[quote author=Chaos link=topic=186692.msg3943605#msg3943605 date=1298503858]
I have a lot of oil change questions/dilemmas.
My car's at around 42K miles. I've had all my oil changes done at shops. Unfortunately, I've moved around quite a bit. I've had to get a few oil changes on the road, in unfamiliar cities, and now I've been in a new city for the last year+. The problem that creates is having no idea where I can trust to take my car to. I used to go to the dealership 40 minutes away, but they give me a bad/untrustworthy feeling, and it's a bit out of the way. The last shop I took my car to had great reviews online, but it took them 3-4 tries to get the oil change done right. They kept over-filling it. It was really quite strange, actually, as they only ended using like two quarts in the last attempt. Truly a mystery. The oil was perfectly clean, and measured correctly on the dipstick (in the end). Anyway, digression.
Any tips AT ALL for where to get an oil change done? I don't know how to myself, plus I live in an apartment, have no garage or other means of doing it. I have no friends, much less ones who could help me out. I don't trust chain places at all (Pep Boys, Jiffy Lube, etc.). Any ideas?
It amazes me how much a simple oil changes stresses me out, because I know how important it is to the life of my car, but there's so many uncertainties. I never know if I'm using the right filter, or if an oil change was done right (filter was changed, torque was proper, oil was drained properly, etc.), or if I should be doing anything different.
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Since you have a 2.0 with the spin-on filter, I'd always mark it with something just to be sure the place you went to actually changed the filter. I usually write something that seems pretty meaningless (like a number, I use 524 since that's my buddy's race number), rather than draw a star or happy face or something.
If the place you choose also isn't too far away, I'd suggest removing the skid plate before you go in, that way the people don't have to mess with it. At that point, with no skid plate and a spin-on filter, it's pretty much like changing the oil in any other vehicle.
Also, if you go to a local garage (or heck, even the dealer) and bring your own oil and filter, typically they'll charge you less than $20 for labor to change the oil/filter and give an inspection.
If you don't like the local Mazda dealer, you could also try a Ford dealer or something. Heck, most dealerships around here do oil changes for nearly any vehicle that rolls up the driveway.
Alternatively, I know you said you live in an apartment, but you could also just change the oil yourself on the street. Out of the two apartment complexes that I've lived at, both of them said no auto work on their property, but the streets surrounding the complex are public property, so wrench away! :lol:
One of the complexes that I lived at was in a neighborhood and there were houses across the street, so it's not like it was super busy or anything. The other complex was at the intersection of two major streets, so working on the street there was kind of perilous. :lol: Nothing like removing a snapped shock from under your truck while having traffic zoom by at 45-50MPH just a few feet away.
However, you might want to be sure there are no city ordinances regarding auto work in the street. I know some cities won't let you have a "dismantled vehicle" on public property, but most are fine with it if you're gonna be done quickly.
As far as not knowing how to do an oil change, it's quite simple to do and you'll catch on quickly I'm sure. The first one I did took like 1 1/2 hours, but now I can bang it out in 20-30 minutes, depending on how long I let the oil drain. There are several how-to guides on this forum, and all you really need outside of a basic tool set (with metric sockets) is a drain pan and some way of lifting the vehicle.
Hope this helps you out some