Oil Change at Mycar Vs Independent Mechanic

Nexo on 23/12/2024 - 15:59
Last edited 23/12/2024 - 18:36 by 2 other users

My spouse has a Volkswagen Diesel Golf 2012 model. I called the reputable mechanics in my area in Sydney (inner west) to get a quote on an oil change and was quoted $400-$430 from 3 mechanics.

I called my local Mycar and got a $289 quote for the same service (general - oil change and safety inspection). I know generally Mycar doesn't have the best reputation and have heard online people recommend to go to an independent mechanic, but in this situation where I simply need an oil change would it be better to go opt for Mycar? I don't see any benefit of paying $150 extra for oil change.

Any downsides I may not be factoring in or bad experiences people have had for a simple service?

Thank you.

Automotive Car Engine Oil Volkswagen

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Comments

  • MS Paint on 23/12/2024 - 16:05
    +15

    Diy for <$90 and you know it's done right.

    • Nexo on 23/12/2024 - 16:08
      +1

      Ideally would do this but I'm quite time poor with only 3 days of time off every month so am happy to pay for someone else to do it for me so I can maximise my time with family.

      • Sye on 23/12/2024 - 16:21
        +11

        Get the family to help and call it a family bonding experience

      • MS Paint on 23/12/2024 - 16:56
        +10

        3 days off a month is crazy and not sustainable.

        • Nexo on 23/12/2024 - 17:31

          I have been doing this for a year now and my physical and mental health has been stable. Weekend work is paid at 2x so makes up for the time lost. It's the only way I can afford another mortgage in the banks eyes. Soon to buy an investment property.

          • Euphemistic on 23/12/2024 - 17:37
            +11

            @Nexo:

            Soon to buy an investment property.

            Why? Seems youre missing out on family time to try andnget an investment property. Youll never get back family time, you can get an investment property later. .

            • MS Paint on 23/12/2024 - 18:19
              +3

              @Euphemistic: Not worth it dude. Family time > investment property.

              • Toph Beifong on 23/12/2024 - 19:06
                -1

                @MS Paint: Investment property will soon start paying for family holidays in Europe

                • JIMB0 on 23/12/2024 - 20:06
                  +1

                  @Toph Beifong: Investment properties can be a time consuming headache. Particularly in the first 6 months as you have to get it up to scratch to rent out, then find tenants and dealing with their requests once they've moved in.

                • MS Paint on 23/12/2024 - 20:10
                  +2

                  @Toph Beifong: That's not how it works

                • SlickMick on 24/12/2024 - 09:18
                  +1

                  @Toph Beifong: Investment properties are a place to dump excess funds - they're a lousy way (in my experience) to produce income.

            • Nexo on 23/12/2024 - 21:36
              +5

              @Euphemistic: Married earlier this year, wife is a junior doctor and is studying further to specialise. On days she doesn't have work she studies anywhere from 8-12 hours. I'm trying to make the most of the opportunities available for overtime at work while it is there and my wife is busy anyways so I would just be sitting at home a whole lot if I wasn't working. Not something I plan to do long term though, trying to to capitalise on this opportunity before I have kids and while she is studying.

              Edit: any extra time that she is not studying and I am not working is spent together going on dates and bonding at home

              • onetwothreefour on 24/12/2024 - 09:40

                @Nexo:

                I would just be sitting at home a whole lot if I wasn't working

                Sounds like my dream life

              • Euphemistic on 24/12/2024 - 13:41
                +1

                @Nexo: Crying time poor, wanting to spend time with family at the same time as doing bulk overtime to get an investment property doesnt compute.

                Its one or the other. You don't need to justify it to anyone. You do you.

                For me, time changing the oil is easier than getting overtime. Might be a different value proposition for you if you can earn more than what it costs to pay for an oil change.

          • JIMB0 on 23/12/2024 - 17:52
            +3

            @Nexo: Paying $289 for a simple oil change is not the way to riches.

          • Protractor on 23/12/2024 - 18:34

            @Nexo: Great, but you can never go the ATM and withdraw lost time.

      • Ocker on 23/12/2024 - 17:10
        +2

        An oil change should take less than 1/2 hour, so get up early one morning and do the job while family still in bed. The with the $200 you will save you could take the family out for a nice breakfast - win/win

        • CurlCurl on 23/12/2024 - 17:42

          Your VW will need low SAPS oil if it has a DPF.

        • TEER3X on 23/12/2024 - 17:53

          OP is not taking the family out for a $200 breakfast.

