[Amezarak]

Yeah, on most cars, changing the oil consists of: loosen/remove one bolt, drain oil, unscrew oil filter, put new filter on and bolt back, fill with amount and type of oil specified in manual. (Some also have a little plastic shield you have to remove first.) And yeah, you’re likely to care a whole lot more about your car than some average lube tech. (This is why I change my oil now: I found out how little they care when the lube techs at two different places reattached the plastic shield wrong causing it to fall and drag on the road. Saving money was just a bonus.)

I’ve notice people seriously overestimate how complicated really simple maintenance/mechanical tasks are generally.

I remember hearing an NPR story about a plumber shortage where the person being interviewed had just paid some thousand dollars to have their PVC drain line repaired. I was shocked. They could have done it themselves with a shovel, a hacksaw, and $5 worth of PVC and glue in maybe 10-25 minutes, well within almost anyone’s capabilities if they had thought to look into it before calling someone.

We really are very rich that we can not think about these things.

[Ferret7446]

I expect most people don't fancy crawling under their car nor do they have a lift. It's also surprisingly hard to do DIY stuff if you aren't used to or equipped for it; you can waste hours fiddling with something that you haven't built the wisdom to do in the right/quick/easy way, like unscrewing something in an awkward place or angle.

[asdff]

You can find out how to do this with a hundred different detailed youtube videos.

I will outline the procedure on my car how I do it so you can see how simple it actually is. No you don't need a lift. Yes you lay down but keep in mind 65 year old mechanics can lay down and its not a big ask for most people in good health to lay down under their car.

> unscrew oil cap at the top of the engine

> get plastic pan to collect oil and slide it under the oil pan

> get 14mm socket wrench and slightly loosen the drain plug

> loosen it the rest of the way by hand, then carefully remove the plug to not drop it into the collection pan (not a big deal if it happens)

> go have lunch

> come back and pour a little new oil down

> go and clean up lunch

> come back and screw the drain plug back on with a new copper washer

> unscrew the filter which i do by hand because i do this myself and don't overtorque like the lube tech

> pour a little oil into new replacement filter and screw back on

> fill with oil

> cap the fill lid

> done

as you can see you screw and unscrew three things. this should fit within the mental model of most people quite easily barring intellectual disability.

[Amezarak]

You don't need a lift, you just need some ramps or to use the jack that probably comes with your car with some jack stands. I can't imagine almost any DIYer uses a lift, unless they're moved into the Very Serious Car Person With Project Cars stage of DIY.

[mindslight]

You didn't include jack stands, crawling under the car, nor needing an appropriate place to work in your original description making it sound so easy. I do a lot of DIY including car stuff, but for oil it's a toss up of whether I actually want that hassle or whether I'll just outsource it to a still-competitive market for a low price.

(I did get burned on a cross country road trip by some dipshit stripping my oil pan drain hole. I don't know if they just didn't like the far-off plates, or aluminum was an exotic material to them, or what. But that's much less of a worry when you go to the same local place)

[asdff]

Depends on your car but you don't need to jack it up for oil. I do it whereever its parked. I've done it on the side of the road when I had to park it there before.

[nothercastle]

I think you underestimate the level of complexity. The actual oil change is simple enough but getting the car lifted requires ramps. Then there is the disposal problem individually each step is simple but when you add them up and trade them against paying 50$ for the oil change it’s not always a great trade.

As for plumbing you definitely underestimate how much of a pain in the a it is to dig a 4-6’ deep hole to do your own pipes. It can be done in a day or 2 outside of most peoples comfort zone.

[Amezarak]

This was a story set in the south, where such pipes are rarely buried more than 2’ because the frost line is basically at the surface.

I’ve done it, so I’m not underestimating it. I’ve had the exact problem described in the story. And I’m definitely not a plumber.

[asdff]

No ramps needed for my car. Disposal is easy you just take the used oil wherever you bought the fresh oil. Autozone in my case.

[illiac786]

You forgot „properly dispose of old oil“. That alone justifies the trip to the shop for me.

[rnewme]

Most of places that sell you new oil will gladly take your old one.

[Amezarak]

There’s nothing hard about that, you take it to the closest auto parts store and dump it in the big tank they have for that.

[illiac786]

And they are going to let you do this for free instead of invoicing you for changing your oil. Very nice guys. Most of all because they have to pay to dispose of _your_ oil afterward.

Maybe car shops are philanthropic where you live, not so much where I live…

[asdff]

Have you ever actually tried this stuff instead of supposing things and writing about it as a fact online? I just take it to autozone and they don't ask questions or need to file anything, or even really ask me anything about the oil I brought in. Some people don't even go that far and just leave a used jug outside the autozone (bad practice as it could spill and is rude to the workers).

[yial]

I have literally never seen anyplace geared towards selling parts / oil, charge for oil disposal. I can think of 6+ places within 30 minutes that offer it for free.

[Amezarak]

Like the sibling commenter, I have never heard of an auto parts store charging for this. Walmart accepts it as well. Maybe it's just in the US that things are this way, and you're in another country?

I assume part of the reason they offer this service is to incentivize you to buy parts and oil from them, but I imagine there are also regulatory reasons.

[illiac786]

I do live in another country and you started to make me doubt, so I checked.

So car shops generally won’t take you old oil where I live (although allegedly some do, which I somehow have never heard of), but it appears that most of the gas stations do.

So, my mistake, it appears it’s not so much a pain as I thought, I’ll look into this.

[asdff]

That is the easiest step among the pile of very easy steps.

[nothercastle]

Yeah by the time you go to a place that accepts you might as well have paid them to do the work.

[asdff]

Places accept oil for free all over the place. Its not a huge pain at all.

[paradox460]

Even easier, if you're willing to spend a little up front. Just get a vacuum pump extractor, purpose built for changing oil. You shove the hose down the dipstick hole, pump it a few times, and watch as your oil is removed from the car. No need to jack up the car or crawl under. When the thing starts to make bathtub drain noises, wiggle the hose around to make sure it was seated, pull it up out, and pour a new bottle of oil in. No mess no fuss

[mrheosuper]

i found those vaccuum pump never suck all of the oil completely. You can test it yourself, after sucking the oil, remove the drain plug and there is oil still dripping out

[xethos]

Now show the "Replace oil filter with new" step, ideally (like you mentioned) without lifting the vehicle

[Tildey]

Many oil filters these days are accessible from the top of the engine, and IME it’s possible to get under many SUVs/CUVs/trucks far enough to remove the filter/bung without lifting anyway. A set of drive-on ramps makes it kind of a non issue either way

[asdff]

That's how I do it on my vehicle, no lift no ramps. I just slide under on my back and everything is very accessible. Toyota still doing something right I guess.

[paradox460]

For all of my cars, its centrally located, near the dipstick.