National Tyres oil change
Discussion
Of all maintenance jobs an oil and filter change must be the simplest. Takes a couple of minutes on the internet to get the right quality oil and filter, at the cheapest price delivered directly to your door a couple of days later. The actual activity of draining oil, replacing oil filter and refilling takes half an hour if done leisurely. This is far less time than going and getting someone else to do the job. OK you have to decant the old oil into the bottle the new oil came in and take it to the tip but if arranged for next time you're close/passing the local tip it's an extra 5 or 10 minutes at most.
Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Garvin said:
Of all maintenance jobs an oil and filter change must be the simplest. Takes a couple of minutes on the internet to get the right quality oil and filter, at the cheapest price delivered directly to your door a couple of days later. The actual activity of draining oil, replacing oil filter and refilling takes half an hour if done leisurely. This is far less time than going and getting someone else to do the job. OK you have to decant the old oil into the bottle the new oil came in and take it to the tip but if arranged for next time you're close/passing the local tip it's an extra 5 or 10 minutes at most.
Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Good luck with that plan on a mk5 Astra when only armed with some standard car ramps or a jack which is what most people will have at home. The undertray swings forwards meaning that it completely blocks your access from under the front of the car. Also 5 litres of top quality oil is the best part of £50 these days, and then you have to start getting mucky. Fast fit centres (National Tyres in my case, but I guess they're all much of a muchness price wise) charged £45 for the job, including VAT and oil disposal.Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
All that jazz said:
Garvin said:
Of all maintenance jobs an oil and filter change must be the simplest. Takes a couple of minutes on the internet to get the right quality oil and filter, at the cheapest price delivered directly to your door a couple of days later. The actual activity of draining oil, replacing oil filter and refilling takes half an hour if done leisurely. This is far less time than going and getting someone else to do the job. OK you have to decant the old oil into the bottle the new oil came in and take it to the tip but if arranged for next time you're close/passing the local tip it's an extra 5 or 10 minutes at most.
Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Good luck with that plan on a mk5 Astra when only armed with some standard car ramps or a jack which is what most people will have at home. The undertray swings forwards meaning that it completely blocks your access from under the front of the car. Also 5 litres of top quality oil is the best part of £50 these days, and then you have to start getting mucky. Fast fit centres (National Tyres in my case, but I guess they're all much of a muchness price wise) charged £45 for the job, including VAT and oil disposal.Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Garvin said:
All that jazz said:
Garvin said:
Of all maintenance jobs an oil and filter change must be the simplest. Takes a couple of minutes on the internet to get the right quality oil and filter, at the cheapest price delivered directly to your door a couple of days later. The actual activity of draining oil, replacing oil filter and refilling takes half an hour if done leisurely. This is far less time than going and getting someone else to do the job. OK you have to decant the old oil into the bottle the new oil came in and take it to the tip but if arranged for next time you're close/passing the local tip it's an extra 5 or 10 minutes at most.
Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Good luck with that plan on a mk5 Astra when only armed with some standard car ramps or a jack which is what most people will have at home. The undertray swings forwards meaning that it completely blocks your access from under the front of the car. Also 5 litres of top quality oil is the best part of £50 these days, and then you have to start getting mucky. Fast fit centres (National Tyres in my case, but I guess they're all much of a muchness price wise) charged £45 for the job, including VAT and oil disposal.Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
All that jazz said:
Garvin said:
All that jazz said:
Garvin said:
Of all maintenance jobs an oil and filter change must be the simplest. Takes a couple of minutes on the internet to get the right quality oil and filter, at the cheapest price delivered directly to your door a couple of days later. The actual activity of draining oil, replacing oil filter and refilling takes half an hour if done leisurely. This is far less time than going and getting someone else to do the job. OK you have to decant the old oil into the bottle the new oil came in and take it to the tip but if arranged for next time you're close/passing the local tip it's an extra 5 or 10 minutes at most.
Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
Good luck with that plan on a mk5 Astra when only armed with some standard car ramps or a jack which is what most people will have at home. The undertray swings forwards meaning that it completely blocks your access from under the front of the car. Also 5 litres of top quality oil is the best part of £50 these days, and then you have to start getting mucky. Fast fit centres (National Tyres in my case, but I guess they're all much of a muchness price wise) charged £45 for the job, including VAT and oil disposal.Save time and money whilst ensuring a proper job is done. OK, so it's a bit less effort if it all goes smoothly with your local grease monkeys . . . . . . . but when it doesn't . . . . . .
No worries, it's your choice and completely up to you. This is, however, Pistonheads where there are quite a few enthusiasts who like to look after their cars on a DIY basis and may be glad to save £13 - indeed it appears that some of the bangernomics experts on here spend very little more on buying their cars in the first place!
BTW, if you can't get any tools on the oil filter without removing other stuff - how do other people, including National Tyres, do it?
If you can do an oil and filter change at home, not only do you save yourself some money, but the general levels of maintenance of the car would increase. Well they do in my case anyway. Now that I know how easy it is to change the oil and filter on my daily driver, I'm going to do it every six months rather than annually. This should hopefully keep the engine in better condition.
MondeoMan1981 said:
My last 2 oil changes have been in Kwik-Fit.
Cheaper than DIY, done while I wait and very good service. Last time I was in I did have a tyre well worn (but legal) and close to replacement, the chap who did the oil change was almost apologetic in telling me the tyre would need done soon.
I'll be back there again next time I'm due one.
Interestingly National quote me £30.50 for my Mazda 6, pretty hard to beat !
