For many families, spending on wheels is the largest expense category after housing. To keep your cars up and running, you will need to pay for gas, insurance and maintenance. No different from gas and insurance, you can also do your comparison shopping for auto maintenance, but for maintenance, it is more important that you know what you pay for.
Take a look at 8 Top Auto Maintenance Myths from Bankrate's Terry Jackson, which explains how you should think of oil change, chassis lubrication, engine tune-up, transmission flush and many other maintenance services your auto shop may want to sell you.
Especially, the article mentioned it's not necessary to change oil and filter every 3,000 miles. You'd better stick to your manufacturer's maintenance schedule: most recent models only require oil change every 7,500 miles.
I always laugh out loud when Jiffy Lube urges every car owner to change oil every 3,000 miles. It may mean more sales for Jiffy Lube, but no tangible benefit to you and your four wheel toys.