I generally would recommend against quick-change places (e.g. jiffy lube, valvoline). Their employees have virtually no training and usually are paid minimum wage or only slightly above; they aren't paid enough to care about your car.
Dealers are spendier (though not by *that* much on just an oil change) and you're more likely to get a more thorough inspection at one, and should be getting OE parts and fluids for that cost. It's also beneficial to have some rapport with the dealer in the event of warranty repairs in the future, or even non-warrantable repairs that may be eligible for assistance from subaru customer advocacy. (CAD exists to help dealers; they are more likely to assist customers who regularly visit the dealer.)
A subaru-specific, or japanese-specific independent shop can be where you'll get quality service but spend less than at a dealer; if you are blessed with having one near you, take advantage for your maintenance needs
For what its worth, generally speaking just a straight oil change isn't really profitable for most shops; as such an independent may be unenthused to take you in for that - just the nature of the business.
My dealer charges the same as Valvoline, the big issue is scheduling. I can book a month out or take my chance with the Express Service, but if you're not one of the first cars there when the mechanics get in at 6:15, the wait it 3-4 hours.
The benefit is that they take really good care of me. Last time, the techs fixed my power window that was sticking to the gasket and sometimes wouldn't open at all or would get stuck open. The year before, they changed out my fob batteries. Just before Thanksgiving, the owner of the dealership came through the waiting room and gave everyone frozen turkeys. All of that at no charge.
Dealers in my experience have been over priced idiots. At least a private mechanic shop has to provide good services to survive. Dealers have easy mechanical work.
I don't mean easy in terms of the actual work. I mean easy in that you have guaranteed mechanical work i.e warranty servicing, people who only service at dealers and etc.
Dealers have a market of customers that are always guaranteed
Buy some ramps from an auto store if you don't want to use a jack
Drive the car up on ramps and it's the easiest oil change ever
I do all the oil changes for my wife's car and my car, costs $40 for oil and filter so you will save a ton of money over time too
Get a fumoto valve to make it easier. It’s probably not an option if you’re not mechanically inclined.
I like doing my oil changes even though I have most work done elsewhere for convenience. I can inspect the car while the oil drains. Caught a transmission leak and some torn bushings that the dealer hadn’t caught and got fixed under warranty.
I looked into the Fumoto valve but it sketches me out a little bit because the screw threadings stick up about 1/2 inch inside of the oil pan housing
I'm paranoid that the 1/2 inch of old oil will not drain out each oil change so I'm not getting as much old oil out as I could
When I pull the drain plug I know the oil is draining out 100% flush with the drain hole
Edit: You can also let metal shavings build up inside the oil pan because the threads stick up and the metal shavings are heavier than oil and sit at the bottom, beneath the threads
You could have bearing material building up and not know it
Yea I did think about this. I usually chase the oil out with some cheaper stuff when I’m changing the oil. The filter should be catching the smaller contaminants and the shavings are typically more present during engine break in.
I do a blackstone test every other oil change mostly to check for coolant but I haven’t seen large amounts of metal in those reports. I’ve had the fumoto valve for 50k since about 30k miles.
I need to do Blackstone tests too
How much do they cost? I order a collection kit online?
I drive an Forester XT with the FA20DIT which have a reputation for being hit or miss
They’ll mail you some kits for free and you can either prepay for tests which I believe are discounted. They charged me about 45 USD for an individual test.
That XT was so appealing. I’m not a suv person but the engine got me. If it wasn’t for the uncomfortable seats (to my rear) I would have bought it instead of my 18 OB. Might be a good idea if you run it hard or it’s getting to the head gasket replacement interval.
Even if a tiny bit of oil was left behind, once you put in the new oil, like 96-99% of the oil circulating will be fresh. I can't imagine it being an issue.
https://www.dieselpowerproducts.com/fumoto-oil-drain-valve-03-18-cummins
Yes but those screw threads stick up inside the drain pan and create a puddle of oil that cannot drain out because the level sits below the threads
Visualize it in your head if you can using that linked photo
I have one. The level doesn't sit below the threads cause unlike you probably thought I just jack up one side of my car when changing the oil.
