Do you really have to change your oil every 3000 miles?

I can remember when the guidelines were as high as 15,000 miles. Then they were 12,000. Then they were 10,000 ... 7,500 ... 5,000 ... now 3,000. Is this a "scam" to promote the market for automobile service?

Only my opinion. A lot depends on age and type of car/engine.

Todays cars are trying to get the same power out of smaller engines. This means higher temperatures and engine RPMs.

As oil gets old, this heat breaks it down. As the filter gets plugged, a by pass valve opens to keep oil going to your engine. This will be un-filter, dirty oil.

Oil changing along with new oil and air filters is a small investment in the life of your engine. Do you have to pay 29.95 for an oil change, no. In most cases this can be done by a "Do It Yourselfer".

3000-9000 mile between changes? This depends on you driving style and distance driven. Short, stop and go drives are harder on a cars then long trips at a moderate speed.

I have been told by reliable sources that todays quality oils "Should" be good for up to 10,000 miles but the filter may not make that distance. My dad would change his oil filter between oil and filter changes. Not my recommendation.

As a final note, never buy a car only driven on weekend, I may have raced it.

I was at a local garage some time back and the owner said, come look at this engine, this guy did not believe in changing oil, only adding oil. I went and looked and could not believe the gunk that was in the lifter area, it was a mass of gue ! I don't think you have to change every 3000 miles, but you must pay close attention to the color, feel and smell of the oil! 3K may stretch to 5K and so on, but oil is cheap compared to replacement of an engine.

My "91 Caravan has over 146,000 miles on it and dosen't use a drop of oil....and ....I contribute that to the fact that I change the oil ecewry 3000 miles...I do very little highway travel, so it most important to do an oil change often...I am a total believer in the 3 mos/3,000 mile thought.....

Here is what an experienced mechanic has to say.

to get my oil changed every 3,000 miles. I have a 1999 Kia Sephia with over 60,000 miles.

My mechanic is always amazed when he changes the oil, since it's always very, very clean. I could probably go longer, but want to take care of this car so I can pass it down to my daughter in 3 years.

When I was working, I put 500 miles per week on the vehicle - even now, most of the miles are highway miles, and I think that's why the car is still in such good shape.

I put synthetic oil in my Camaro and change it and the filter about every 3000 miles, I put "house brand" oil in my Sonata about every 3000 miles, my Harley gets only Harley oil and it gets it every 3000 miles (over 100,000 miles on it) I'm afraid to calculate all the dough I coulda saved if I cut the changes in 1/2. I got brave and figured out. I would have saved $1,000. Cheap insurance or unnecessary expense?

Funny,I agree with 3-7000, yet, the local radio car mechanic brothers were snickering about never changing their own cars'oil. Whom do we believe?

I once owned an Olds Cutlass that never had its oil changed. I did add oil when necessary and changed the filter a couple of times. I put 130,000+ miles on this car and sold it to a mechanic. He pulled the valve covers on the engine and later told me that he had never seen a cleaner engine on the inside.

Go figure.

If I could afford it, I would change my oil every day. I can't change it often enough (3000 miles). I also owned a Olds Cutlass Supreme. 1969 model. Bought it off the showroom floor and sold it in Sept. 1978. Still had the original muffler and tailpipe and not a trace of rust. I really don't know why I sold it.