This has always confused me - oil changes
 

ok so this has always confused me. I do my own oil changes, but this is more of a general curiosity that always comes to mind when a friend or relative tells me they had their oil changed at a shop.

Many places will do a conventional oil change for anywhere from 25-30 dollars. so that includes labor and oil and a filter (Supposedly... if they actually do what they say). Then you hear about people paying 90+ for a synthetic oil change. so if you take 5qts of mobil1 which is 37, but lets call it an even 40 dollars for 5qts then a typical filter is 6-10 dollars, we're at about 50 dollars in parts for the oil change. then they proceed to charge you 40 dollars labor to do the same exact labor involved in a conventional oil change.

So why is the labor 40 dollars for a synthetic change, when the same place would charge you 25-30 for oil, filter, and labor for a conventional change.... am i missing something?

Wait, a garage is trying to gouge people on service cost?!

*fake surprise*

most shops do the cheap oil changes just to get people in the shop. Then they inspect other parts of your car to try to sell you more service.

The synthetic oil change isnt one of their bring you in type deals. thus they overcharge for it like they would most any other service.

Its like a super sale at a grocery store or something. Bring you in, hope you buy a ton of other ****.

This! :iagree::iagree:

that makes sense i guess. i mean obviously the answer is that they gouge you just like they would for anything else... i just find it funny. so basically if i walk into some shop with synthetic oil and filter etc all in hand and ask them to change my oil, they ill charge me more money in labor than they would have to do the entire oil change with conventional including parts. this is why i never go to shops :shakes head: :bowrofl:

Obvious Answer: put conventional oil labels on synthetic oil bottles = ftw???

:roflpuke2:

honestly, these days i wouldn't trust a shop to even do anything. i wouldn't believe for a second that a shop used synthetic oil in my car. basically they have a chance to make about 95% profit if they charge you for synthetic and use conventional and dont change your filter.... and they obviously dont care about your car, so why not?

Actually, another serious consideration here is that conventional oil needs to be changed more often, so they can make a smaller profit more often on you with that, while they need to make more on a synthetic change, since they don't have you coming back as often.

good point.

the smaller shops around here will still tell you to come back in 3k miles even with synthetic....

but seriously, we took our versa to NTB for an oil change..
we get coupons for 16$ oil changes + tire rotations. Its simple enough and easy.

they called me up while they had it, hey, your air filters are really dirty, we can replace em for like 50.xx something $.

i said... err no... the versa has 23k miles on it.. I just took the filters out, and cleaned em. And they werent even that bad.

Dealership charges me $30 including tax to change my oil and inspect my car on my g20. Then they want 300 to change front brakes, lol. It's how it goes.

I went to the Nissan dealership with my own oil (5 qts of Mobil1 which I got for $30 at walmart) and they only charged me $22 for filter and labor for an oil change.

I sometimes bring my oil and filter to local dealer. They charge less than 10 bucks for the labor.

well now that actually makes sense

the guy who changes my oil makes me a sandwhich while the oil drains out of my car. :tup: :p

:icon17:

I take my own oil, they install their filter and change the oil for $18.
I have to believe the $90 dollar changes you're speaking of are the Nissan Ester Oil, which is a $14-15 per quart.

nah my brother gets charged 90 for a synthetic change on is 2003 A6.

The reason why conventional oil is so cheap to do is because shops buy it in bulk so they get a greater discount from the distributor. synthetic on the other hand you have to buy case by case just like you would at autozone or where ever else. they still receive a discount for buying it from the distributor but it isn't as big of a discount as if they ordered 100 gallons of conventional oil. plus they have to put a markup on the oil so they can still make money causing the price to be higher. $90 for only 5 qts is def high no matter what but at my shop for 5qts synthetic mobil 1 and oil filter is about $60+tax . 7 qts about 85+ tax so its all depending on how many qts it takes. again $90 for 5 qts is ridiculous and i would def get it done someplace else if he can't do it himself

They try to take your life savings.

$25 5qt jug at walmart for mobil1 silver cap + $5-6 for the filter and 1hr of my time.

If the guy making the sandwich/changing oil is the same guy that is waiting on the oil change; then it doesn't count :tup::tup:

those dirty rat bastards! I won't fall for their trickery.

Must be more expensive to change the oil in an A than it is in a Z. :icon17:

Well said which is why i bring my own oil. Who knows whats really in those
bulk tanks they pump out of............. Just saying far as we know could be
wal-mart special brand..............

Dealers are always going to try to gouge you and luxury makes will do so eve more. They mark up the oil big time so you can't use your purchase price elsewhere as a guide. I bring my own oil and the guy I go to charges me $15 for filter and labor. Also, as others have stated, shops/dealers buy conventional oil by the barrel. It probably costs them a dime a quart. Synthetic they have to buy by the case. This of course does not meaning they are also marking things u big time to rip you off. I only ever go to the dealership for warranty repairs or if I have a coupon (though that was with the Altima, they never have coupons for synthetic)

Also, don't let them trick you with the free first oil change. They'll treat it like any other car and put conventional in. They mentioned it to me, the free first oil change. I asked if that was the ester oil, and they were like no, that's like $75 extra. Offering a free oil change but using an oil below factory recommendations is retarded.

