Providing Your Own Oil For An Oil Change Can Save Money, But Don't Just Turn Up With A Bottle

Buying, running, and maintaining a car is an expensive game, regardless of whether you're behind the wheel of a flash Lamborghini, or your uncle's old Accord. And there are only so many ways in which you can make the whole process cheaper.

Rising insurance costs are making motoring on a shoestring budget a thing of the past, and it's no secret that the purchase costs of both new and used cars have soared steeply in recent years. That leaves maintenance as virtually your only way to reduce the ongoing costs of owning and running a car.

We're not going to suggest you start skipping maintenance intervals, or start ignoring problems, but you can save money by doing oil services yourself. Or, if getting hands-on with your car is outside of your wheelhouse, you could simply just bring your own oil to the garage instead.

The idea behind this is that you can buy cheap oil instead of the garage's name-brand oils, which of course they will mark-up to make a profit on too. If it saves you $10 or $20, that's a small win. But don't just rock up at the garage on the day of your service and pass them the bottle. That's a little rude, it might rub them the wrong way, and they can refuse to use it for liability reasons. If you like the idea of saving a few dollars, go about it the right way, and do this instead.

It's common sense really, to get in touch with the garage carrying out the oil change well before your appointment, and explain that you wish to supply your own oil. Some restaurants allow you to bring your own drinks in, but that's something you check beforehand. You don't just turn up and uncork a bottle of wine without asking, and this is the same sort of situation.

The best bet would be to quickly but properly explain why you're wanting to provide your own oil, and that could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps you believe a particular brand or grade is best suited to your car, or you want a thinner grade of oil for winter driving, or maybe you've modified the engine and now wish to use a different grade than what a stock example would command.

Equally, if you're trying to stretch every dollar, and just want to save a handful of dollars, just explain that to the garage. It's a situation most have been in, and so it's easy to sympathize. Maybe you've just got the oil sitting around and don't want it going to waste — there are dozens of perfectly valid reasons.

However, it's worth bearing in mind the garage you're using here, and what car you drive. The penny-pinching angle makes sense if you're bringing an '03 Camry to a local independent, but if you're taking your 2024 Audi A8 to the main dealer, they might insist on using the correct manufacturer-approved and supplied fluids for liability purposes.

Of course, as our headline suggests, the main benefit of providing your own oil is to save some money. If that is your main goal, then working toward being able to do this job yourself is really the wisest move, and although there are both pros and cons of changing your own oil, it absolutely will save you money.

Another benefit of providing the oil yourself is that at least you then know for sure what brand and grade has been used. Some cars can be fussy, and who's to say the garage won't just use budget stuff in your pride and joy? Providing your own oil for the job mitigates this concern. It does, however, mean the garage will not accept liability for damages if you provide the incorrect grade.

The wrong grade of oil can accelerate engine wear and result in untoward noises, and the garage will want nothing to do with repairing such issues if you're the one who's at fault for handing over the wrong grade. Finally, providing your own oil does take away a profit-earning potential from the garage, and that's a business at the end of the day, which needs a certain level of profit to keep the doors open. So, bringing your own parts to the garage to save money might weaken your relationship with them. It's not necessarily the case, but it's something to keep in mind when weighing up the pros and cons.