch (and not like Oil Can Henry's where they have a screen but it's f-ing tiny and you can't see what they are doing anyway) or I'm going to f-ing do it myself.

 

[Mike07SE]

The "new" way of doing oil changes is to do the extraction through the dipstick tube. I've been doing this for years at the M-B VPC I work at and it's great! No mess or fuss with getting under the car (or T4R in this case) to remove undertrays and skids. Here's a writeup on Toyota120 on the way this is done. Also, here's a link to the Oil Extractor from Griot's Garage . It is a little expensive, but they do work great so you can think of it as an investment to your garage just like any other tool that you may have. Besides oil, I've done this also with transmission fluid changes in other cars, and this is great for getting all the fluid out before taking down the pan (especially ones without drain plugs).

 

[Gottsox]

Where are you all taking your old oil to be disposed of?

 

[Bookmonke]

WOW I didn't even think of pulling it back thru the dipstick, I have the same unit for changing oil on my jetski and it is cheaper on the marine side, here is a link http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...=true&storeNum=6&subdeptNum=169&classNum=170, Hope that works, but those things really work great.

 

[liquidvw]

having someone else change you oil = lazy. Even my wife knows how to change the oil in the 4R.

 

[CannondaleMan]

Where are you all taking your old oil to be disposed of?

By law - FEDERAL LAW _ any place that is selling you oil is supposed to take the oil back.

I usually bring it to AutoZone or wherever and drop it off. Never had a problem with these folks, even walking in with 15 or 20 quarts of oil in the tub.

Very much agree with the notion of doing it yourself. One of the important things every guy needs to know how to do. Overall I find that it takes me about 30 minutes to drive up on my ramps, go under with the roller board, drain it, and refill it after replacing the filter. So I get dirty, I can clean up with Pumice or citrus degreaser and wash my clothes. Not a big deal.

Just bought the fumoto valves as well so things should be quicker once I buy the drain tubing and even less messy. Hell, my wife (who has the mechanical abilities of a pice of paper) might even be able to do it for while I watch her get all dirty..........but I digress......


As for where to buy the oil? BJs Wholesale Club, Costco, or Sam's Club will probably have the least expensive prices after Wally World. I think it was $25 for 6 quarts last time I checked before winter.

 

[Fishy1]

Re: screw the dealers

As a seasoned car/truck owner in my 40's and a life long sales professional, I always chuckle when I read how people "trust" their dealers. I won't mince words here. They are the least trustworthy of any auto shop. Period. $199 for a 15K mile inspection? Are you kidding me?

I learned how to beat the system a long time ago. Screw the dealers AND screw the lube chains (jiffy, penzoil, grease monkey, etc.) With just a little bit of research, you can find a locally owned, PRIVATE auto mechanic in or around your home town who can provide you with quality, reliable, and reasonable work for your 4runner (or any car/truck). My local shop owner depends on people like me to make his living, therefore he has no incentive to rip me off or get lazy on the job. He runs a small outfit and has no problem if I sip my coffee and watch him work on my vehicle.

Trust me on this guys, there are a lot of privately owned auto shops that offer great service at SIGNIFICANTLY reduced prices. Believe it or not, there is a middle ground between the stealership and the cheapo oil & lube chains.

Yep I agree 100% about having a honest shop do it...thats what I've done/ Great service and they don't mind you watching or asking questions.

 

[charlier180]

Where are you all taking your old oil to be disposed of?

The local township I live in accepts used motor oil, oil filters and anti-freeze. They do this under their recycling program.
They use the used oil to heat the township repair garage.

A local body & mechanical repair shop also accepts used oil.
I usually take my oil there. They are a small, family owned business that does body/mechanical work for me from time to time.
They also use the used oil to heat their shop. This keeps their heating bills manageable which helps keep their costs under control.

 

[juneau92]

By law - FEDERAL LAW _ any place that is selling you oil is supposed to take the oil back.

I've heard this before, but I don't think it's really true. I don't think Safeway or other grocery stores take dirty oil back. Same for 7-11 and other convenience stores. Never tried though, so I don't really know for sure.

 

[FateOne]

The "new" way of doing oil changes is to do the extraction through the dipstick tube. I've been doing this for years at the M-B VPC I work at and it's great! No mess or fuss with getting under the car (or T4R in this case) to remove undertrays and skids. Here's a writeup on Toyota120 on the way this is done. Also, here's a link to the Oil Extractor from Griot's Garage . It is a little expensive, but they do work great so you can think of it as an investment to your garage just like any other tool that you may have. Besides oil, I've done this also with transmission fluid changes in other cars, and this is great for getting all the fluid out before taking down the pan (especially ones without drain plugs).

Amazon has the Mityvac 7400 Fluid Evacuator for $47.64. Looks like almost the same thing as the Griot's one. I think I might pick one of these up at that price if shipping isn't too bad.