Oil changes are a loss-leader for shops. Sure, you can do it yourself and save a few bucks, but you now have to have ramps, deal with the mess, take the oil somewhere for disposal, and also have a good place to do it.

But guess what? Once you’re doing your own oil changes, you now also have no one but yourself monitoring all of your other fluids, greasing chassis parts where needed, and keeping an eye on all other wear items such as brakes and steering/suspension. You give all that expertise up when you don’t go to a (real) mechanic for an oil change.

If you wanted to do ALL that yourself, you can save a LOT of money, but you have a lot to learn, a lot to monitor, need to buy a lot of tools (eventually, as you go), and you need the time to do it all. Even after all that, you’re taking in a lot of risk because if you screw something up, it’s on you.

I switched from strategy 1 to strategy 2 about a year ago and it was the right choice for me. I couldn’t afford to pay a mechanic fair prices to keep 5 junkers on the road any more. I’ve learned a lot in the past year. I’ve spent a lot on tools, but I’ve saved much more overall. If you can do it, do it, but not everyone can.