I recently bought my first car and will need to change the oil soon, but I don’t know whether to change it myself or just go to an auto shop. Is it worth it to change your own oil?
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Excellent question! Changing your own oil will pretty much always be worth the effort, as it is much cheaper than having a mechanic change your car’s oil for you. When you change your oil at home, all you have to worry about buying is the oil, rather than both the oil and a costly labor charge.
The only way that we can see changing your own oil to not be worth it is if you use the wrong oil or somehow damage your vehicle’s engine in the process—but both are easy to avoid as long as you use the oil type recommended in your owner’s manual and change your oil at the correct intervals.
Hope this helps clear things up!
Performing simple maintenance tasks at home is an easy way to save money on car expenses—and if you download licensed
Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.