1st oil change
 

I've heard about a lot of issues with the first oil change so i've decided to take the car to a dealer. I'm concerned about their choice of oil though. Should I bring my own oil and have them use that? If so, what oil what you recommend so I can keep some with me to "top off" every 500 miles or so.

Also, what do you generally pay for the oil change? I see a dealer coupon fo Oil Change Plus With Coupon $28.95.....

Anyway, I'd appreciate any opinions. Thanks!

I'm using Castrol GTX 5W20 for topping off and plan to provide my dealer with same. Haven't reached my first change yet so can only quote the coupon price also.

I think my dealer charges about $29 for "Express Service" oil changes. I would think it would be less if you brought your own oil but I don't know.

And yes, if you care about what oil you run then bring it in (what ever you decide to run). I bought a case of Castrol GTX 5W20 and thats what I'll be using.

that's all anyone uses? no other brands? no synthetic success stories? what about mineral oil?

I don't know about anyone else, but the only 5W20 motor oil I've seen at my local auto parts shop is the Castrol GTX. They also have their store brand 5W20, but I'd rather go with the GTX.

Pretty much every post I've seen that discusses synthetic suggests waiting like 5,000 or 10,000 miles.

I'm still mulling over whether to switch to synthetic at that point, but I'll wait as everyone has suggested.

I've always changed my own oil. I've been using Pennzoil 5W20 non-synthetic. I've found that I only need to top off every 1500-2000 miles or so. Did the first change at 2000 miles, then at 5000, and now every 5000 since then. This is Mazda's recommendation for severe duty. Rotary engines are less harsh on the oil than conventional engines (far fewer bearing surfaces, much less blow-by gases). The one area where rotary engines are tougher on oil is heat, since the oil is an active part of the cooling system. Today's conventional motor oils are so much better than they were even 10 years ago, that the heat load of the rotary is not a factor.

Of course, this is just my opinion. YMMV. ;-)

I use whatever trusted name brand of mineral oil I can get at 5w30 (because 5w20 is / was next to impossible to find in a decent brand). Walmarts oil filters (which are built by Fram) pass more tests than Fram filters do, so I've been using them. I try my best to change about every 3K miles. Because of this, I try not to go overboard cost wise. I usually spend $15-$20 on oil / filters, and 20-30 minutes changing the oil.

thanks everyone, appreciate the response.... looks like Castrol GTX for me, i'm guessing they'll give me a price break if I bring my own oil in there