ive got my 3rd oil change coming up soon, and im wondering...is it worth driving all the way to the dealer (30 min drive) to change it with them? or can i do the 5 min drive to jiffy lube?

last time i went to the dealer and asked, they said i could, but that they mix the oil half synthetic for the particular engine....is this BS? i dont know much about the subject, so im wondering if i should bother going to the dealer.

 

Dealers cool.. just $$$... i do my own oil change... i dont trust jiffy lube... but i do believe the dealer mix's the oil...

 

I don't have a problem with "quick change" places. I just take a GOOD (M1, FRAM, AMSOIL) filter with me and tell them to use it instead of the $2 POS that they put on there.

 

^+1

my last car went to walmart once the warrnty was out. I used synthetic oil so they had to open bottles and I could watch.

I use the dealer during warrnty periods just for the sake of documented care; if you ever have to challenge thier call on a warranty issue regarding the engine it will help to have their service record reflect your consistent care.

Plus if you decide to buy another car from the same dealer you can leverage the fact that you use your consistency as a customer to get a better price or freebies.

 

what i would like to know is....when should i change my oil? I know it should be every 3000 miles.....but does it have to be every 3 months?

does time (in months) matter since i am driving my car every day?

ive put about 2500 miles on it in 4 months.

05 G35 coupe 6MT

 

you dont want the oil getting too old if im not mistaken...3months isnt FOR SURE but no more than 6 months

 

Change Dino oil @ 3000 miles if you do a lot of stop and go or dirty driving. If you do mostly Highway everyday you can go as high as 7500. I recomend 3000 anyway. Oil is cheap.

If you use Synthetic, you can go 7500 to 9000. I recomend 7500 max.

A lot depends on how much oil you use between changes. If you use 1 quart in 5000, change it then.

I am a outside salesman, I put 4-5 thousand miles a month on my company car. When I change it at 3000, the techs tell me it looks like they just put it in. Not even dirty at all.

 

The choice between dino and synthetics is personal, but synth will give better protection under more critical conditions.

As far as frequency, you can't go wrong just changing synths according to the manufacturer's recommendations, and is good insurance for the long haul.

An oil-analysis is the best way to determine, so after break-in, monitor use patterns, and do a couple with your choice in different oils to get a good idea for future frequency. Remember, some Nissan engineers say the VQ engine isn't fully broken in for alomost 20k miles!