Originally Posted by window
I will change it at a thousand miles and every 5,000. Just thought I'd ask. (How's come it doesn't show in the Search feature if it's been discussed so much?)
Oil's cheap, relatively speaking. 340,000 on my '07 is a good example. Would it have made it on half as many oil changes? Probably. I
did a few oil analyses and they said all was well - that I could extend the interval. At 25 bucks a pop, 70 oil changes is $1,750.
How much is a new engine?
Some high zoot performance cars probably recommend the early OCI as within 1000 to 2000 miles and some even come with "break-in oil" and specified instructions. They would be very exceptional cases though IMO. A query here gets lots of feedback but you are probably going to do what you defaulted to early on as being most comfortable with. I've done the same at times too and just because I received a lot of info, experiences shared, opinionated feedback to consider didn't mean it wasn't valued or appreciated.
I don't think you are going to harm the planet in any big way nor harm the car but if all you get is a teeny bit of piece of mind with an excessively early or unnecessary oil change then the only consideration in my view is wasting a bit of time and money. Your time and Your money, not really any way to judge 'worth' for someone else.
My plan with a new car purchase 2 years ago was based on my typical driving of 5500 to 6000 miles a year. The first o/c (it takes synthetic) was right at one year and about 5,900 and I had already decided 12 months would be the timing and it just so happens to fit my original idea of 6 k miles. I know 10k is often the mfg recommended so I too am being more than careful and some may say wasting my time and money but one oil change a year is not being wasteful in my view. I do the same on my wife's car, a 2016 that takes synthetic and travels around 6000 a year.
I'd do it slightly different if I rolled higher miles and might go 8000 to 10,000 if I was hitting those totals 8 - 12 months but I'm a bit sketchy on 10k life for oil. It may not be risky or an issue at all but like you, an extra o/c fit in there once in a while or one more per year isn't hurting my budget. I live 4 miles from the office and my wife lives one mile from hers. If anybody is 'wasting time and money' it's those in the wrong house or the wrong location tooling along those 35,000 miles a year !!
~ that was a joke