          Read the room buddy.

      • JIMB0 on 23/12/2024 - 17:50
        +2

        I find it more time efficient to DIY rather than fluffing around taking a car to a mechanic to get serviced. Get your misses to help out in the garage. Women love a bloke who is handy.

      • p1 ama on 23/12/2024 - 19:45

        Ideally would do this but I'm quite time poor with only 3 days of time off every month so am happy to pay for someone else to do it for me so I can maximise my time with family.

        With all due respect, for a simple oil change, it's actually faster to do it yourself.

        Let's assume in the best case scenario, it takes you 10 mins to get to myCar, 5 mins to talk to the guys there and handover, 10 mins to get back home, then double it for the way back to pickup your car, and that's 50 mins.

        It should only take you half of that time to do an oil change - you could probably do it in 10-15 mins once you've done it a few times. You'll literally spend more time away from your family taking it to a mechanic.

        • AustriaBargain on 23/12/2024 - 20:44
          +1

          Eh. How long will it take to scrub the oil stains out of your hands? Or how much time Googling "how to get oil out of concrete driveway". If oil changes are so easy then Mycar really can do it properly and profitably at that price, I'd let them do it. The wife isn't going to learn how to do it, what's OP to do, keep changing the oil on her cars for the rest of her life?

          • JIMB0 on 23/12/2024 - 21:55

            @AustriaBargain: Wear rubber gloves and put some rags down.

            • Hardlyworkin on 23/12/2024 - 22:46

              @JIMB0: I read your comment and initially thought it was in reply to Ops mention above of bonding at home…

          • freefall101 on 23/12/2024 - 22:44

            @AustriaBargain:

            The wife isn't going to learn how to do it, what's OP to do, keep changing the oil on her cars for the rest of her life?

            Yes? My partner has never learned and I'm fine with that. I kill all the spiders, take all the jars off the top shelf, sharpen the blade on the lawn mower, use the whipper snipper and a pile of other things. There's stuff she does that I'm basically useless at, we share most of the general things. That's being in a relationship, you do stuff for each other. Plus a man that's handy with their hands tends to get a few benefits.

            Mycar have the cost of a car taking up a space in their garage while it drains, the cost of employees, GST collected, the employee at the front desk, rent, insurance, transaction fees, whatever marketing/licensing fees for the mycar brand, and they make a profit. So you can throw $200 at them for half an hours work or you can do it yourself. If you earn enough that half an hour of your life is worth more than $200 then that's awesome, congrats to you. I'm the kind of person who pays people to do all kinds of stuff, I won't move furniture myself nor do a deep clean with a lot of chemicals, but it's not unreasonable to do an oil change yourself.

            2 minutes with a $1 bar of soap and being smart enough to get a big enough container for the oil is easy. Worst problem should be dropping the sump plug in the oil.

        • Matt P on 24/12/2024 - 00:08

          Whilst this must be true, imagine a future automotive thread.. "i'm looking at a second hand golf and there are no stamps in the book for 60,000kms"

          The answers will be to run for the hills.

          • p1 ama on 24/12/2024 - 02:00
            +2

            @Matt P: It's a 12 year old Golf - assume OP holds it for several more years. Nobody cares about service history for a 15+ year old car.

          • brad1-8tsi on 24/12/2024 - 21:07

            @Matt P: Any workshop can stamp the book.

    • HeWhoKnows on 24/12/2024 - 07:53
      -2

      OP wasnt asking that

      To answer Ops question - take it wherever you like.

      If Mycar is cheaper then take it there

      Its a simple no-brainer procedure

  • Brucet on 23/12/2024 - 17:46
    +2

    Less than 1 hour for oil change plus oil filter , for my Corolla.only $70.

    • HeWhoKnows on 24/12/2024 - 07:55
      -6

      I you do it yourself then yes.

      OP wasnt asking about your Corolla
      Parts and (high grade) oil are much more expensive for VW

      • altomic on 24/12/2024 - 16:30
        +3

        Your username does not check out.

  • onetwothreefour on 23/12/2024 - 18:20
    +2

    Travel time to and from the mechanics plus you'll be without that car for a few hours at least. Seems quicker and cheaper to do it yourself.

  • netjock on 23/12/2024 - 19:39

    when you say VW they put the premium pricing on

  • resisting the urge on 23/12/2024 - 19:52
    +4

    There is very little chance a 2012 VW only needs an oil change, unless you know its history and have been maintaining it very well.

