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Originally Posted by HunterGreene
Can't hurt, true, but if you change every 3k miles (assuming 225,000 mile car lifetime) you'll make 75 oil changes, which at $60/change totals out to $4500. If you do 5k miles, which is still well within the recommended interval, the numbers over the same vehicle lifetime comes out to $2500. Yes, we are talking over multiple years of car life, but thats enough of a difference that I would say that it is actually a lot more expensive to do it every 3k than every 5k.
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No arguments here on the math. 12K, 7.5K, 5k, 3K... the more frequently you do it, the more money you spend on oil changes. That's obvious. Finding the cost vs. return point based on your car and driving habits is the crux of the whole issue. For me, I aim for 3K. If I go a bit over, I don't worry. $2000 saved over what, for me, would be about 12-13 years, would be about $160/yr... less than what a lot of folks pay every month for cable. For me, it's worth it. That's all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HunterGreene
Second point, your engine-related deaths for sure were due to your "up to 15k" change interval.
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Well, not much in life is "for sure," but it's very likely it was a major contributing factor. Again, point granted. 15k, however, isn't much longer than the 12k that some car manufacturers and synthetic oil producers are recommending. I wasn't using synthetic back then, of course. Synthetic or dino, dirt is dirt, and today's engines are typically manufactured with much tighter tolerances than those of yesteryear... hence the increasing usage of lower viscosity oils. Heck, it's getting hard to even find 10w40 anymore.[/QUOTE]
Quote:
Originally Posted by HunterGreene
Lastly, I'm willing to bet your mechanic buddies don't pay for oil changes. So of course they would recommend the most aggressive interval.
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You'd lose that bet. One's an independent, i.e., he is the owner and sole employee; who do you think buys the stuff in his garage? The other may get a break, but he buys all his parts, including maintenance supplies, and keeps a fully equipped two-bay garage on his own property for maintaining his own vehicles. Being an employee doesn't give you a license to steal from your employer, and both of my friends are unfailingly honest.
This is the internet. Opinions vary. Some are fact-based, some are emotion-based, and some are just stupid and/or irrational. Heck, there's probably at least a little of all of those in most opinions and I'm more than willing to admit there are in mine. I'm not suggesting I'm "right" and that aiming for 3000 mile oil changes is THE only thing to do. For me and my vehicles, it works and I'm willing to pay the extra few bucks a year. For others, maybe not. That's fine. I'm not arguing that point. You kind of struck a nerve with the insinuation that two excellent mechanics who would have no vested interest in getting me to change my oil frequently (they don't profit by it.. I buy my own stuff and change my own oil except for the FR-S/warranty reasons mentioned earlier in the thread) somehow get free oil changes because they're mechanics. Huh? I'm a musician.. do I get a free grand piano? Can I take the one home at the concert hall I occasionally play in?
Maybe I read too much into that.. sorry..
Barry