My mum needed to do an oil change on her car. I was scared for her safety because she was supporting the car up by two jacks. She only abandoned the job when she didn't have the right spanner the remove the oil cap.
Took the car to the mechanic today and provided them with my own oil and filter. I was charged $150
How much does you mechanic charge for an oil change ? I might need to shop around next time.
The cost of not having the car crush his mother? Priceless.
Mechanics will rarely charge less than an hour for a service. So $100-130 for an hour labour + consumables and disposal fees, $150 ain't bad for a service.
Costs more than two axle stands.
$130 for oil n filter plus comes to my house and the log book stamp which he gets from his work.
can I have his number???
He's not that kind of guy…
$100 labour and parts
Go mum
A pair of axle stands and basic-mid range socket sets are almost always on special at auto shops.
About $160 from memory. That's usually including things like new windscreen washer blades etc
If I knew you were a LA Lakers fan I'd charge double.
Your mum is awesome, buy her some jack stands: https://sydneytools.com.au/torin-t42001-jack-stands-1-5-tonn…
I thought they would be more expensive. My mum says Thanks
Heck, your mechanic's hourly rate is about the same as my Merc $tealer, they usually charge me $280 for approximately 2 hours of work.
I was scared for her safety
People perceive risks/dangers in an odd way. Presumably your mum drives, many more people die in road accidents than by getting crushed by their car every year. I don't think you have much to be concerned with. As others have said, buy her some jack stands and if you're concerned, always have a backup in case a jack fails.
Ah yes, an inexperience old lady doing maintenance work on a car. Nothing to worry at all! Sometimes it's just best to pay someone else to do it if you can't do it yourself/don't know what you're going. Next you'll be saying don't hire an electrician and do it yourself.
Ah yes, an inexperience old lady doing maintenance work on a car. Nothing to worry at all!
Indeed, nothing to worry about at all. Cars are highly serviceable, not terribly difficult to service and for the amount she's saving, it's definitely worth the time to learn. Given that she's already attempted to do it, seems like she's willing to learn, and that's not a bad thing.
Sometimes it's just best to pay someone else to do it if you can't do it yourself/don't know what you're going.
Yes, so we should all never drive and just be chauffeur driven around? People have the ability to learn to do things. I know plenty of people who service their own cars without any issues.
Next you'll be saying don't hire an electrician and do it yourself.
Different situation - there are legal issues involved.
Who said mum was old? Might be 40.
I don't know if you're trolling or not, but please take the jack STANDS seriously!!
Do not let her use anything but stands to support the car before she gets under!!
Ramps work well too. No need to jack up the car, just drive on. Make sure you line them up properly before driving up and chock the rear wheels once on the ramps.
Always use jack stands if working under a car!
My mechanic quotes $120 including parts and labour (but I change it myself for ~$40)
My mechanic last time went was $65 for oil + filter change but try upsell for sercice where they supposedly check everything as well for $110
But i think might have been a special to drum up businesses
I would be guessing but i would say the mechanic would have done a service, check all brakes and fluids a roadtest etc not just change of oil.
Would ramps be better than stands?
Depends on the car. I had a small sedan that couldn't get into the ramps I had as the front bumper was too low. Never had a problem with all the old cars I've put on ramps, and SUV and 4wds wouldn't be an issue.
Just use the jack to lift the car and put the ramps under the tyres, then lower the jack. Use a large wood offcut on the jack plate if you need extra lift.
Yes, but kinda defeats the purpose of a ramp. I found axle stands are also easier to manouver around when the car is up. Ramps are a lot bigger and more to get in the way.
A mechanic near me charges $100 per hour plus parts, $150 per hour if you supply parts and $200 per hour if you help.
Ramps will put the car at an angle, therefore may be issues draining all the old oil.
My sister did her own oil change. She rang me up to boast of her mechanical independence.
"it did take a while because the funnel was pretty small"
"if you're careful you don't need a funnel."
"you'd never get the oil down the little hole without a funnel"
" where is the little hole?"
"you know , where the dipstick goes "
"Oh dear"
I filled it right to the top and it overflowed a bit"
"Oh dear".
Buy her a chainsaw so she can cut some axel stands from a tree, then buy her a blocksplitter when she's done
Happy Mother's Day
I'm not skinny but I can still wiggle under the front of the car without lifting it up with jacks and stands. I can undo the sump plug and drain into an oil pan. I'm not a fan of jacking cars up if at all possible.
Buy multiple lots of oil and filters at a large discount ahead of time at supercheap or where ever. Then you're set for months, possibly years. I don't like to spend more than $35-40 per service if I can help it. You can get a plastic oil pan and a 19mm spanner (or which ever is the correct size for your car) for not too much at supercheap or the local market. I would argue that a box of disposable gloves left in the garage is a must also.
Supercheap apparently will take your old oil as well although I've never done that yet. Still got years of sump oil stacked up behind the shed!
Cut old oil containers vertically as cheap and sturdy oil pans
You will now have 2 and thin enough to slide under car
Not all Supercheaps will take your old oil. You need to check their website.
$580 standard price for my taxi
Buy an oil transfer pump off eBay….tube goes down the dip stick hole, pump connects to the battery…minimal fuss, she could do it in a cocktail dress and not get dirty.
Obviously search for yourself…example only below.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12v-Oil-Diesel-Extractor-Transfer…
Depends on car really. The price can vary from $130 for a basic older car (N15 Pulsar or CE Lancer) to $350+. The higher price for newer imported cars that use special synthetic oil but only require an oil change every 45,000km.
As you supplied the oil and filter $150 sounds a bit steep. But again depends on the car!!!! Oils ain't oils as they say.
Ring up a car dealer and check for a true comparison
My mechanic did it for $100 but I supplied all the parts. Usually he'll do a bit of extra like changing the air filers, changing brake fluids+bleeding brakes, changing transmission oil and filter etc. With most of the consumable parts under the bonnet or underbody (not having to remove tires) he'll include it in the $100 as long as I bring him the part.
I do it by myself, it doesn't cost me more than $35 with the oils deals posted here.
Really depends on the car and how much time is required. I suspect your mother got charged for a minor service inc. checkup rather than just a basic oil change.
I'm a little surprised hardly anyone is trying to answer the actual question being charging for an oil change rather than service. A lot of places won't do this.
Being a barbarian I'm a horseback man but most cars I've worked on has taken less than actual 30 minutes to do this (not many mechanics only work on a single car at a time nor would many literally watch all your oil drain). I am a bit barbaric in my approach find a nice steep back somewhere and a block of stone or something similar to wedge the car up and work from there. Some cars are more fidgety as you can imagine so no longer than 1 hour. However long it would take you to do it, your mechanic shouldn't take any longer than that.
Call around to find out how much each mechanic charges for time and would be happy to use your own parts (many aren't as it eats into "their profits").
Around fitty bucks ($50) should cover it. Max $75 for labour in my opinion for most everyday sedans.
$180 including labour/oil/filter - also comes to my workplace or home to do it.
This is for a diesel four wheel drive so typically as expensive as it should get.
Diesel 4x4's are expensive to maintain probably the only thing more expensive would be a new model European luxury car or exotic car.
half hour of time $50
cost of parts $60
you work out if you got ripped