How often you change your automobile oil? Other car questions?

I have a 2000 Mazda Protege ES. I am unemployed and
currently adult college student so cost is an issue
with me!

I HAVE my oil changed....don't do it myself as live in
apartment with no place to do it.

having said all that... I change my oil and filter
every 5k miles and rotate tires every other oil change
or 1ok miles

Lately I've been wondering if it would be safe to
change oil at 7.5k miles or even more? This is NOT
synthetic oil..... just whatever house brand is at
Walmart or local quick lube.

What do you do?

Also..... I went to local Autozone to get some wiper
blade inserts for my Bosch wipers. Seems as if you
cant just get "inserts" anymore and now have to buy the
whole new "arm"! What gives with that?! Should I bite
the bullet and just replace the arm or anywhere online
to buy inserts?

And.... what's everyone's opinion of Duralast brand
parts from Autozone? Such as Duralast wiper arms, etc?

> wrote in message
...

I dont exceed 3500-5000 miles between changes, no matter who says what.
Even if I used synthetics, I wouldnt do that.

I havent seen inserts at a FLAPS in a long long time. Maybe they make them
but the FLAPS dont seem to stock them anymore, so I have to buy the
assembly. Dont expect
any of them to last more than 6 months or a year. Now, I havent tried the
expensive silicone jobs, or the Michelins, etc but am pretty much forced to
buy the standard stuff and change more often.

Not everything Autozone sells is crap, but some of the things are.

> wrote:
>I have a 2000 Mazda Protege ES. I am unemployed and
>currently adult college student so cost is an issue
>with me!
>
>I HAVE my oil changed....don't do it myself as live in
>apartment with no place to do it.

Learn to do it yourself. You can do it in the apartment parking lot,
or in a vacant lot nearby. All you need to buy are a pair of ramps
and the right size wrench.
>
>having said all that... I change my oil and filter
>every 5k miles and rotate tires every other oil change
>or 1ok miles
>
>Lately I've been wondering if it would be safe to
>change oil at 7.5k miles or even more? This is NOT
>synthetic oil..... just whatever house brand is at
>Walmart or local quick lube.
>
>What do you do?

I change my oil at 3,000 miles. The thing about changing your oil yourself
is that you KNOW it was really done. I don't trust any of the quick oil
change places, and to take it to a mechanic I do trust winds up costing me
$40 for an oil change.

I am reluctant to stretch it out any longer than 3,000 miles. Maybe it's
fine, maybe it's not. Without doing constant oil analysis you never really
know. Oil and filters are cheap enough.

>Also..... I went to local Autozone to get some wiper
>blade inserts for my Bosch wipers. Seems as if you
>cant just get "inserts" anymore and now have to buy the
>whole new "arm"! What gives with that?! Should I bite
>the bullet and just replace the arm or anywhere online
>to buy inserts?

Any decent auto parts stores will have the inserts. Autozone is not a
decent auto parts store. Look for a small store that is locally owned.
Ask the guys at your local gas station who they recommend.

>And.... what's everyone's opinion of Duralast brand
>parts from Autozone? Such as Duralast wiper arms, etc?

For parts that are blown, step into the Zone!
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
> > wrote:

3,000 miles is very short. My car's service / oil change intervals are
12,000 miles.

(Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>Any decent auto parts stores will have the inserts. Autozone is not a
>decent auto parts store. Look for a small store that is locally owned.
>Ask the guys at your local gas station who they recommend.

Agree.. you never really know if the oil has been
changed if having it done. But no way I can do it
myself where I'm at now

>For parts that are blown, step into the Zone!

Huh? can you explain?

> wrote:
(Scott Dorsey) wrote:
>
>>Any decent auto parts stores will have the inserts. Autozone is not a
>>decent auto parts store. Look for a small store that is locally owned.
>>Ask the guys at your local gas station who they recommend.
>
>Agree.. you never really know if the oil has been
>changed if having it done. But no way I can do it
>myself where I'm at now

I did it in college while living in a dormitory. And I have done long
road trips during which I changed my oil by the side of the highway.
You can do it yourself, no matter where you are.

>>For parts that are blown, step into the Zone!
>
>Huh? can you explain?

AutoZone is not really known for quality products. They do sell some
decent stuff, but they also sell some total crap, and they don't seem to
know the differences.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Mortimer > wrote:
>"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
>> > wrote:
>
>3,000 miles is very short. My car's service / oil change intervals are
>12,000 miles.

Yes, it certainly is very short. It's the recommendation in the "severe
service" schedule in the owner's manual for my car, though.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Mortimer" > wrote:

>"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
>> > wrote:
>
>3,000 miles is very short. My car's service / oil change intervals are
>12,000 miles.
>
Is that reg dino oil?

Or synthetic?

> wrote:
>"Mortimer" > wrote:
>
>>"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
>>> > wrote:
>>
>>3,000 miles is very short. My car's service / oil change intervals are
>>12,000 miles.
>>
> Is that reg dino oil?
>
>Or synthetic?

Most of the time I use the Castrol synthetic, although the better flow
characteristics of the synthetic can accelerate leak problems on older
cars.

I currently have 460,000 on one car, and 270,000 on the other, both original
engines. Last year I sold my old Chrysler Laser with 480,000 miles on the
engine. Almost all highway miles.

It's entirely possible that I could get away with longer oil change intervals,
but I figure that oil is cheap and the effort is minimal, and engines are
expensive. So I'd rather err on the safe side.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On 4 Aug 2008 23:06:24 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>
>It's entirely possible that I could get away with longer oil change intervals,
>but I figure that oil is cheap and the effort is minimal, and engines are
>expensive. So I'd rather err on the safe side.
>--scott

+1