There's a long running joke between myself, my wife and my neighbor that no matter what little chore I want to do....it turns into a major project. And here's a couple examples.

My wife once decided to surprise me with a new couch and love seat for my man cave since the furniture I had was totally shot. I'm talking pieces of wood were sticking through etc. Now keep in mind, she had the new furniture in the garage and to get them into the basement, I would have to go through 4 doors. We (me and my neighbor) haul the old stuff out. No problem. Then we start to bring the new stuff in. It's getting harder and harder but we've made it through 3 doors and only had one left and it simply won't go. We ended up getting a tape measure only to realize the reason it kept getting harder is that the doorways kept getting smaller and there was simply no way it was getting in! I ended up putting the new furniture back into the garage, brought the old crap back in and sold the new stuff on Craigslist the next day.

And now for tonight.

It was time for me to change the oil in my new Honda Fit. I had the dealership do the first change since I had a coupon (cost me only $5) and decided to do it myself this time since I enjoy tinkering and it's an easy job. Well, the Fit is the LOWEST sitting car I've ever owned at just 6" of clearance but thought I could squeeze underneath. Yea right!

I then went to my neighbor's house to borrow his floor jack but he wasn't home and me and his wife couldn't find it. She recommends I call him when I had a brain fart and thought of my bike jack. I haul the bike jack out only to realize it had somewhat fallen apart and spend the next 20 minutes putting it back together. Crap! The jack works fine but can't go far enough to get under the frame.

I call my neighbor and he guides me to where his jack is. I take it home and it slides underneath perfectly except the car sits so low that I don't have the room to pump it up....crap! Another thing I didn't think of! I then decide to make a little ramp using 2 1x6's figuring I would just stack the two pieces, drive up and voila! LOL...yea right! As soon as they tires touched the boards, the top piece shot out like a missile and I'm surprised it didn't break anything.

I then decided to be SUPER smart and nail the two boards together! I back up a bit and proceed to drive up and the traction of the tires ripped the two boards apart and now I shot a 1x6 with 4 nails down the undercarriage of my car and I'm starting to get pissed. I decided to use just a single 1x6 and thankfully that was enough to give me a little (very little) wiggle room.

I drain the oil and replace the filter and am happy to have finally gotten to the point where I can just put the oil in and have a few beers. And no, I didn't forget to put the drain plug back in!! I started to put the new oil in when I realized I somehow managed to purchase two different viscosities of oil which I used any way because I was way to tired and the car needs to be used tomorrow.

After all this, I think I will pony up the $19.95 from now on and take it to the dealership!! Tonight sort of reminds me of this:

OIL CHANGE INSTRUCTIONS FOR WOMEN:
(1) Pull up to Peak Automotive when it is time for your next oil change
(2) Relax in a massage chair with a glass of wine, soda, coffee, or cappuccino while reading the latest Oprah, Parenting, or Shape Magazine or working on your laptop.
(3) 45 minutes later write a check and leave with a properly maintained vehicle where the fluids have been topped off, car has been washed, tires rotated, and courtesty inspection completed.

Money Spent
Oil Change: $34.95 (non-synthetic oil change)
Wireless access: FREE
Glass of wine, soda, or coffee: FREE
Courtesy Inspection: FREE
Massage in chair: FREE
Total cost of peace of mind knowing your car is maintained: PEAKFULLY PRICELESS


