Who Wants To Avoid Wasting Money On Oil Changes

Your car is an amazing collection of working parts. From the simple Model T to the computer controlled modern car, there have always been two enemies of engines. They are heat and friction.

As any car owner well knows, lubricant is the best tool for fighting the ravages of friction and heat. This lubricant is, of course, better known as motor oil and it performs a vital function that keeps your car on the road.

Motor oil can take an absolute beating. That being said, the modern car engine will give it one. From stop and start traffic to hot climates, you will have to change your oil sooner or later.

Everyone knows about changing out motor oil, right? What did you immediately think? It needs to be changed every three months? How about every 3,000 miles? If either of these came to mind, you are thinking of a marketing campaign, not the facts.

As with many things we know, the 3 and 3 rule is wrong. It is just marketing with no basis in fact. Every car performs differently and does different tasks. This means there is a different guideline for each of them.

The simple truth is there is no one standard mileage or time period that should be used for oil changes. A big Ford truck simple runs differently than a Honda Civic. The oil in the truck will need to be changed well before the oil in the Honda.

Okay, we need some idea of when to do the oil change. Luckily, the manufacturer has helped us out. Find your owners manual. In the oil section, the manufacturer will lay out the specifics for this vehicle. It will not be three months or 3,000 miles.

The manufacturer will actually specify a number of different things. The time frame and miles for a change are obvious bits of information. The manufacturer, however, will also designate a weight of oil and brand as well.

The weight of oil to be used is absolutely vital. Do not just throw anything in your engine. You can kill the engine and violate any warranty. Do not worry too much about the brand, however. You can use whatever you like in most cases.

If you can, try to go with synthetic oil for your car. They last much longer. A Mini Cooper, for instance, will go up to 17,000 miles between oil changes running on Castrol Synthetic. Not bad, eh?

I personally use Mobil 1 oil for my vehicles. I have minimal engine problems. We recently broke down the motor of a friend who used Mobil 1 for 125,000 miles in a BMW and found the engine to be in great shape.

Stop throwing away money by unnecessarily paying for oil changes ever 3,000 miles. Give your owners manual a read and follow those directions. You will undoubtedly save some serious money.