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Knowing how to change the oil in your car means you are able to carry out the cheapest and most important act of maintainance a car owner can carry out. However, paying a garage or dealer to do this for you increases the cost. Why not do this yourself, you will save money, and gain the satisfaction that you have worked on the car yourself.

Changing the oil is not a difficult job to do, but some preparation is needed before you start.

First, you need to establish what oil you need, and how much of it will do the job. This is quite easy to do, simply look in the car handbook, types of oil and required quantities will be listed there. If the handbook is lost, then most oil salespoints will be able to tell you what is required. Either that, or revert to google or similar, searching for your make of car.

Next, you need to discover what oil filter is needed. I would suggest you get this from the dealer for your make of car. There are many after market oil filter suppliers, but the saving in money is small here, and you risk having a sub standard filter. After market filters often offer less filtration and are sometimes missing vital parts such as non return valves. Remember they are made for a price but still required to make a profit, so it suggests that something has been 'skimped' so that the price looks very competitive. Buyer beware here I think! Also, in taking advice from the dealer, you may happily discover that their filter may be used twice, automatically bringing the individual job price down. This is the case for my Mitsubishi Shogun/Pajero/Monterro. Don't forget to get a new crush washer here at the same time. Some filters come with one, but in some cases you have to get one separately.

Next, we need to establish the points on the vehicle that you are going to work on. You will need to find the location of the engine sump drain plug, and the location of your oil filter. Normally both are easy to find, but if you have any difficulty, again refer to the handbook. It is at this point you may discover that other parts need to be removed for access. In my case, I have to remove a protective plate on the underside of the vehicle before I can access the oil filter. Always best to know this sort of thing before you start the job. It's also a good idea at this point to discover if you can access the drain plug without raising the vehicle. Also do you have enough room under the vehicle for a receptacle to catch the old oil? Planning is always useful.

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