I had one done ,in desperation,at KF . Problem was that they'd only ordered the filter ,and got the seal that came with filter( bowl type), whereas haynes goes at length to point out that ALL SEALS on the filter must be replaced . Eventually the manager got involved and discovered that an extra seal was needed. Cheaper than DIY, done while I wait and very good service. Last time I was in I did have a tyre well worn (but legal) and close to replacement, the chap who did the oil change was almost apologetic in telling me the tyre would need done soon.
I'll be back there again next time I'm due one.
Interestingly National quote me £30.50 for my Mazda 6, pretty hard to beat !
No stamp in book, but a receipt with mileage. I was pleasantly surprised by price which contained an element for time it took and fact that one of my roles at work was keeping tabs on the fleet and taking them into KF for tyres etc. I did question the oil .manager told me it was marked as VAG 505 01. I did have an oil/filter change in with a cambelt change at a main dealer and price included ( without me asking) a new sump plug and washer. I seem to remember that some one one on the DOM Littlewood programes had an oil change at national and lost the oil through a sump plug leak. Though I must admit I've always done my own servicing for 40 years till this car , only once changed a sump plug as it had been rounded by some ham fisted idiot, and never had any problems with leaks.
National ,I'm always suspicious of since I took advantage of their buy one get one half price tyre deal . I suspect they are looking to maximise on any occasion to make money. My front discs according to fitter were worn. Another bloke came along with callipers and a book, took measurements and made the noises a plumber makes when you ask how much. I gave them the ultimatum of putting my own wheels back on and loosing a sale or shutting up and I'd have new tyres. I measured the discs back home to find them well within spec. I did likewise at 55k when I changed the pads to find them even over several measurements at half way between new and replace.
Garvin said:
Why would it? Because if one can save about £13 each and every annual oil change then over a motoring career it would save considerably more than the cost of the tools (which tend to last a lifetime) necessary to easily, quickly and safely raise the car sufficiently to remove undertrays and get at oil filters etc. Once you learn the very modest skill required it takes very little time and effort to do the job efficiently without getting 'mucky' - a few pence for some disosable gloves perhaps! I was merely pointing out that, contrary to your assertion, 5 litres of quality oil can be acquired at much less than £50 and the job is actually quite simple.
No worries, it's your choice and completely up to you. This is, however, Pistonheads where there are quite a few enthusiasts who like to look after their cars on a DIY basis and may be glad to save £13 - indeed it appears that some of the bangernomics experts on here spend very little more on buying their cars in the first place!
BTW, if you can't get any tools on the oil filter without removing other stuff - how do other people, including National Tyres, do it?
As I said in my post, you need your arms outstretched to reach it and grip it, something you can't do laying on your back 12" off the ground with an undertray in the way. If saving £13 to get sNo worries, it's your choice and completely up to you. This is, however, Pistonheads where there are quite a few enthusiasts who like to look after their cars on a DIY basis and may be glad to save £13 - indeed it appears that some of the bangernomics experts on here spend very little more on buying their cars in the first place!
BTW, if you can't get any tools on the oil filter without removing other stuff - how do other people, including National Tyres, do it?
tted up with oil and losing time is more important to you then crack on. Anyone with any sense would let someone else do it for that negligible difference.I can see you're determined to have the last word regardless so I'm out.
All that jazz said:
As I said in my post, you need your arms outstretched to reach it and grip it, something you can't do laying on your back 12" off the ground with an undertray in the way. If saving £13 to get stted up with oil and losing time is more important to you then crack on. Anyone with any sense would let someone else do it for that negligible difference.
I can see you're determined to have the last word regardless so I'm out.
7ltrs of C3 oil and a filter costs 44 quid delivered from carparts4less. National will do it for 49 quid. So a fiver to be saved in my case. I'd rather pay someone else to do such a messy yet mundane task as I don't have a safe, practical location to do it myself.tted up with oil and losing time is more important to you then crack on. Anyone with any sense would let someone else do it for that negligible difference.I can see you're determined to have the last word regardless so I'm out.
If you're there watching, have talked to the blokes beforehand so they know you're not a mug and check what they've done before leaving the forecourt how can you go wrong?
I use National for oil changes and Kwik F*k for aircon recharges. Both of those services are simple and much cheaper than you'd be charged elsewhere (particularly as kwik fit refund you if it doesn't work)
The only issue I've ever had with a fast fit place was on a car with wheel trims. I was forced to use them as I had a puncture. They didn't reattach a cheapo plastic wheel trim properly and I lost it within 2 miles of the place. One written complaint later I was given a set of OEM wheel trims to replace the crap that was on there before.
Checked their website and it was £47.70 for my car, which seems pretty reasonable for Castrol (or maybe Fuchs) fully synthetic. However when I got there I was told it was £60, and that I'd seen an online only offer, but having just checked their site again at no point does it mention this. Is this just a tax on me for being lazy or am I right in feeling slightly mislead?
Depends on the vehicle I suppose. On my current 4x4 I don't have to lift it or even remove an undertray and the filter can be easily spun out by hand. Takes 15 minutes tops.
On a previous vehicle, It was a right pain in the arse, I couldn't even see the oil filter never mind remove it! Replacing it involved removing some turbo intercooler pipes and some engine bay gymnastics, I would gladly pay for someone to do that again!
On a previous vehicle, It was a right pain in the arse, I couldn't even see the oil filter never mind remove it! Replacing it involved removing some turbo intercooler pipes and some engine bay gymnastics, I would gladly pay for someone to do that again!
A few years ago. Went into local A*S for an oil and filter change. A few day later, noticed an oil leak, they had completely over filled it by four liters. This then produced an oil leak from the front crankshaft seal, guess it over pressured the crankcase. I was blazzing. A simple job, even a monkey could do it, so i thought.
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