auto maintenance Archives - SavingAdvice.com Blog

Does Costco do oil change? It seems like a reasonable question. After all, they offer auto maintenance, and oil changes are one of the most common types of auto maintenance required by every vehicle. And yet, there seems to be a lot of confusion about whether or not Costco will change your oil.

Why Oil Change is Important

We all know that we need to change the oil in our car regularly. But why? The short answer is that it keeps everything operating efficiently. Allowing your car to run on filthy oil makes it work harder. This wastes gas and stresses your vehicle.

How Often Must You Change Your Car Oil?

That said, many people waste money changing their car’s oil too frequently. The old thinking was that every car should have an oil change every 3000 miles. These days, though, most modern cars can go between 5000 and 10000 miles before an oil change.

Yes, you want to change your oil regularly. But no, you don’t have to change it every 3000 miles. Strike a balance and save yourself some money without doing damage to your car. Research what your own car needs; most likely an oil change every 7500 miles will be just fine.

Oil Changes at the Dealership

If you have purchased a car at a dealership, then you might just go directly to them for all car repairs and maintenance. In some cases, the dealership’s warranty makes this the best option. Often, however, getting basic service at the dealership costs you more money than it should.

Instead, you should consider other options. That’s why a lot of savvy shoppers want to know, “Does Costco do oil change?” After all, the store is known for its affordability.

So, Does Costco do oil change?

No. Costco does not do oil change.

Although Costco does have an automotive repair and maintenance center, the store’s services are extremely limited. They primarily offer services for tires through their stores that have a Tire Center.

What About With the Costco Auto Program?

You might be aware that this company offers the Costco Auto Program. Through this program, Costco has partnered with participating service providers to offer a discount to Costco members. You can use this program to save 15% off of parts, labor and accessories for your vehicle. You can save up to $500 per visit with this deal.

Unfortunately, though, oil changes are not included in the Costco Auto Program. Incidentally, it also doesn’t cover tires or air bags. So, while this program might be a great way to save money on other car maintenance and repairs, it’s not going to help you reduce the cost of your oil change.

Why Doesn’t Costco Do Oil Change?

While the reason that Costco does not do oil changes is speculative, Costco’s business model is designed around providing bulk goods, not highly personalized services. While they do have the Costco Tire Centers as an option, the service has generally received mixed reviews. This is a company that knows what their strengths and weaknesses are and perhaps that’s why they don’t offer oil change services. It’s simply not their strength.

So, Where Should You Get Your Oil Changed?

Costco won’t give you an oil change. You’ll need to come up with alternatives. We’ve already ruled out the dealership as a less than ideal option due to cost. That said, the dealerships does tend to have the most up-to-date equipment for brand new vehicles, so if you can get a good price at your dealership then it’s worth a try.

Another common option is to get your oil change at a commercial business specializing in this service. Firestone, Pep Boys and Jiffy Lube are businesses which operate in this market. The advantage of a commercial oil change business is they are typically cheaper than dealerships. Plus, they work specifically in this niche. If all that your car needs is an oil change, they can be a good choice. Moreover, Costco does sometimes have deals on gift cards for Jiffy Lube and other commercial businesses, so you can save money on an oil change with Costco even though they don’t provide the service themselves.

Find a trustworthy mechanic. It’s worth it to invest time to find a mechanic that you like and trust. You car will inevitably need repairs, in addition to the basic maintenance such as the oil change. Find one in your area that is affordable and does good work.

Change the oil yourself. Buy the oil that you need at a discount from Walmart, Amazon, or any other number of sources. In fact, even though Costco doesn’t do oil change, they do sell oil, so you might get it there. If you don’t know how to change your own oil, visit YouTube or ask for help from a friend with this knowledge. Doing your own car repairs can go a long way towards reducing the cost of car ownership. It’s worth it to learn at least the basics.

How to Save Money on Oil Changes

Buying oil at a discount and doing the oil change yourself is a great way to save money. However, it’s not the only option. Here are some additional tips:

Look for coupons and other deals. As aforementioned, Costco even sometimes has discounted gift cards for oil changes at places like Jiffy Lube. Check for other deals in your area any time that you need to get an oil change.
Ask your mechanic and / or dealership if they’ll match low prices. Sometimes they will and it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask.
Skip the upsell. Your auto mechanic is likely to suggest other things that you need every time that you get an oil change. However, if you don’t need an air filter, yet, don’t get one. Know what your car needs, and how often it needs it, and do just that but no more.
Bring your own oil to the mechanic. Did you know that you don’t have to buy your oil at the mechanic even if they do the job? You can usually bring your own and simply pay for labor. Therefore, get the discounted oil at a place like Costco then bring it with you to the auto shop.

