Changing oil requires
> a place where you have sufficient access to the vehicle to drain it
Probably the only valid argument for people who park on the street.
> the right equipment
One $5 wrench, one $10 filter wrench (optional). One set of ramps ($40), or jack stands ($30) if you already have a jack. One drain pan, $10 (or free if you're resourceful). Total cost max $65. Cheaper if you look for deals, buy used, borrow from a friend. If you can't afford $65 once to save money in the long run while owning a car, you probably should've bought a cheaper car.
> the right disposal solutions
Every oil change requires a jug of oil to be purchased. You can drain your used oil into this jug and then dispose of it along with your other household hazardous waste. This is not hard.
> Most people who have cars do not have that.
I might believe this for a place to do an oil change, maybe. I struggle to believe most, but I would believe many. Aside from that, if you don't have those things, you are choosing not to have them.
Which is kind of the point. None of these things are hard, at all. The majority of car owners 100 years ago could adjust their own timing, clean distributor points, replace belts, etc. because if they couldn't, they'd be calling for a tow truck every few hundred miles. Those are all harder, and things have only gotten easier with time. If you can't do them, you are choosing not to, because there's an even easier solution - spending more money and getting someone else to do it for you.
My favorite way to do it is in the auto parts store parking lot. They will help you cart your full drain pan back to their oil recycling receptacle and some will even prop the back door open for you to walk it straight there. The bonus being if you do happen to spill a bit you're not stuck having to power wash your own driveway. I've got a process down to where I can pull it off with one pair of nitrile gloves, one rag, and one trash bag, to keep any residue from the drain pan staining anything.
Good job, you forgot a new crush washer and now your oil pan will leak
In ~300k km worth of diy oil changes, I’ve yet to change a crush washer, and yet to have a drain plug leak.
I always replace them on friends’ Toyotas, because they seem more important, but on every car I’ve owned it hasn’t mattered. And if you take the least amount of effort to google “how to change oil on ________” (fill in the blank for your year, make, model), some forum or video will probably tell you exactly what steps to take, including whether or not changing a washer is necessary.
Costs me 15 cents per washer delivered, why bother risk it? The world doesn't need more cancerous used motor oil on the ground.
After downloading a service manual and doing many things myself it became very apparent that mechanics barely bother to do work the right way despite it coming at virtually zero extra effort.
It's quite rare to see them use a torque wrench on many bolts and if you ask them why "they know it by feel", cool, but why not use a torque wrench to the proper specs anyway? It's not any harder.
> One set of ramps ($40), or jack stands ($30)
Given the number of SUVs and trucks, many people don't even need these.
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