Is changing oil at those fast oil change places the best thing or should I change it myself?

A friend of mine told me that he changes his on oil because he changed it and left it to drain overnight. It had become just a drip and he put a piece of cardboard under it all night. The next day he said there was a gritty residue there which led him to believe that if you change it quick it will not clean it out as well.|||I suppose it's possible that more contaminants will come out given more time to let gravity do it's thing, that sounds reasonable. The problem with that is you had better make sure you don't ever forget that you've left the car in the driveway/garage with no oil in it, if you start driving it this way you'll likely destroy the engine. I've changed the oil myself, but have never let it sit for hours like that, it's a nuisance.





Generally speaking, you can save quite a few dollars changing it yourself, and it's not a hard job. All you need is a filter and the appropriate amount of oil, and the right size wrench, and an oil pan. it should be less than $10 per change for most cars.





The biggest pain is properly disposing of the used oil. Do not just pour it on the ground or throw it in the trash, you should bring it to a recycle center.|||When you go to an oil-change shop they are supposed to do "oil, lube, filter".





When you do it yourself, you must change not only the oil but the filter, and you should figure out how to lube the suspension and steering with a grease gun. Get a shop manual for your car, either the real one from the manufacturer (expensive) or the one from the auto parts store. There are all sorts of varieties of grease available. Get the right one.|||Oh it depends. I can get my oil changed with synthetics for like $30-40 local and it would cost me more to buy it myself. Since they buy it in bulk, they usually can charge you less than doing it yourself. It all depends on your area. Sometimes they vacuum and such for the cost as well, plus they fill up your fluids.





Personally I wouldn't just go to anyone either, I don't trust some people. So I choose to change my own unless it is the end of the world.|||I change the oil myself because I know the oil and filter is being changed. My brother in law used to work at a shop and he's told me some stories that make me glad I change my oil.|||change it at the fast oil change places and watch them if they change the oil and filter so next time you can do it yourself|||id change it yourseld...they charge about 30-40 dollars where as you can get a deal like filter and 5qts of oil for under 20 dollars...