Nothing wrong with GA'* for PJ'*

Logan..the short time I owned rice I also found out my 20,000lb ramps would hit the air dam..so I picked up some black plastic ones..with a long run and less height. They work great for anything low to the ground.

Why are you addressing me? If PJ buys them, I will resume regular 3000 mile oil changes for her.

To get back on topic, as a professional auto tech I can tell you that I've dealt with enough customers who are convinced that they know more than I do about their cars. Doing my own oil change, I have the time to let the oil drain until it stops running out and just slowly drips. During the day when I have customers coming in and they need their oil changed, vehicle inspected, and to be back on the road in a timely fashion doesn't always allow for the same treatment as I give my own car. It has been posted here before, but even when it'* done dripping, there'* still a good 1/4 or 1/2 quart of oil sitting in the bottom of the pan that cannot be drained.

Almost every GM V-6 that comes through my shop has at least one oil leak (lower intake gasket -- surprised?). Filling it with 4.5 quarts of oil gets the oil right in the ballpark area of where it should be. If it'* a little too full, who cares? 1/2 quart of oil too much will not cause problems. With the way that most GM'* leak oil, 1/2 quart too full is enough that you should not have to add any oil within the 3,000 miles before your next oil change. If you have an extra 2 quarts, then you're looking at major oil leaks with the oil pushing seals out. 1/2 will NOT cause problems.

The reason shops do not use quart bottles for oil is because a) cost. b) time wasted. c) convinece. Bulk oil for me runs around $0.60 per quart. The same exact oil in a bottle runs around $1. On a GM V-6, that'* a savings for me of $1.20. Get 10 cars in that take 4.5 quarts, and I save $12 using bulk oil versus containers. Every cent helps my bottom line. With a pump, I know exactly when I'm at 4.5 quarts and I stop. I don't have to think about the oil that'* still lining the inside walls of the bottle and if I dump 4.5 bottles in, how much am I actually putting in? 4.25? A pump can fill my car in about 30 seconds. Bottles take 3 minutes. That extra 2.5 minutes may seem minor, but if I can do a complete service, inspection, and have that customer out the door in a reasonable time, they will remember my attention to customer service and satisfaction and come back to me when they need service again.

People that complain about quick lubes are, unfortuently, often correct, I've had the same issues with my '91 Lumina 3.1. They put the wrong oil filter on my car, 1/2 mile down the road I floored it and blew the filter off. The company made it right with me, but I never did go back there. After that point, I did my own oil changes so that I knew that it was done right. Find a reputable, independent shop that you like and that you trust, and you will have many miles of trouble free service.

Good post. I'm jst going to do it myself for now on. Just the pain in the *** of getting rid of the oil. I just got done changing the pcv valve myself also. I think the best thing to do is like you said to work on it myself. For rthe peole that don't it'* probably best to take it to a shop and let a mechanic do it. Better than some inexperienced kids off the street, which was the case in my situation.

I know some of you guys might rag me on this, but I take my Bonnie to my GM Pontiac dealer who sold me my car for all of its oil changes. It costs me $29 for the oil change, and they always get it right. When I was younger I did my own oil changes, because I couldn't afford to pay anyone else to do them. But I get paid pretty well nowdays, and I have to figure in how much my time costs. At this time in my life, it'* just cheaper for me to pay someone else to do my oil changes, and my dealer always gets the right filter on it, and treats it right. They know the regular maintenance schedule of my car, and they let me know when anything is leaking or worn out on my car. Sometimes I have them repair things, other things I take care of myself, and some things I take elsewhere (alignments and the like). For what it'* worth, I don't even bother to check the oil level, so I wouldn't even know if they've ever overfilled or underfilled it. I've never even had to add oil between changes. If I were going to a quickie-lube, I'd be doing a lot more double-checking. I just wanted to toss this out there, that there is the dealer option, and some of you might find it as nice as I do. Admittedly, there'* shady dealers out there too. But I have a good dealer, and I stick with them.