Wasted $60 on a fancy oil drain pan and regretted it immediately

I bought one of those expensive no-spill drain pans from AutoZone last month, but the spout clogged on the first use and dumped oil all over my driveway. A simple $8 plastic pan from Walmart plus a funnel would have worked way better and saved me the cleanup hassle. Has anyone else had luck with cheaper drain pans or am I just bad at this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sam2d ago

Oh man, I heard this mechanic on a podcast talking about how those fancy oil drain pans are overengineered junk. He said the cheap ones with the big opening are actually better because there's less to go wrong. I remember he specifically called out the spout design on those expensive ones for clogging up like you said. Funny enough, he recommended the exact same $8 pan from Walmart plus a funnel method. I've been using a basic metal pan from Harbor Freight for like five years now and it still works fine, no leaks or clogs or anything.

pat_hart2d ago

Used to swear by those expensive pans too until mine cracked after two uses and made a huge mess. Seeing how cheap ones work just as well if you take your time with the funnel really opened my eyes. Way simpler and less stressful overall.