Our regular Auto Repair closed.
Decided to try a new one.
Wondering: what is a fair price for a 2013 Honda Odyssey Oil Change with Filter and Synthetic Oil. No Tire rotation etc…just the oil change.
The new one is highly rated on Next Door, is very conveniently located and wife says pleasant experience with no upsell.
I really wanted this to work.
Want to see if their prices are in line for the future.
I pay $59.99 at my local Goodyear dealer for a full synthetic oil change, it might be $10 more for Mobile one. It’s a great shop I get everything down there and trust them, very clean, friendly and fair priced.
Why synthetic? They would often offer this, but I didn’t know whether there was any value in it.
I pay about $80 per oil change on my car.
Not a mechanic, but an observation.
My Jeep has a “oil life” monitor. It tells me the percentage of life left before I need an oil change.
It has been over 4000 miles since my last change and I am not at 50% yet.
We drive about 5000 miles a year in each car.
We follow the guideline of a minimum of an annual oil change.
My wife’s and my car both require it, but I’ll go over 7,000 miles between oil changes.
synthetic will result in significantly lower internal engine wear. The synthetic will last longer, doesn’t break down as fast, resists heat better, flows better because it is more uniform. The key to any oil is make sure it is clean and full.
When I had my propane camry, I would do synthetic oil changes at about 20K miles. I would sample the oil and send it off to caterpillar for analysis. It always tested good but I changed it anyways. Propane engines burn very clean. At 20K miles the oil was still the same golden color the day I put it in.
I have disassembled many engines over the years. You can often tell from visual inspection if the engine ran synthetic or conventional. Conventional oil typically has buildup of broken down oil that is caked on in places. Synthetic oil is typically very clean. The important spots like bearings and cylinder walls are often in much better condition on a engine that has run synthetic.
I run synthetic in everything I own except my motorcycle. My 1964 John Deere LP tractor, 1966 Lincoln pipeline welder, mowers, equipment, & vehicles all run synthetic. I don’t run synthetic in my 1975 Honda motorcycle because it has wet clutches that are submerged in the engine oil. Most motorcycle engines, the engine oil is shared with the transmission and clutch systems. Synthetic is too slippery and causes the clutch to slip. That gets conventional 20w50 with frequent oil changes.
Personally I wouldn’t use synthetic unless it was recommended of the manufacturer, in my Ford Focus’ I used regular oil and they both had/have way over 200,000 miles with no problem.
No idea. I have always DIY my own oil changes. I typically buy the 5 quart jugs on sale for <$20 and a few bucks for an oil filter. My guess is $70-100 depending on location. Not sure you noticed but everything oil has gone up in price and so has labor.
Where ever you go, I would advise you to check your oil in the parking lot before you drive off.
Several years ago I need a jump start in a grocery store parking lot.
My buddy got there and when I was hooking up his battery I asked him if he just had his oil changed.
He was confused as to how I would know, I pointed out the funnel was still where the oil cap should be.
He was PISSED!!
Why he got a free funnel out of it.
LOL
I remember when $30 was an outrageous price for an oil change (basic petro). This was around 2005.
I’ve been doing my own manually ever since. Funnily, my cost in doing so has hardly gone up at all over the years, even nominally (pre-inflation). I have deliberately chosen higher quality oil & filters, but those prices have remained pretty stable.
5 qts of Walmart off-brand high-mileage full synthetic 5W-20 runs me about $18. Medium-quality Fram filter about $7.
Round trip gasoline required to dump it at AutoZone…about $1. 
Most people don’t do that anymore. Safely disposing of the oil is a pain.
That is the main reason I don’t.
My local Valvoline will dispose of it for you, but I don’t really want to even transport it there.
Lol no it isn’t.
Cap up your plastic catch pan. Wipe it off with shop towels. Drive to local auto parts store. They either dump it for you or direct you to the giant disposal bin in the back.
I even toss mine into a black landscaping garbage bag, to protect my trunk’s already dirty upholstery.
Easy as pie.
Slightly off topic.
I get my oil changed at Valvoline and while they do have some turnover, the Asst. and Managers usually stay for a while.
I significantly trust the female managers/asst. managers more.
At one of them, a manager quoted me $100 to change my daughters serpentine belt, which was literally only $10 more than I could buy the belt. I didn’t have time at that time (it wasn’t vital, but about the right time). I went back to a different Valvoline to have it done and the female manager stated they did not have the correct tool to change the belt in my daughters car (later verified by my mechanic).
I have had a few more experiences like this with them, just an observation.
Add another $1 to the cost!!!
Ha! More like $0.15. They’re sold in bulk ya know.