Oil Change Gone Wrong
Moved into a brand-new home, and two weeks later I spilled 5 quarts of oil in the garage…with my wife watching.
Let’s rewind for a sec. Over the years, I’ve picked up a thing or two about maintaining cars. Nothing major (I’m no mechanic) but I’ve ventured far enough to change the oil myself, which is a big deal for me.
So, here we are, freshly moved into our pristine new home. Everything is spotless, everything perfect. Until I decide to change the oil (yes, in our new garage…what could go wrong?).
I finish the job, puff my chest, and back the car off the rhino ramps. My wife, clearly dazzled by my skills, watches from the steps.
Suddenly, her face changes and, with panic in her voice, yells,
“STOP!”
Turns out, the new filter hadn’t quite been tightened properly (wonder who could’ve done that?). We both stood there, paralyzed, as 5 quarts of oil flowed across the garage floor and down the driveway.
Oh yeah, there was also a construction crew in the street. They were on their lunch break, just 20 feet away, witnessing the entire fiasco. They saw me go from “I’m the man” to “Go inside honey, I’ll take care of it” (with no idea how to “take care of it”).
It’s frightening how such a seemingly small mistake (obviously didn’t notice it until it was too late), can have much bigger consequences.
While I learned from my mistake (I hope), for anything beyond an oil change I take it to an expert, which we have clearly established, I am not.
The irony is I’ve always given my brother a hard time for not changing his own oil, saying, "Think of how much you’d save?”
Well, he still doesn’t know this story. And I’ve also had a hard time trying to calculate the cost-benefit of these tasks since I apparently can’t account for all the “risks” involved (didn’t have that one on my bingo card).
So, how about you?
When it comes to your car, at what point do you say, “yeah that’s enough, I ain’t touching that”?
And what about with your money?
Are you still trying to “change your own oil” so to speak? At what point would you call in an expert?