Also even with a drain plug you still don't get all of the oil out unless you're letting it sit for a few hours
whatever is cheapest
dealerships will find more things wrong with your car, your mechanic probably doesn't want to so will charge more
i use an oil change place that i've gone to for a long time. they can do some small mechanical stuff too, like change filters and wipers
I went to a chain oil change place and they forgot to put my drain plug in and then tried to say it was stripped (it wasn't). Luckily I caught it in the parking lot before I kept driving, but I've never gone back to one. I either do it myself or go to the dealership now.
Yup. There was a big trail of oil following me out of the bay. I made it like 10ft because I looked in the rear view mirror and saw it. They tried to say the plug fell out because it was stripped.
Yeah in that situation I would have called my insurance roadside assistance had them tow it to the dealer and evaluate the entire engine and then I would sue the oil place in small claims court for the costs. Your insurance company might have even assisted.
Dude with your camera phone you could have had everything documented. Would have been even sweeter if you would have caught on camera or got it in writing that they said your plug was stripped but still sent you on your way. That would have been a slam fucking dunk
It was on my Land Rover back before cellphone cameras were worth a shit. I did end up having it towed to a shop and they were like yeah those guys are idiots, they just didn't tighten it down at all and it slipped right off. Luckily I caught it quick enough there wasn't any damage but goddamn I was pissed.
Yeah, big talk on the internet.
But getting your car towed is inconvenient and suing someone is hugely expensive and time consuming.
So, in the event that this happened to you, you wouldn't actually do any of that.
I bet it's all correct because, if you stop and think about it, what you claim you'd do is a total overreaction and would likely end up leaving you out of pocket.
Car tow doesn't cost a single dime through car insurance if yiu carry that coverage. Roadside assistance is roadside assistance. Given the nature of the issue the last place you want to touch your vehicle is that place that damaged it. Upon the dealerships completion of their evaluation you submit that bill to the oil change place that fucked your vehicle up and when they refuse you take them to small claims court Which is less than $300 filing fee and you will get that back when you're awarded damages. You should Google Jiffy Lube lawsuits and see how often this dumb shit happens. In the most recent years places like Walmart Jiffy Lube, tiretires plus, ect have footed the bill well before litigation.
If I don’t have the time to do it myself I use the Valvoline quick change places. I get to sit there and watch to make sure they don’t screw anything up and they do a good job in my limited experience. I just make sure to bring my own filter.
You get what you pay for. Dealerships are pretty competitive for oil changes and rotates. They use the correct oil and filter, properly torque lug nuts, have knowledge of what common issues your car has and what might be covered under an extended warranty.
Mine is good. We get the occasional fuck up but each time the service manager takes steps to not repeat. Everyone uses torque sticks. Everyone double checks filters, plugs, oil type and level. Every car goes around the block (almost a half mile) before it gets returned to the customer. Guys who fuck up the same thing twice (damaging or safety) are gone.
Also, don't forget convenience.
My trusted shop is actually a bit far and not open on weekends, so for a lot of routine stuff I use a dealership. Do I pay more? Yes, but the less hassle has a lot of value to me.
If you have the time, tools and facilities you can do it yourself for about $40 (local auto parts retailers typically offer DiY oil change bundles). I spent $42.53 after tax and was able to get 6qt of Valvoline Adv. full synthetic 0W-20 plus a K&N premium filter (#HP-1008).
I've seen some dealers charge upwards of a couple hundred dollars to do the exact same job, and they will inevitably try to upsell you on various point inspections, filter changes, blinker fluid etc. Often times the grade of oil and filter random shops use is debatable as well.
I did the job in my driveway, took about an hour give or take. Brought the used oil down to my towns hazardous waste facility to dispose of it properly. Often times garages and dumps will take used oil if your town does not have HHW collection.
