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Do Not Buy The 3,000 Mile Oil Change Hype

Modern vehicles are incredibly complex when compared to their predecessors. That being said, they still face the same enemies of the very first engines. Yes, I am talking about friction and the resulting heat it causes.

If you own a car, you know that the key to fighting these two devils is oil. It lubricates the parts of an engine which minimizes the friction. Without excessive friction, heat is kept to a minimum as well.

Oil is an amazing substance. It can take an absolute thrashing in the harsh environment of an engine and yet still keep friction and heat at bay. After a bit, however, even oil will fail and thus must be changed out.

What answer immediately popped into your mind? I bet it was that the oil should be changed every three months or 3,000 miles, whichever came first. Right? Somewhere, an oil marketing executive has a big grin on their face.

As with many things we know, the 3 and 3 rule is wrong. It is just marketing with no basis in fact. Every car performs differently and does different tasks. This means there is a different guideline for each of them.

How can there really be one standard for changing oil? Just use your common sense. A car used to drive to the store and back needs few oil changes. A car that sits in stop and go traffic every day for 2 hours definitely needs more of them.

Still, we need some type of guideline right? Well, you have one. For men, this will be painful. Yes, we will have to read directions. In the owners manual for the car, we can find the information for the specific needs of our vehicle.

The manufacturer is actually going to designate a number of things regarding the oil. Yes, the number of miles between recommended changes will be there, but so will the weight of oil to be used and the recommended oil brand.

Whatever you do, stick religiously to the weight recommended for the oil by the manufacturer. The specific brand can be ignored. Castrol, Pennzoil and so on all work well enough.

You are often going to have a choice between normal and synthetic oils. The synthetic oils are really great. They can last for 10,000 to 15,000 miles. Make sure to look at the different brands and their expected life spans.

I personally use Mobil 1 oil for my vehicles. I have minimal engine problems. We recently broke down the motor of a friend who used Mobil 1 for 125,000 miles in a BMW and found the engine to be in great shape.

Do not be a chump. Avoid obeying the marketing slogans of various oil change businesses. Pull out that owners manual and get the truth on oil changes for your car. You will undoubtedly save some money on less frequent changes.