OIL CHANGE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEN:
(1) Wait until Saturday, drive to auto parts store and buy a case of oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and a scented tree, write a check for $50.00
(2) Stop by liquor store and buy a case of beer, write a check for $20.00, drive home.
(3) Open a beer and drink it.
(4) Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands. Jack car up.
(5) Find jack stands under kid's pedal car.
(6) In frustration, open another beer and drink it.
(7) Place drain pan under engine.
(8) Look for 9/16 box end wrench.
(9) Give up and use crescent wrench.
(10) Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil: splash hot oil on face and arms in process. Cuss.
(11) Crawl out from under car to wipe hot oil off of face and arms. Throw kitty litter on spilled oil.
(12) Have another beer while watching oil drain.
(13) Spend 30 minutes looking for oil filter wrench.
(14) Give up; crawl under car and hammer a screwdriver through oil filter and twist off.
(15) Crawl out from under car with dripping oil filter splashing oil everywhere from holes. Cleverly hide old oil filter among trash in trash can to avoid environmental penalties.
(16)Drink a beer.
(17) Buddy shows up; finish case of beer with him. Decide to finish oil change tomorrow so you can go see his new garage door opener work.
(18) Sunday: Skip church because "I gotta finish the oil change." Drag pan full of old oil out from underneath car. Cleverly dump oil in hole in back yard instead of taking it to recycle.
(19) Throw kitty litter on oil spilled during step 18.
(20) Beer. No, drank it all yesterday.
(21) Walk to liquor store; buy beer.
(22) Install new oil filter making sure to apply a thin coat of oil to gasket surface.
(23) Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.
(24) Remember drain plug from step 11.
(25) Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.
(26) Remember that the used oil is buried in a hole in the back yard along with drain plug.
(27) Drink beer.
(28) Shovel out hole and sift oily mud for drain plug. Re-shovel oily patch of ground and avoid environmental penalties. Wash drain plug in lawnmower gas.
(29) Discover that first quart of fresh oil is now on the floor. Throw kitty litter on oil spill.
(30) Drink beer.
(31) Crawl under car getting kitty litter into eyes. Wipe eyes with oily rag used to clean drain plug. Slip with stupid crescent wrench tightening drain plug and bang knuckles on frame.
(32) Bang head on floorboards in reaction to step 31.
(33) Begin cussing fit.
(34) Throw stupid crescent wrench.
(35) Cuss for additional 10 minutes because wrench hit Miss December (1992).
(36) Beer.
(37) Clean up hands and forehead and bandage as required to stop blood flow.
(38) Beer.
(39) Beer.
(40) Dump in five fresh quarts of oil.
(41) Beer.
(42) Lower car from jack stands.
(43) Accidentally crush remaining case of new motor oil.
(44) Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during steps 23 - 43.
(45) Beer.
(46) Test drive car.
(47) Get pulled over: arrested for driving under the influence.
(48) Car gets impounded.
(49) Call loving wife, make bail.
(50) 12 hours later, get car from impound yard.

Money Spent
Parts: $50.00
DUI: $2500.00
Impound fee: $75.00
Bail: $1500.00
Beer: $40.00
Total: $4165.00 -- But you know the job was done right!

 

Holy hell! That has got to be one of the worst stories I've ever heard! $4500 for an oil change. Should of just paid the dealer $4500 to change the oil for the rest of your life!

Sorry to hear about your misfortune...

Also, you may want to take it easy on the beers. That seems like a lot!

 

LOL,

The funny part is I remember doing oil changes years ago and ended up with the same "project" issue you run into. My wife would say the same about me and small tasks never actually being small.

Wylde, you should make it easy and do a road trip up here to VT. Dealer charges me $38 for a full Synthetic oil change with Mobil 1. Swing on up and I'll spring for a bottle of wine or two (not a beer guy). Better yet, take the wife out for a weekend in VT to a B&B here in VT and drop the FIT off at the local Dealer. Win/Win/Win situation.

~SB

 

Things to DIY:

• Air filter
• Cabin filter
• Wiper inserts
• Tire rotation (provided sufficient tools)

Things not to DIY:

• Oil change
• Other fluid changes

Can't see a reason to mess with fluids, makes a mess, and disposing of it safely/properly is another pain too. Especially when its not that expensive to get done at the dealer... but the other stuff like the cabin filter service is an absolute rip-off!

 

I do everything myself - except changing the oil. Just not worth it.

You forgot to add in your list the driving to 4 different places to get your used oil disposed of.

 

DIY oil changes are very painless and clean. Buy all the correct and most efficient tools once (under $50) and you are set for life. Buy your oil and filter at a savings and know exactly what and how much got put into your crankcase. I would actually pay a premium for this peace of mind, still DIY'ing even if it ended up costing me more.

How many pay for Mobil 1 or other full synthetic only to have the tech dump in 5W20 bulk oil by mistake (or on purpose at rip off shops - yes this does happen). Think they will drain and replace oil even assuming mistake is caught? Don't count on it.

_

 

Once you have changed your own oil at least once you will
understand what is required and will develop a routine... so
it does get easier.

My dad had several oil "spills"...

-bumped up against the bucket while the oil was draining
into it which tilted the bucket over spilling the contents
and at the same time oil is still draining out of the pan.

-he used to keep his old oil bucket in the shed... one fine
day that bucket was bumped and soaked the wood floor
in the shed with oil.

-then he got a gas drum and placed it in the corner of
the shed and would dump his old oil in that. Unfortunately
it accumulated so much that the drum was almost full
and after my dad passed away and I was gone from home
mom was left to deal with that dubious legacy on her own.

Get a pickup truck... no jacking necessary... plenty of
clearance to do the job at ground level.

 

I would really like to get work done, just pay someone and get it over with. But my experiences with shops have been mostly bad.