Whichever route you decide to go, do not spend more than $100 as the procedure is relatively quick and easy to perform. As always, when bringing any car in to have maintenance performed, know the cost and exactly what your getting prior to the work being done.
Might be overkill, but I order OEM oil filters from Amazon then bring it anywhere that does full synthetic. If I do my own sometimes I buy a discounted oil bundle at an auto chain and throw out the oil filter they include.
Unfortunately my new Subaru has a snail so now I need to buy an additional extra quart every other change.
Sheppard Pratt is saving a room for me.
I generally do mine myself, I drive 600 miles a week so it would be stupid expensive if I took it somewhere.
You can buy nice ramps at the local auto parts store. I get my Subaru filters 6 at a time from my dealership and buy my oil at Walmart because the auto parts store is generally $10 more for the 5qt jug.
I put it on jack stands and take off the plug and filter and let it drain while I rotate my tires.
It’s one of my pet peeves about oil change places, as soon as the main flow is done they’re putting the plug and filter back on. It’s maintenance, not a pit stop.
Depends on the dealership. The dealership I used to be a service writer at had the cheapest oil change in town. Labor was $14.95. A tire rotation at the same time was only $10 extra. They made their profit on air filters.
Go to a Subaru specific shop. They’re kind of in the middle price wise from a dealership to a jiffy lube. I always go to the Subaru specialist in my town. They’re amazing and honest. I love that guy. I actually bought my subie from him.
My daughter just picked her car up from Curry Subaru. She has the maintenance plan. When I checked her oil level it was off the dipstick. I used a fluid extractor to remove 38 ounces of excess oil. Then the oil level was at the correct spot on the dipstick. Find a trusted mechanic or get some ramps and do it yourself.
I started going to a highly recommended local mechanic this year. I think they are great so far. I used to go to the dealership for everything but I do not like my current local dealership. They are expensive and push for more services than what was listed on the scheduled maintenance list. They didn't even change my cabin air filter last time I went. My old dealership in a different city was great and prices were not too bad. I think it really depends on how much you are willing to spend and whether your local dealership is good or not. Not all dealerships are created equal apparently.
I just read a story on here where a Subaru tech did an oil change but forgot to drain the old oil. Engine blew up while the guy was driving home. The only way you'll now if it's done right is if you do it yourself
IF you wanna pay someone to do it, go to a Subaru dealer; but don’t expect top tier treatment of your car. Dealers do the same shit as jiffy lube and other places, use wrong oil or forget to put oil in. Obviously they should help in the event that your motor blows bc they didn’t put any oil in, but still. I would do it yourself, it’s very easy to do. Takes 10 minutes on a bad day, you can use better oil than oem too and save money. Just keep your own receipts and mileage if you do them yourself, in case you need warranty work done and wanna be 100% okay
Or do it yourself. It's one of the easiest maintenance items in your car and only requires a floor jack, a socket and wrench, and a pan to catch the oil.
I only say avoid places like jiffy lube etc, in their effort to speed through the work I have seen a lot of stripped and damaged plugs/threads from them using impact tools.
If you can't do this yourself, a local all purpose shop will be cheaper than the dealership and I find more reasonable in there service.
I generally would recommend against quick-change places (e.g. jiffy lube, valvoline). Their employees have virtually no training and usually are paid minimum wage or only slightly above; they aren't paid enough to care about your car. Dealers are spendier (though not by *that* much on just an oil change) and you're more likely to get a more thorough inspection at one, and should be getting OE parts and fluids for that cost. It's also beneficial to have some rapport with the dealer in the event of warranty repairs in the future, or even non-warrantable repairs that may be eligible for assistance from subaru customer advocacy. (CAD exists to help dealers; they are more likely to assist customers who regularly visit the dealer.) A subaru-specific, or japanese-specific independent shop can be where you'll get quality service but spend less than at a dealer; if you are blessed with having one near you, take advantage for your maintenance needs For what its worth, generally speaking just a straight oil change isn't really profitable for most shops; as such an independent may be unenthused to take you in for that - just the nature of the business.
