Well, I have worked at dealerships, and after what I have seen, I will do my own work, I dont care how big of a PITA it is (of course in reason)!

 

I just changed the oil in my 99 a6 3.0 with Amsoil 0w-30 signature series oil and their oil filter. The oil is $11.00 a quart and the filter is $20.00. I spent $115.00 with tax and shipping. I could have saved a little money if I signed up as a temp dealer for $10.00, which I will next time. But the oil is good for 1 year or 35,000 miles under normal driving and the filter is good for at least 25,000 miles. So I figure that I will change my oil once a year for around $100
They do have a European oil that don't have any official specs on it for longevity but I did read that the signature series will work for audi and vw.

 

You must drive under severe cold cliimate and have very low mileage car to benefit from 0w-30.

As far as I'm concern the bottom line here are the costs and quality of service in regards of an oil change.

I do my oil changes as well (dealers price- $10/l Castrol, $25 filter, $120 labor(Canada, my friends). My real concern is the time for draining the old oil=> I leave the oil to drain overnight.

If one spends hours for an change - what the balance of cost would look like?

 

All good points. Thank you gentlemen.

I think I will let oil changes go 7500 miles. We put a ton of miles on the car (about 95% is 75 mph freeway) and I don't feel like going through this ordeal every 6 weeks. With the cost & effort involved in it, I will take advantage of the 10k intervals and play it safe at 7500 miles.

Yesterday I went and exchanged the oil I had purchased, for Mobil 1 0w-40. Which of course was WAY more. I will walk away from this at about $85. I still save money, but, I get to learn my car. I want to know how it works and how to do the work myself. Dealers are a rip off and I will avoid them at evey chance possible.

I also have a Denali XL that just hit the 100k service interval. I wanted the tranny flushed, fluids swapped in both differentials, the xfer case serviced, coolant flushed, all belts and hoses replaced, fuel filter and all that jazz. Freaking dealer wanted $1100 to do it all. I had to pay for a tranny flush & filter change at an Aamco for $120, but, I did everything else for about $250. Some of it was a pain and it took almost an entire Saturday, but it saved me $750hundred dollars. Hell, most of it was just fluids!!

I will just learn to do this stuff myself. I am sure I will also learn to swear at German cars too, ha!

 

the best thing you can do to ensure your changing your oil enough, but not too much. Do an oil analysis. Blackstone Laboratories does them for around 25.00 bucks. I think 7500 might be a stretch. Our 2.8 with Mobile 1/castrol syntec is changed at 5k and blackstone said that we could probably get away with 6k but not much more than that. I drive ~15k miles a year and 80% is hwy 70mph. According to them, we have below normal levels wear metals, low silica(dirt). But after 5k the viscosity was breaking down.

Anyone that thinks 10k oil changes are a good idea need to start researching some 00+ BMW's that are experiencing oil burning issues because of their 10k oil change intervals.

anyone with a K&N filter take note, you WILL notice a big increase in silica(dirt) suspended in your oil compared to oem filters.

But what do I know.

Jeff

 

10k intervals are based on European oils that are group IV.

It would be interesting to get results on this type of oil analyzed.

(but, be aware that mineral oils are $7-8/l in Europe)

 

How was Mobile 1 more? Walmart sells the 5 quart jugs for $21. I don't know why you didn't just get the oil filter from the dealer. They charge me $14 for the OEM one, which is much better than whatever you bought. Every time I change my oil I spend about $50.

8 quarts of oil
1 OEM oil filter
1 can of brake clean

You will understand the brake clean when you attempt the oil filter. At this point you will regret not paying the dealer. For pretty much $15 of labor and the prices you are paying for stuff, it would be a deal.

People that drain the transmission fluid by mistake are idiots. I have no idea how anyone could make that mistake. The drain bolts are nowhere near each other. People that mess that up deserve for their **** to break.

 

The 2008 Audi a6 has a 10,000 miles factory recommanded oil change interval, what kind of oil does it use? European spec?

 

The question as I look into it is:
What would be the damages/wear doing the 10k oil changes?
When eventual damages/wear or any negative impact will show up?

The philosophy behind that maintenance schedule looks to me: the warranty period!
All the statements in regards "for life" are already discussed here.

How many people buy (not lease) new AUDI?
How many keep their cars for years (since new).
No wonder the major lease contracts coinside with the warranty period.
No wonder an Audi at hers 4 year could be both for 30% of the initial cost
(The average car depreciation is still around 10% per year).

Dealerships charge the factory with maintenance costs=> longer maintenance interval=> less costs for the factory.

 

It gets complicated. Follow me here...

Originally, I shopped everywhere for 5w-40 and didn't find squat. You have to realize that I don't live in the biggest town so options are limited. And so you all know- The nearest Audi dealer is about 80 miles from here. Knowing what I do now, I will order online a few weeks in advance next time and save tons of time and some money. Anyhow, I found 5w-40 Rotella at Checker Auto Parts finally, then later found out on this board that it was not worthy of being put in my Audi for various reasons (wrong weight and not approved). Additionally, I had it sitting in the garage for a few weeks so I no longer had the receipt. Checker was only able to exchange it for a store credit since I didn't have a receipt. AND, they didn't have cases OR 5 qt jugs- So, I had to buy individual quarts. Ended up costing $17 more than the Rotella, all said and done. Furthermore, my local Wal-Mart doesn't sell 5w-40 or 0w-40.

I will never regret learning how to do stuff myself the right way whilst saving money. Like I said before, getting through this 1st one is a learning experience and this will be an easy process for me once I get best practices figured out. I definitely do not regret that. Luckily, I have well experienced enthusists with great advice on this board to help me with that. God bless the internet.

I didn't quite get this one either, but, I hadn't been under the car to see it yet. Additionally, 2 cups wouldn't find themselves in the drain pan before I realized it was the completely wrong color and odor.