An oil change is an essential car repair you need to keep in mind to avoid complicated engine issues. Many people always look for opportunities to reduce costs not only on an oil change but also in all aspects of life. Walmart is one of the locations where you can get really good deals for an oil change. If you are interested in learning more about Walmart oil change cost, this article is what you are looking for.
In this article, we will provide detailed information about Walmart oil change cost. Furthermore, we included the most frequently asked questions related to the oil change, like when will you need to change your vehicle's oil, what are the different types of motor oil options in terms of quality and price, and much more useful questions.
Walmart Oil Change Cost
Walmart oil change cost depends on your vehicle's make, model, and year and the type of oil you will be selecting. Usually, oil change cost under $20; however, this number can get as high as $100 if you go with certain oil types.
In an intensive survey about the cheapest and best oil change service, Walmart made it to the top of the list. For example, if you pay about $20, you can get the following services:
- Fill up to 5 quarts of Quaker State Advanced Durability Conventional oil
- Install a chassis lube
- Install an oil filter
- Check your battery performance
- Adjust your tire pressure
On the other hand, if you pay an additional $10, you can get what is called the “Walmart's Standard Oil Change Package” that includes the conventional oil plus some vacuuming and additional fluid checks.
Now, if you decided to go with different oil types, the price can get a little higher but still below the retail prices for other companies. For instance, Walmart's synthetic oil change costs about $50, and the synthetic-blended costs about $40.
Walmart's synthetic oil change is considered the cheapest in the market as it is about 41% less than the price of any other company where they charge at least $85.
What type of oil motor does Walmart offer?
Walmart oil change offers four different types of motor oil, including:
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Full Synthetic Motor oil
Think about synthetic motor oil as the best type of oil that provides the maximum motor lubrication. It is very useful for vehicles that require a high level of performance and lubrication.
To achieve this lubrication quality, synthetic oil is sometimes two or four times more expensive than any regular motor oil. Thus, customers who prefer cheap oil change might not think of synthetic oil as the best option for their vehicles.
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Synthetic blend motor oil
This type of oil is somewhere between the regular oil and synthetic oil. It offers similar lubrication to synthetic oil to some extent and is considered a little cheaper than synthetic oil. The blended option uses some additive fluids to bring up the quality of this oil and increase the lubrication capability.
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Conventional motor oil
The conventional motor oil is the regular and most common type of motor oil you will hear about and come across. Although it is widely used, conventional oil doesn't offer the top lubrication quality, and thus, it is best for light-duty vehicles that don't require high lubrication.
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High mileage motor oil
This is a special type of oil made for vehicles with high mileage, somewhere higher than 75,000. The higher mileage motor oil provides some characteristics that help these old vehicles last longer by reducing oil consumption and oil leak.
Do I Need An Appointment For An Oil Change At Walmart?
You don't need an appointment for an oil change at Walmart, whoever comes first gets to be served first. Several customers mentioned that they never had an issue about timing with Walmart's oil change; they even took more than one vehicle at the same time and got the oil changed in a relatively short time.
It is important to note that you might get your oil changed for a longer time at Walmart if you would like to do certain maintenance or if your vehicle has a certain filter type that is not commonly available.
How Much is the Cheapest Oil Change At Walmart?
Walmart provides the cheapest oil change in the market, and the lowest price that you can get is about $19.88 if you would like to go with the conventional oil. However, if you decided to upgrade and use the synthetic oil, then the cheapest oil change at Walmart would be about $40.
How Much Should I Pay For An Oil Change?
According to Kelly Blue Book, oil change cost depends on your vehicle's make, model, and year, and the type of oil you would like to go with. In general, the conventional oil costs from $35 to $75, while the synthetic oil might cost between $65 and $125.
Is It Cheaper To Bring Your Own Oil For An Oil Change?
Many people buy oil change if they want to change their vehicle's oil on their own. Interestingly, other people bring their oil to the garage or dealership to save some money. Well, dealership and garages allow you to bring your oil if you want to. This way, you can save on the total bill you will pay.
Thus, Yes, it is cheaper to bring your oil for an oil change.
Is Oil Change At Walmart Good?
Some people were worried that Walmart's oil is not good because they water it down. However, this is not true as oil can not be watered down, and if the oil has any water, you will see the oil floating on the top of the water.
The other thing, several people mentioned that Walmart's SuperTech house is connected with Shell, which is pretty good oil.