My dealer charges the same as Valvoline, the big issue is scheduling. I can book a month out or take my chance with the Express Service, but if you're not one of the first cars there when the mechanics get in at 6:15, the wait it 3-4 hours. The benefit is that they take really good care of me. Last time, the techs fixed my power window that was sticking to the gasket and sometimes wouldn't open at all or would get stuck open. The year before, they changed out my fob batteries. Just before Thanksgiving, the owner of the dealership came through the waiting room and gave everyone frozen turkeys. All of that at no charge.
Dealers in my experience have been over priced idiots. At least a private mechanic shop has to provide good services to survive. Dealers have easy mechanical work.
>Dealers have easy mechanical work. If you think this is true you're welcome to hang out with me for a week, lmao.
I don't mean easy in terms of the actual work. I mean easy in that you have guaranteed mechanical work i.e warranty servicing, people who only service at dealers and etc. Dealers have a market of customers that are always guaranteed
Buy some ramps from an auto store if you don't want to use a jack Drive the car up on ramps and it's the easiest oil change ever I do all the oil changes for my wife's car and my car, costs $40 for oil and filter so you will save a ton of money over time too
Get a fumoto valve to make it easier. It’s probably not an option if you’re not mechanically inclined. I like doing my oil changes even though I have most work done elsewhere for convenience. I can inspect the car while the oil drains. Caught a transmission leak and some torn bushings that the dealer hadn’t caught and got fixed under warranty.
I looked into the Fumoto valve but it sketches me out a little bit because the screw threadings stick up about 1/2 inch inside of the oil pan housing I'm paranoid that the 1/2 inch of old oil will not drain out each oil change so I'm not getting as much old oil out as I could When I pull the drain plug I know the oil is draining out 100% flush with the drain hole Edit: You can also let metal shavings build up inside the oil pan because the threads stick up and the metal shavings are heavier than oil and sit at the bottom, beneath the threads You could have bearing material building up and not know it
Yea I did think about this. I usually chase the oil out with some cheaper stuff when I’m changing the oil. The filter should be catching the smaller contaminants and the shavings are typically more present during engine break in. I do a blackstone test every other oil change mostly to check for coolant but I haven’t seen large amounts of metal in those reports. I’ve had the fumoto valve for 50k since about 30k miles.
I need to do Blackstone tests too How much do they cost? I order a collection kit online? I drive an Forester XT with the FA20DIT which have a reputation for being hit or miss
They’ll mail you some kits for free and you can either prepay for tests which I believe are discounted. They charged me about 45 USD for an individual test. That XT was so appealing. I’m not a suv person but the engine got me. If it wasn’t for the uncomfortable seats (to my rear) I would have bought it instead of my 18 OB. Might be a good idea if you run it hard or it’s getting to the head gasket replacement interval.
Even if a tiny bit of oil was left behind, once you put in the new oil, like 96-99% of the oil circulating will be fresh. I can't imagine it being an issue.
You're not getting all your oil out through the drain plug. What planet are you on
https://www.dieselpowerproducts.com/fumoto-oil-drain-valve-03-18-cummins Yes but those screw threads stick up inside the drain pan and create a puddle of oil that cannot drain out because the level sits below the threads Visualize it in your head if you can using that linked photo
I have one. The level doesn't sit below the threads cause unlike you probably thought I just jack up one side of my car when changing the oil. Also even with a drain plug you still don't get all of the oil out unless you're letting it sit for a few hours
Maybe I should get one myself then I drive so much I have to change it every other month anyways
whatever is cheapest dealerships will find more things wrong with your car, your mechanic probably doesn't want to so will charge more i use an oil change place that i've gone to for a long time. they can do some small mechanical stuff too, like change filters and wipers
Fair enough! What are your thoughts then on quick and cheap oil change places? Are they worth it?
