There are simple tricks that will reduce the amount of money spent on regular engine oil change. The money saved on a long term depends on the quality and suitability of oil used.
The choice of the use of synthetic or mineral engine oil is also a choice between long term cost saving and short term cost saving on servicing. It is more cost saving to use synthetic oil since it has longer oil change interval.
The dipsticks of engine oil and transmission oil look similar, they also have upper and lower marks but the meaning of those marks and how they are read differ.
Coolant getting into the engine lubrication system can cause damage to the engine. It is mostly caused by a faulty head gasket, bad radiator that has oil cooler integrated in it or a bad engine oil cooler.
Detailed step by step solution to fix cooling system that is contaminated with either engine oil or transmission oil. Fixing the root cause of oil/coolant mix is not enough. The cooling system should be cleaned.
Environmental factors like high ambient temperatures and dust particles in the air can make engine oil to degrade faster necessitating frequent routine oil maintenance.