$60 isn’t the issue…it’s more the principal. I don’t want to hand my money over to a dealership if I don’t have to and small expenses really build up over time. Finding ways to minimize expenses here and there can do your finances a world of good. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a rich investor or an expert or anything….but I handle the money I do make with care and find ways to maximize it pretty well. It’s one of the reasons I could afford to impulsively buy a ridiculous car 🤣
I do want to do what’s best for my car. My rule with nice things I treat myself to is simple-if I’m going to own them I have a responsibility to care for them so they keep rewarding me. I’m also a guitarist and this applies to the instruments I collect too. But 3000 mile oil changes seems fishy to me, and I’m inherently skeptical of dealerships and manufacturers because their priority is maximizing their profits, not helping you.
I’ve owned another high performance car before, and my dad who’s also a bit of a gearhead has owned several higher trim Audis, Saabs, and a few other things, all of which have lasted him a long time…and I personally have never seen 3k oil change intervals recommended. If you drive the industry average of 12,000 miles a year (which I don’t, but that’s neither here nor there) that would be 3 oil changes a year, and Hyundai would only cover one, so they’d make some nice extra money off you.
I’ve been scouring the interweb and there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on whether or not the super frequent changes Hyundai recommends are really necessary, which is why I’ve been discussing it here with y’all. I’ve always done my oil every 5,000 miles, which I thought was overly cautious if anything. I know plenty of folks who do it every 10k or even more and are totally fine.
To make a long story short, I’m inherently skeptical of manufacturer/dealer recommendations and don’t want to throw money away if I don’t have to. But I also want to use the 3 years of free maintenance since it comes with the car.