I purchased a Ralliart just over a month ago, used, and its time for servicing. My question is, do you do oil changes yourselves (thats all the servicing that needs to be done this time) or take the vehicle in?

I've also got to have the recall sensor thing taken care of, so I figured I could get both done at the same time, however I'm concerned about the oil change itself as when I went to the dealership to test drive one of thier ralliarts prior to buying mine they didn't even know the car was supposed to be fuel with premium fuel.... they were using reg. unleaded.... I'm sure if I asked/told them to use synthetic oil they would, but given the fuel gaff I don't know if I can trust them to do even that right

what would you do?

 

I did my own 1st oil change after the break-in period, its easy enough to do. If u don't want to do your own changes because u are nervous or its too damn cold outside, call around to other dealerships and see what they'd charge for the servicing. My Mits dealer(45 mins away) wants $100 for Mobil 1 change or $35 if I bring my own oil and filter, I called my local Honda dealer where my buddy works(15 mins away) and if I bring my own Mobil 1 and filter they would charge me $15 to change the oil and do the checks in the Mits service guide(brakes, suspension and something else). I would do it myself but for $15 and its starting to get a lil bit chilly its cheap enough. Plus my the only Mits dealer within 4 hrs don't seem like the brightest bulb in the box. They always forget something or take forever, like 6 hrs to mount and install my winters last winter or a 3.5 hr oil change on my GTS.

Plus I feel much better cause I asked specifically for my buddy only to work on my car at Honda. He has 10+ years of experince as a ticketed journeyman so I feel way better.

 

I would do my own oil change. I do my own any how. But I really don't trust stealerships with any kind of maint. I know that they are supposed to be the best but lets face it not all mechanics are what they are supposed to be.

 

Brad hook me up also..!

 

I'm not sure if Harmony Honda would be the same but Penticton Honda just subtracts the price of the oil from there oil change price if u bring your own oil and filter. Plus when I had my Civic before the Mits' I always had great service at Pen Honda

 

It's really expensive for the synthetic oil change at the dealers. I get 3 for 4 OEM oil filters at the dealers and then goto walmart and get 3 or 4 5 gallon jugs. I just use most of the oil and dump the dirty oil back into the containers.

Cost 75 for 3 - 5gallon jugs and $15 for 3 filters.
About the cost of 1 dealer oil change.

 

i made a how-to for this a while back:
how-to oil change.
it's pretty damn easy and saves you a wad of cash.

 

If you are able to do your oil change yourself, do it yourself. If not, take it to a reputable shop or a reputable friend.

I just did mine on Friday. It was easy as cake.

 

Ya, i think i'll give it a shot myself, i'll prolly freeze my hands off, but worth the experience/saved $$$. Can put the saved $$$ towards some low profile splash guards. Anyone have a link for those?
Thanks for the tutorial.

 

Rally Armor has really nice ones. They have the UR ones for $125 or the basic ones for $45

 

Cliffhanger's how-to is great. I've done my own oil twice now. It saves a good deal of money. However if you don't like working on the car or don't feel comfortable doing it, pay someone.

 

before my new sportback, i'd never changed my own oil.. but after all of the support on the boards, i don't think i'd ever go back to paying someone.

especially the crazy mark-up that some of these places put on synthentic.

 

I change my own oil. I let the dealership do my first oil change, not knowing it costs $95! So I said screw that, and looked to these forums for help. Now I do it myself. Usually never takes more than an hour including clean-up time.

 

If you are even the slightest bit mechanically inclined I'd do it yourself. It's very easy. To use 5qts mobile 1 and a mitsu filter runs you $28 per oil change. You can't beat that. It'll save you a lot of money compared to taking it to the dealer.

 

I do the same. No way am i paying close to $100 for a oil change when I can do it myself for $30 in 30mins.