Tuesday, March 3, 2015

good news, bad news...

with the 'new' Toyota that I bought last fall. I had been using a semi-synthetic oil, and paying more for an oil change than with the previous vehicle, a sturdy little Saturn (back in the era of my being determined to only buy American made vehicles - which I have obviously recovered from.) Just doing what the manufacturer recommends without any truly expert knowledge. But if 'they said' I should be using a more expensive oil, that I what I must do.

And now, with the newer model (2013) ''they say' I should be using a fully synthetic product. So I am/do. Which, as you can imagine, is even more expensive than the stuff that is half-synthetic and half-who-knows-what. But that's what I have.

After poking around on the internet, by googling 'synthetic oil changes' and finding what I thought to be the best price, I went down yesterday morning before work to get it done. And find that, lucky me, I have an unusual filter, that has to be 'special ordered' (which in this case apparently means the oil change guy has to walk across the parking lot to the Auto Zone store next door and buy the one that goes under the hood of the Toyo.) So they have to charge me extra for the full synthetic oil (whatever that means???) and extra for the oddly shaped oil filter. So much for bargain shopping.

Then to top all this aggravation off: I looked at the email this morning, and today, just now, I find a coupon  from Goodyear for $25 off any service over $50. That of course, expires long before I will need another oil change.

Oh  - and the good news part of this is: the first time I had this done, in the new'ish toyo, they told me I could go twice as long before I would need to have it done again. The usual definition of having oil drained and replaced and a new filter installed is 5000 miles, but according to the service rep. with the higher priced oil, it  can go twice the distance before you need the service again. So, if you take a big step back, tilt your head and squint, with one eye closed, I have saved, right?

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