The last time I was in a quick change place I ended up screaming at the manager, slamming the hood and threatening to drive through the door if they did not open it quick enough.

The manager tried the hard sell routine on all the fluid flush and fills and he would not stop! Some people just need an attitude adjustment.

I am not quick to anger or prone to public displays of rage, but enough is enough! IF they need to molest children and rip off old lady's that is their business. But don't try it on me! If they had already drained the oil, I would have called a tow truck.

I hear little complaining about the Honda dealers, I have the free coupon so I will give them a try. JIm 0311

 

I've made nearly every mistake possible over the years working on bikes and cars. I still do as much myself as I can. It beats having to take time off from work sitting in the lounge at the dealership waiting for them to change my oil.

Changing the oil on a Fit is a snap compared to my ex-wifes Chevette. GM installed the oil filter OVER the frame crossmember. As soon as you loosen it (if you can reach it at all), oil would run the entire length of the crossmember and drip everywhere. There was no drip pan large enough to catch all the oil. God, how I hated that piece of junk!

 

I don't know about your state. Here in NY, any place that sells oil has to accept used oil for recycling. I take mine to a local garage, and they burn it in their waste oil furnace to heat the shop.

 

Good one hogwylde! This goes up there with the fishing stories archives!

Here's a piece on oil changes someone posted yesterday. The video is old. I still remember when it aired originally. But I'm sure the scam is still happening everywhere: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/general-fit-talk/66559-oil-change-scam-pretty-eye-opening.html#post1018778

Oil changes are one of the few things left to do for the non-tech-savvy nowadays...

Like your list... blame it on the bad beer...

 

for my 00 Integra TypeR, I picked up these black plastic helper ramps. Which basically just got the car high enough to get the jack under.

now I live w my gf and shes got a gravel driveway and no garage...

I like to let an engine sit a while before filling it back up(see beer ref), and most oil shops arent wasting any time with that.

 

It makes more sense to do oil changes yourself when it is every 3,000 miles (or about 3-4 times per year), but when it's every 9,000 miles, I just take to the state inspection place and have them do it.

If I end up off cycle, I may go a jiffy lube as I don't want to buy jack stands or ramps, an oil trey/ holder, funnel...

 

I just did my first DIY oil change on the Fit, and even though I didn't raise the front of the car at all, it wasn't that terrible. Next oil change I'll get the front up at least a couple of inches and it should be a piece of cake.

I use empty liquid detergent bottles which have a very wide mouth (remove the snap in insert) for the used oil, and take it to my local auto parts chain store to dump it.

 

I love changing the oil and my car is pretty low on coils. Just use a 2x4 and I can get a jack under it.. only thing is to remember to put the cap back on lol... one of my fav things. Its so relaxing

 

Holy hell.

 

I couldn't live with myself if I paid someone other than my neighbor's grandson to change the oil on my car.. I can watch him and know if he is doing it right also he can help me do other things on the car or whatever while every last drop of old oil is drained.. Having the front of the car raised assures there will be very little oil left in the crankcase pan.. Oil changes are a breeze compared to doing a complete inside and out wash job and it is a chance to check out the underside of your car which is something they won't allow you to do at most oil change places.

 

hog-that's a funny post.

since my other cars have always been much lower than my GE i made this ramp extension out of oak and i gently screw it onto my Rhino ramps so it does not slip out. i'll take some snaps next time im doing the GE's oil change cause it's coming up pretty soon.

 

Taking to a shop doesn't always mean it will be done properly. The last oil change I had done at the dealer, mechanic forgot to tighten the oil plug. Only noticed it after seeing a small puddle of oil on the garage floor (this was on my old CR-V). And the quick-lube places are even scarier since you have no idea whether they are even doing what they claim on the bill.

As usual, the difficulty of doing any job is inversely proportional to the degree of preparation you do. That means getting the proper tools, understanding the proper procedures (including the torque specs for the oil plug, you do have a torque wrench right?) and having the correct supplies like a new washer for the drain plug.

One trick to getting the car up onto some wood planks is to put the planks a foot otpr so in front of the tires. You want the car moving but not accelerating when the front tires hit the edge of the plank. That way the momentum of the car will get it onto the planks.

Good luck on future oil changes. Take this as a learning experience.

 

Ouch man.
Here is your solution:
Get some RhinoRamps for 35$ and a large 10$ oil drain pan and you are set (and maybe an oil filter wrench for 10$). Then buy full synthetic Mobil 1 and Mobile 1 filter for 35$ when on sale at local shop. Done.


I'm on my 7th DIY change and never had any issues. I KNOW it got done right and with good products.