However, several customers complained about the staffing not the oil itself. While you can have a very professional Walmart worker perform the oil change for you, you might get into situations where someone without the required experience does the oil change.
Can I Just Add Oil Instead Of Changing It?
Every vehicle must have a certain level of oil for lubricating and to preventing engine overheating. This oil must be very clear and has a honey-like color. Over time of use, the oil might pick up some dirt and be contaminated. If the oil gets too dirty, you might get a lot of issues with your engine that could end up with complete engine failure.
Now, adding oil instead of changing it will not solve the problem. This is because, when you add the oil, you are not flushing the dirt out of this oil, so it does the appropriate job of lubricating and taking care of the engine.
Thus, it might take a little time from you to do an oil change at a garage or Walmart, but with this short time, you can save a lot of effort and money dealing with more complicated problems.
How Often Should I Change My Oil?
As we mentioned earlier, having clean oil can save your vehicle and reduce the hassle of dealing with complicated problems. Thus, it is important to keep an eye and a full understanding of how often you should change your oil.
In general, oil change frequency depends on the vehicle's make, model, and year along with driving style and conditions. The best place to start with is your vehicle's manual recommendations. While the manual should have good expectations about when to change your vehicle's oil, in certain conditions, you might need to change your vehicle's oil more frequently.
As experts suggest, you need to perform an oil change every 3,000 miles. If you own a newer vehicle and you use good oil, you might wait till 5,000 to 7,500 miles.
Should I Change My Oil?
Changing your oil might sound like money-saving. However, there are several reasons why you need to step back and think one more time. First, you need to think about convenience and other risks.
While oil change is a simple task, there are a lot of additional steps you need to take that cost a lot of time and effort. For example, if this is your first time to do an oil change, you need to spend time learning how to do it, what material you need to use, and what mistakes you need to avoid when doing an oil change. Plus, the dirty oil must be discharged in a certain way within specific containers. Is this all worth it for you?
Moreover, it is known that any DIY might go wrong the first time you try it. Thus, you might be risking your vehicle just to save a couple of ten dollars. Professional mechanics are ready and well-trained in a way that they always do the oil change correctly and without any mistakes.
Is synthetic oil worth the cost?
According to AAA, synthetic oil is considered “significantly better” than the regular conventional oil as it improves engine oil test scores by about 47%.
There are several advantages for synthetic oil when compared to conventional oil, including:
- It provides fewer emissions and, thus, is considered environmentally friendly from this aspect.
- It helps the engine consume less fuel. As a result, the vehicle will have a better fuel economy.
- It reduces engine wear and tears by providing significantly better lubrication as compared to the standard option.
- You will not need to change your vehicle's oil that often as the synthetic oil needs to be changed in longer intervals.
- This oil has high quality and is considered more effective
- The synthetic oil is better when you are looking for “all-weather protection.”
- Synthetic oil provides additional assistance to get rid of engine dirt or sludge deposits.
Does Walmart have any oil change coupons?
There are many websites where you can find good deals when it comes to Walmart's oil change. Even if you don't get a discount on the oil change itself, you can still get a discount when buying the motor oil itself, then bringing it to the mechanic if you want to.
How much oil do I need to change my oil?
Every vehicle has a certain engine oil capacity. You don't want to add too much oil and allow this oil to get to the engine and damage it. Plus, you also don't want to put a little oil and cause complicated issues with your engine.
The best place to start with is your vehicle's owner's manual. It should have exact information about how much oil you need to add and some recommendations about the specific type of oil. The capacity depends on your vehicle's make, model, and year.
Bottom line
Many experts recommend that you either do your oil change at Walmart all the time or do not do it. This is because Walmart's mechanics might overtighten the bolts in a way that others might find it hard to unbolt them. The other thing, Walmart is willing to replace your vehicle's oil pan if you proved to them that you only change your oil at Walmart.
Walmart was ranked as the cheapest company to provide a good oil change, but the exact cost depends on the vehicle's make, model, and year and the type of oil. In general, expect to pay about $20 for a conventional oil change, and up to $75 for a synthetic oil change.
While changing your oil might save you a lot of money, you also need to think about the risk you might take, changing it on your own, especially if it is the first time. Oil change doesn't require a lot of money, and thus, it is not recommended that you risk it to save a couple of dollars unless you have the required mechanical skillset.