:icon18: Me too.

Service is a business. Yes there are horror stories everywhere, but most people post bad things, almost never good things. People also seem to feel that prices are not worth what they are.

Lets break it down.

You get an oil change for $30 for your Z, takes 5.2 qt with filter.

$5 oil (5/30 bulk 55gal which is what large shops buy)
$5 OEM filter and washer (their cost, no profit. Actual loss: they pay people to stock the shelves, run the parts department).

Oil Change: start to finish 30m. This includes person who checks you in (service advisor), person who drives car in, tech who works on the car, cashier who checks you out.

So that is effectively $40/hr for labor on the service. Well below their rates.

$40/hr is roughly $80K year...I bet most people on this forum are close to that or over that if they drive a 40K car. If you want equal quality as yourself, why should you not expect to pay equal value? Do you want a $10/hr spanky doing your oil change and hosing it up? Alrighty, check out Jiffy-lube where the odds are better.

So is a $50 oil change really a rip off? I think not. The oil changes are low margin service at high volume for customers. Larger services are more profitable since it takes more time (highest margin is in labor costs), and more parts where there are some markups.

My local dealer charged me $27 or so for the Z's oil change when I brought my own oil. With conventional its $35+tax. More then reasonable.

With any service, I simply itemize it. The 'package' services are typically higher margin as well. Instead of the 30K package, I say do X, Y, Z only. And the break down is reasonable as parts plus exact labor.

Note: I have done almost all of my routine maintenance for 20 years and am pretty experienced. This has saved me a lot of money and helped finance my car habits :)

While under warranty, given the complexity of modern cars, the Z is the first car I am taking to the dealer while under warranty and letting them do it. Yeah I can save $20 on my oil change, but jacking it up, dealing with the splash pan, crawling under it, etc...takes time.

Sitting in waiting room with my laptop and wireless working == money. Its a value equation I am quite happy with :)

I still work on the WRX and G35, so all is not lost.

- b

What one person considers a value, another will consider a ripoff it is as simple as that.

But yes, garages try to take all they can get, especially at dealerships.

^^ yep. my local dealer wanted $20 for a pair of wiper refills. :mad:

bought the same thing online for $22, but 2 sets shipped to my house. :p (this was for my honda).

i just take it to the dealer along with my mobil1 oil and k&n oil filter. watch them put it in and pay $15 for labor. i'd gladly pay the $15 any day to keep from the disposal of the oil myself. i don't mind doing the work myself but can't beat that price when it comes to the hassle of it all...

Yep, Ester Oil Changes run me $85. Parts are $67. Ends up being a $18 oil change. Heck... The car run smoothly... I believe, if my reasearch is right you might experience valve train noise if you use Mobil 1 etc... I think Amisol, Castrol have more Ester properties in them. I might give that a try after I get 10K on the car or so... I only have about 2500 miles on the car and wanted to do a factory fill change after 1500 to get oil shaving out of the motor etc...

I noticed a bunch of black material on dip stick even after oil change... Wtf ??? So, I went back to the dealership to see if they even changed the oil. We could tell by the marks on the bolts etc that it had been done.

During the process I checked a bunch of Z's on the lot. The dip sticks all had some blackish material on them. I believe this is break in lube making it up on to the dip stick. Any one else with same experience? I checked dip stick just now.... and blackish material all gone. Plus, I noticed one more thing that I like about this car over my old 350Z. The dip stick is straight and it easy to get it in and out of the dip stick holder unlike the old 350Z. That one bent all over the place and would take two or three tires to get it back in properly. You never really knew if you had a proper oil reading because it would scrap the oil off of the side of the dip stick tube.

I love my 370Z more and more each day... More than my Vette.. well, as a daily driver yes. But, as a long distance road car with the wife... The Vette is still better. I expect over the years to come the Z will hold up a lot better. I'll deal with that down the road.

Sorry for the banter but, I always wondered about these things and thought I'd post up my honest thoughts for those thinking the same thing.

Excuse the extended post.... Enjoy the ride !!!

I'm begining to believe the same just check to make sure they don't over or under fill your car and that all the bolts etc.. are back in place. Sometimes they forget to put all of the air deflector screws back in ... Doh :eek:

Oil Changes
 

My Z goes to the dealer closest to me. I like and trust them. At first, the esther oil changes cost $83. Now they use another synthetic costing $63. I have no problems with that since i change my oil twice a year. Now my daily driver I go for the 19.99 change with tire rotation at a Mr Tire.