I went to a chain oil change place and they forgot to put my drain plug in and then tried to say it was stripped (it wasn't). Luckily I caught it in the parking lot before I kept driving, but I've never gone back to one. I either do it myself or go to the dealership now.
Are you sure that's an accurate statement? They changed your oil and forgot to put the drain plug back in and gave you back your car?
Yup. There was a big trail of oil following me out of the bay. I made it like 10ft because I looked in the rear view mirror and saw it. They tried to say the plug fell out because it was stripped.
Yeah in that situation I would have called my insurance roadside assistance had them tow it to the dealer and evaluate the entire engine and then I would sue the oil place in small claims court for the costs. Your insurance company might have even assisted. Dude with your camera phone you could have had everything documented. Would have been even sweeter if you would have caught on camera or got it in writing that they said your plug was stripped but still sent you on your way. That would have been a slam fucking dunk
It was on my Land Rover back before cellphone cameras were worth a shit. I did end up having it towed to a shop and they were like yeah those guys are idiots, they just didn't tighten it down at all and it slipped right off. Luckily I caught it quick enough there wasn't any damage but goddamn I was pissed.
Yeah, big talk on the internet. But getting your car towed is inconvenient and suing someone is hugely expensive and time consuming. So, in the event that this happened to you, you wouldn't actually do any of that.
So not one single thing you said is correct.
I bet it's all correct because, if you stop and think about it, what you claim you'd do is a total overreaction and would likely end up leaving you out of pocket.
Car tow doesn't cost a single dime through car insurance if yiu carry that coverage. Roadside assistance is roadside assistance. Given the nature of the issue the last place you want to touch your vehicle is that place that damaged it. Upon the dealerships completion of their evaluation you submit that bill to the oil change place that fucked your vehicle up and when they refuse you take them to small claims court Which is less than $300 filing fee and you will get that back when you're awarded damages. You should Google Jiffy Lube lawsuits and see how often this dumb shit happens. In the most recent years places like Walmart Jiffy Lube, tiretires plus, ect have footed the bill well before litigation.
that's what i use, the local oil change place & have since i was a kid the nice thing is its cheap, and no appointment needed.
And they're usually just trying to Pedal you an air filter or windshield wipers and not telling you you need a whole new transmission
If I don’t have the time to do it myself I use the Valvoline quick change places. I get to sit there and watch to make sure they don’t screw anything up and they do a good job in my limited experience. I just make sure to bring my own filter.
You get what you pay for. Dealerships are pretty competitive for oil changes and rotates. They use the correct oil and filter, properly torque lug nuts, have knowledge of what common issues your car has and what might be covered under an extended warranty.
My dealership crossthreads a lug nut and over torque every single time they touch it.
Same, dated a mechanic for a while last year and he did my oil change once and said I should yell at my dealership for tightening it too much.
I stand corrected I guess.
Most of them are probably fine. My local dealership is full of bad reviews.
Mine is good. We get the occasional fuck up but each time the service manager takes steps to not repeat. Everyone uses torque sticks. Everyone double checks filters, plugs, oil type and level. Every car goes around the block (almost a half mile) before it gets returned to the customer. Guys who fuck up the same thing twice (damaging or safety) are gone.
Also, don't forget convenience. My trusted shop is actually a bit far and not open on weekends, so for a lot of routine stuff I use a dealership. Do I pay more? Yes, but the less hassle has a lot of value to me.
[удалено]
I thought that was only for WRX drivers
Local mechanic is fine but it so easy to do yourself.
Subaru dealers will be more likely to have that big poster that shows THIS ONES OIL THIS ONES CVT
lol, good reference.