    Regardless, a decent indy (and one who knows VWs) is the very least it would need.

    If I was that short of cash and time, I'd tell the Indy I can really only afford an oil change this week. They can probably tell me what else it needs better than anyone unskilled with VWs, and booking it in for that is something that can be done later too.

    Coolant, transmission, brake fluid, and drivetrain oils need to be changed regularly on any car, and with 2012 there are many things that can break, fail or wear out. Maintenance that is not done leads to failure and more work, sometimes catastrophic failures at the worst possible time for your family and your wallet.

    A heck of a lot of people never change lubricants on time and if they miss one or two on a service the lubricant itself can turn into an acid and even an abrasive. Forgetting isn't a good thing, and changing it is a lot cheaper than fixing the problems caused by periods of poor maintenance.

    A good Indy can tell you if something is about to let go. But they cannot make you fix it. If you don't, at least you can get their advice on how to try to avoid making it worse before you can afford to get it done.

  • ihbh on 23/12/2024 - 20:50

    Does a head gasket replacement require an oil change? That is, oil change is included in price.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 23/12/2024 - 21:58

    Buy a tyre depth guage. Check all depths are at least 5mm, as guaranteed they try and flog you new tyres. 3mm is getting dangerous.

    Ps. Leave it on the front passenger seat, so they think you know about vehicles. ;)

    • JIMB0 on 24/12/2024 - 05:13
      +2

      Put a mark on the oil filter to really show your dominance. @pegaxs

      • pegaxs on 24/12/2024 - 09:02
        +1

        Oh yes, the two biggest fears as a mechanic… a tyre depth gauge on the front seat and a mark on an oil filter… I just know I’m not making budget on that car.

        At least I got to update my knowledge with this new information that 3mm is the new “dangerous” tread depth.

        • brad1-8tsi on 24/12/2024 - 21:04

          I miss my selection of markers to replicate the untrusting customers marks and add my own smiley face.

  • ramshead on 24/12/2024 - 07:46
    -6

    oils ain't oils
    Most of the cost in that job is probably the price of the oil. Modern engines have minimal tolerances and correct oil viscosity is crucial. Some engines require the actual change to be done within a time limit.
    Sure, go to supercheap and pick up 4l on special, but sell the car within 3 months.
    Get it done by a tradesman. Worth the dosh.

    • JIMB0 on 24/12/2024 - 07:58

      For my Toyota with the 2GR V6 anything that is on special and between 0w-20 to 10w-30 is fine. The w part is irrelevant in Australia unless you're parking your car in a freezer.

  • singlemalt72 on 24/12/2024 - 09:25
    +1

    MyCar will do the oil change, then try to lock you in for a battery, brake pads, coolant flush etc ….
    Their model is to get you in the door and then start upselling you.

    • brad1-8tsi on 24/12/2024 - 21:02
      -1

      Indeed it is. Their old KTAS CEO was ex-Goodyear and that is Goodyear's business model.

  • Dslrfirst on 24/12/2024 - 09:31
    +1

    Good mobile mechanic?

  • mini2 on 24/12/2024 - 11:05

    Indies aren't always cheaper or better at their jobs. Some VW independents in Sydney are banking on their dad's or great-grandfather's reputation even though some workshops aren't blood-related to their founders (son-in-law, etc).

    Go to the dealer and ask them how much the Essential or Essential service plus pricing is. It may not be as expensive as you think. If I'm paying money similar to Mycar at the dealer, I'd take it back to the dealer.

  • Downvoter on 24/12/2024 - 13:27

    Cbf replying properly so stop living to work and start working to live. No one ever says on their death bed, gee I wish I did more overtime to pay for stuff.

  • brad1-8tsi on 24/12/2024 - 20:59

    Take it to Wolfsburg Motors in Campbell Street St.Peters. He's honest, knows VWs intimately and prices are fair.

    Or JH Motors near Alexandria PO who also knows VWs but is probably more expensive.

    Unfortunately VWs need a bit more love & knowledge than the average MyCar mechanic is equipped for.

  • doctordv8 on 24/12/2024 - 21:17

    Common mistake.

    Do not confuse an oil change, with a Service.

    Two very different things, so read up on exactly what is involved and offered by different crowds.

  • dtc on 24/12/2024 - 21:47

    ‘Independent’ mechanic means not a dealer. My car is independent

    Don’t believe that a small owner operated mechanic means it doesn’t upsell or over service.

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