How Long Does an Oil Change Take?
Bringing your car to Ira Toyota of Orleans is an important step to prolonging its life, as oil changes provide lots of benefits. You may be wondering how long a service like this usually takes to complete, how often you should get oil changes, and the importance of them.
In this article, we’ll answer all those questions for our friends and family near Orleans, Eastham, and Harwich, MA!
How Long Will I Have to Wait for an Oil Change to Be Completed?
The great thing about oil changes is that you don’t usually need to wait long to have them done. In most cases, oil changes will take an hour at most to complete, but it’ll vary from car to car and if you have other services performed on top of it.
When you bring your car to our Toyota-trained and -certified technicians, they also perform other routine maintenance services, including:
- Tire rotations
- Battery checks
- Brake checks
- Oil and air filter checks
This further ensures that your car will be ready to take on the road for miles and miles.
How Often Should I Get Oil Changes?
Like the amount of time it takes for one of our maintenance experts to complete an oil change, how often you should have oil changes done is subjective. However, a general rule of thumb is to have them done between every 5,000-10,000 miles if you’re driving a newer car, and every 3,000-5,000 miles if your car is a bit older.
When and how often you’ll need oil changes depends on how often and far you drive. Say you drive 25 miles to and from work every day. This means you’re putting a couple hundred miles on your car every week, not counting your weekend adventures. As a result, you’ll likely need to have this service done more often.
The benefit of oil changes as it pertains to newer cars is that most of them use synthetic oil, which is chemically altered conventional oil that increases engine protection, has a higher viscosity, maintains the temperature to avoid overheating, and allows you to drive longer distances before needing to be changed.
Why are Oil Changes Important?
We ended our last section by talking about synthetic oil and the benefits it provides, which is also a benefit of routine oil changes. Let’s look at some other benefits oil changes have:
- Oil changes can maintain and improve fuel efficiency: Your fuel system is one of many components you’ll find under the hood of your car, and it works in tandem with your engine. Making sure your engine is properly lubricated is beneficial to your fuel system because it can smoothly operate, improving and maintaining gas mileage.
- Can save you money on more expensive repairs: Neglecting to have your car’s oil changed when it’s needed can cause damage to your engine and other parts of your car, which may result in more expensive repairs.
- Helps to prolong your engine’s life: Your engine’s components are like any other part of your car in that they wear down over time. Regular oil changes help your engine and car last longer.
- Maintains your car’s value: You may not think oil changes will help keep your car’s value high, but they do! Any time you sell your car, it’s important to make sure all its maintenance is up to date, oil changes included. This makes less work for the buyer, so they may be willing to pay you more for your ride.
Now that you know how beneficial oil changes are to your car’s life, are you ready to make an appointment?
Contact Ira Toyota of Orleans for an Oil Change Today!
You now know how long an oil change takes, how often you’ll need them, and why they’re important. Anytime you need an oil change, the best thing you can do is bring your car to Ira Toyota of Orleans near Orleans, Eastham, and Harwich, Massachusetts. Reach out to us today to schedule service!