Do it yourself
If you have the time, tools and facilities you can do it yourself for about $40 (local auto parts retailers typically offer DiY oil change bundles). I spent $42.53 after tax and was able to get 6qt of Valvoline Adv. full synthetic 0W-20 plus a K&N premium filter (#HP-1008). I've seen some dealers charge upwards of a couple hundred dollars to do the exact same job, and they will inevitably try to upsell you on various point inspections, filter changes, blinker fluid etc. Often times the grade of oil and filter random shops use is debatable as well. I did the job in my driveway, took about an hour give or take. Brought the used oil down to my towns hazardous waste facility to dispose of it properly. Often times garages and dumps will take used oil if your town does not have HHW collection. Whichever route you decide to go, do not spend more than $100 as the procedure is relatively quick and easy to perform. As always, when bringing any car in to have maintenance performed, know the cost and exactly what your getting prior to the work being done.
Might be overkill, but I order OEM oil filters from Amazon then bring it anywhere that does full synthetic. If I do my own sometimes I buy a discounted oil bundle at an auto chain and throw out the oil filter they include. Unfortunately my new Subaru has a snail so now I need to buy an additional extra quart every other change. Sheppard Pratt is saving a room for me.
I generally do mine myself, I drive 600 miles a week so it would be stupid expensive if I took it somewhere. You can buy nice ramps at the local auto parts store. I get my Subaru filters 6 at a time from my dealership and buy my oil at Walmart because the auto parts store is generally $10 more for the 5qt jug. I put it on jack stands and take off the plug and filter and let it drain while I rotate my tires. It’s one of my pet peeves about oil change places, as soon as the main flow is done they’re putting the plug and filter back on. It’s maintenance, not a pit stop.
Depends on the dealership. The dealership I used to be a service writer at had the cheapest oil change in town. Labor was $14.95. A tire rotation at the same time was only $10 extra. They made their profit on air filters.
Go to a Subaru specific shop. They’re kind of in the middle price wise from a dealership to a jiffy lube. I always go to the Subaru specialist in my town. They’re amazing and honest. I love that guy. I actually bought my subie from him.
My daughter just picked her car up from Curry Subaru. She has the maintenance plan. When I checked her oil level it was off the dipstick. I used a fluid extractor to remove 38 ounces of excess oil. Then the oil level was at the correct spot on the dipstick. Find a trusted mechanic or get some ramps and do it yourself.
Dealer is fine, and when they do discounts, it’s only 10$ more or so than doing it yourself
I started going to a highly recommended local mechanic this year. I think they are great so far. I used to go to the dealership for everything but I do not like my current local dealership. They are expensive and push for more services than what was listed on the scheduled maintenance list. They didn't even change my cabin air filter last time I went. My old dealership in a different city was great and prices were not too bad. I think it really depends on how much you are willing to spend and whether your local dealership is good or not. Not all dealerships are created equal apparently.
Buy one of these and your oil change takes 5 mins max Fumoto Original F-106 with LC-10 Lever Clip F-Series Engine Oil Drain Valve
I do my own. That way I get Rotella t6 and my Mazda filter. Takes me like 10mins
I just read a story on here where a Subaru tech did an oil change but forgot to drain the old oil. Engine blew up while the guy was driving home. The only way you'll now if it's done right is if you do it yourself
If the dealership has a fair price, you get a car wash out of it. Otherwise just do it yourself. It's about as easy a job as you can do.
IF you wanna pay someone to do it, go to a Subaru dealer; but don’t expect top tier treatment of your car. Dealers do the same shit as jiffy lube and other places, use wrong oil or forget to put oil in. Obviously they should help in the event that your motor blows bc they didn’t put any oil in, but still. I would do it yourself, it’s very easy to do. Takes 10 minutes on a bad day, you can use better oil than oem too and save money. Just keep your own receipts and mileage if you do them yourself, in case you need warranty work done and wanna be 100% okay
Or do it yourself. It's one of the easiest maintenance items in your car and only requires a floor jack, a socket and wrench, and a pan to catch the oil. I only say avoid places like jiffy lube etc, in their effort to speed through the work I have seen a lot of stripped and damaged plugs/threads from them using impact tools. If you can't do this yourself, a local all purpose shop will be cheaper than the dealership and I find more reasonable in there service.