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I recently wrote about services that we never would have purchased forty years ago but which now are commonplace expenditures. Indeed, I suggested (or at least implied) that there was no real reason to ever use services such as a lawn service because most domestic services we could and should handle on our own.

I confess, however, that I was setting all of you up. Although the reasons for not using a lawn care service, a home security service, a swimming pool service, or any of the other services that I sited, might be valid, there are also a lot of good reasons to pay good money to have other people do some work for you. Indeed, I pay monthly fees to a yard maintenance worker, a home security company, and a swimming pool company, a lawn and shrub service. I also pay to have very basic services performed on my car.

I know that many of you may scoff at my expenditures and, agreeing with my first article, feel that I am being wasteful. That said, I have good reason for all of my spending. Perhaps you will agree with me?

Yard Maintenance: I love being outside. I love working in my yard. If I could, I would be happy to spend several hours per day working in my yard. Unfortunately, I do not have the time and, even if I did, it would cost me more per month to maintain my yard than to have my “Tony” take care of it for me. Tony is (i) a great guy, and (ii) my “yard guy.” Every Tuesday he comes to my house and mows my lawn, edges my lawn, “whacks” my weeds, applies weed control chemicals and, as needed, trims my shrubs.

If I were to handle all of those chores on my own, I would need to purchase all of the equipment, maintain all of the equipment, and spend approximately twenty hours per month doing the needed work. Tony charges me $115 per month. There is absolutely no way that I can compete with Tony. If I do the work on my own, I will lose money. I will also lose twenty hours per month that I could spend helping my kids with their homework or helping my wife with other chores. Perhaps even more importantly, I know from experience that I cannot make my yard look nearly as good as Tony can. If you can find a “Tony” it is better to hire him and take a part time job with all of the time that you save than it is to give your time to your yard and lose money.

Home Security: I may be a victim of the media or I may just be sensitive to the risks of being home alone. I do not worry about my home or my family when I am home, but I do worry if I am out – even if it is the middle of the day. I want to feel that my family is safe and to know that my family feels safe, even when I am not there to protect them. I live in a good neighborhood but there have been plenty of burglaries here over the years. Even if the odds are one in a thousand that someone might break in while my family is home, even one in ten thousand, I prefer the odds of having a security system. What I spend in a monthly fee, I more than make up for in peace of mind.

Swimming Pool Service: I use a swimming pool service for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I tried to handle the pool on my own and it turned green. Perhaps my swimming pool service was visiting my house at night and dropping green food coloring in the pool but I tend to believe it was my own incompetence! Also, I have a son with asthma and if I store chlorine and other chemicals in my garage, the fumes will be very unhealthy for him. I do not need to keep any chemicals at my home because I am willing to use a service. More importantly, by using a service, I am relatively assured that my pool is safe every time my family takes a swim. That is worth the added cost, even if I have to work a bit harder to pay for it.

Lawn and Shrub Service As with pool care, I do not want to store pesticides and commercial fertilizers in my garage any more than I want to store chlorine. My kids and wife just don’t need to breathe it. When I was growing up, we did not store our car in our garage so there was no need to go into the garage very often. It was a fine place to store fertilizers. Now our cars are in our garage and my kids enter and exit our house through our garage – they just don’t need to inhale the fumes from lawn care products.

Basic Automotive Maintenance: I recall a post several weeks ago in which a reader noted that people should handle auto maintenance without going to a garage or calling AAA. As I also recently noted, however, Americans have lost a lot of their pioneer spirit and the do-it-yourself mentality of our forefathers. I readily admit that I do not have any pioneer spirit when it comes to mechanics. If I try to do anything to my car other than put gas into it, I will be creating a road hazard. No one has taught me how to maintain a vehicle and I do not feel that a self-training approach is safe. Accordingly, I pay my auto-shop to do everything for my car. I do not feel that I have any alternative, no matter how easy it may be to learn.

When my kids are grown and out of the house, I may feel that I have the time to handle some of these projects on my own (but I hope I never lose Tony!). I may be wasting money now, but I can’ think of it that way when I am saving time and making my home safer. What other household services do you feel are worth the cost?

Does Costco Do Oil Changes?