92' 535i Oil Change

[SMapxSMap]

Today i went to a local repair shop for oil change
this is my first time to take my car for oil change since
i got it from my aunt 6 months ago...

the guy told me that my aunt used to use the Mobil M10/40 (Mobil 1 0W-40) synthetic oil.
the full service including oil change, checking battery fluid, gear box fluid, air filter, and stuff costs me $70. Without using the Mobil M10/40 synthetic oil, it only costs $22...

This is my first time taking my car for service so i dont know if it is a good deal or not, and I haven't decided.

[CleanE34]

not bad. i'd end up spending like 40 something on royal purple synthetic.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Learn to do it yourself, it's not hard.

I can do it for less then $50

Moble 1 15w50

oil filter kit

air filter

beer

[WolfStrong]

Defiantly use a heavier weight on the M30 like 15w40 or 15w50. Nothing wrong with conventional oil either if you are just going to change the oil every 5000 miles or so, as well as it being about half the price.

Personally, I would just use good ol' Castrol mineral oil and just change the oil every 4000-5000 miles or so. You are in a warmer weather climate as well if I am not mistaken, so for weight, I would probably go 15w50 (or 15w40, doesn't matter so long as you don't leak oil). Cheaper, and it will protect your engine just fine. Now if you are running some performance parts, that might be a different story, but the truth is the M30 was built to break in with mineral oil, and you will not likely see any real world benefit running an expensive synthetic like Mobile 1, Royal Purple, Red Line, Amsoil, or Castrol Full Synthetic.

Hell if you want to look at it this way, for the cost of the expensive synthetic, you can change your oil about twice with mineral. I don't know about you, but I feel much better changing my oil more often, flushing away containments that will cause wear.

[SMapxSMap]

Defiantly use a heavier weight on the M30 like 15w40 or 15w50. Nothing wrong with conventional oil either if you are just going to change the oil every 5000 miles or so, as well as it being about half the price.

Personally, I would just use good ol' Castrol mineral oil and just change the oil every 4000-5000 miles or so. You are in a warmer weather climate as well if I am not mistaken, so for weight, I would probably go 15w50 (or 15w40, doesn't matter so long as you don't leak oil). Cheaper, and it will protect your engine just fine. Now if you are running some performance parts, that might be a different story, but the truth is the M30 was built to break in with mineral oil, and you will not likely see any real world benefit running an expensive synthetic like Mobile 1, Royal Purple, Red Line, Amsoil, or Castrol Full Synthetic.

Hell if you want to look at it this way, for the cost of the expensive synthetic, you can change your oil about twice with mineral. I don't know about you, but I feel much better changing my oil more often, flushing away containments that will cause wear.

Thanks for the details you provided. I probably will go with the 15W40 or 50. Any tips for changing oil DIY ?

[skylinergtr]

i pay about 105$ per oil change. i get 2 gallon jugs of lubro moly 5w-40 for 45$ each then 15$ for oil filter. i work at a shop, and this is at discount price. mind you i keep 2L of extra oil in my garage because after some miles the oil level drops a bit. good for top ups.

[slocar]

i pay about 105$ per oil change. i get 2 gallon jugs of lubro moly 5w-40 for 45$ each then 15$ for oil filter. i work at a shop, and this is at discount price. mind you i keep 2L of extra oil in my garage because after some miles the oil level drops a bit. good for top ups.

Mind telling us how often you change it?

[Qsilver7]

$15 for one oil filter? Hmmm, I just picked up oil filter kits for both my e34 & e38 yesterday from the DEALER...and even BEFORE the discount they gave me...the price was below $15 each. And with the discount...I paid less than $15 for both...I must be one lucky son of buck!

$8.60 list price...$6.75 with my discount:

[BavarianFanatic]

An oil change is a cake walk in an M30 E34. Well, any E34 really. If this is your first BMW, job 1 needs to be the purchase of a Bentley manual. It is THE source for valuable info regarding the care and feeding of your new baby. It'll be the best $50 you spend on the car bar none.

[WolfStrong]

An oil change is a cake walk in an M30 E34. Well, any E34 really. If this is your first BMW, job 1 needs to be the purchase of a Bentley manual. It is THE source for valuable info regarding the care and feeding of your new baby. It'll be the best $50 you spend on the car bar none.

Didn't someone make a PDF version of it and upload it somewhere? I know that is how I got my Bently for free.

[slocar]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=912536

[m60b30530i]

guys i want to use royal purple on my 530i any ideas the amount i need and what viscosity. its an m60b30. i brought to a mechanic to get the oil changed but i dont trust him. he says he uses BMW recommended oil yeah ok

[m1943]

You can get a six pack of Mobile1 at Costco for 29.99, or you can get a 4 quart jug of M1 at Wall Mart for about $20 or so. Filter costs about six or seven bucks. My neighborhood mechanics will usually do it for another 10-15 dollars, depending which one I go to. So a complete oil change should cost you under $50, not counting beer. But then again, that's if you're not doing it yourself. $70 is a bit much I'd say.

[WolfStrong]

Oil change for me:
$3/quart ($20/6 quarts) Regular BMW Castrol oil
$8 for BMW Oil Filter

Every 5000 miles, I do this with every 10,000 miles I will change all the other filters (fuel/air/cabin). When I did RP last time, instead of $30 for an oil change, it was $50 for an oil change. Considering I always would do an oil change at 5000 miles, it just makes more since to do it this way.

[Qsilver7]

guys i want to use royal purple on my 530i any ideas the amount i need and what viscosity. its an m60b30. i brought to a mechanic to get the oil changed but i dont trust him. he says he uses BMW recommended oil yeah ok

If you have an owners manual...there is an oil viscosity chart that gives recommendations of what type of oil to use based on the temperatures in the area in which you live.

If you go to this website...and enter the last 7 digits of your car's VIN...it will gell you many of the fluid capacities of your car: http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi

For the most part...BMW engines with:

• 6 cylinder engines use approx 6 quarts of oil
• 8 cylinder engines use approx 8 quarts of oil

FYI: I believe the jugs of Mobil One oil sold at WalMart...are exlusively 5 quart jugs...whereas other vendors sell only 4 quarts jugs of Mobil One.

[skylinergtr]

Mind telling us how often you change it?

every 6k miles, or 6500miles. 10000kms...

[MELSM3]

They're running a special on oil changes. I just bought 6 qts of GTX plus a Fram filter for $17.20 These are early 90's prices. At these prices i can afford changing oil every month!

[WolfStrong]

That is a good deal! Where is that at!? I could just change my oil for the hell of it for that reason!

[tbcbroman]

I go to auto zone and buy the 4 quart mobile 1 and two quarts and take it to the lube shop and it usually runs me about $50 all together. So I also think 70 is pretty high.

[Qsilver7]

I go to auto zone and buy the 4 quart mobile 1 and two quarts and take it to the lube shop and it usually runs me about $50 all together. So I also think 70 is pretty high.

Again, if you aren't one that is opposed to WalMart and you have one nearby...you might want to check the Automotive Dept and see if they sell the Mobil One 5 quart jugs.

I just checked this past weekend here...Walmart sells Mobile One in a 5 qt jug for $22...and Advance Auto sold a 4 qt jug for $21.99.