25+ years ive been changing oil on my and my family and friends vehicles, Ive never had to replace a oil plug or gasket.

 

Yes. The plastic plugs have o-rings around the circumference of the insert, so you can't place pressure on them when installing the plug. Over time, rubber will do what it does, shrink, harden, and eventually crack. At some point you will have to replace the o-rings, but only them, not the whole plug.

Of course, no oil change place or dealership is going to stock o-rings for the plug, they'd have to charge half the price of a plug to pay for transportation and storage.

 

Which was the first model year to get the plastic plugs? I'd be interested to know how they would hold up. I would be concerned about the plastic getting brittle over time, being exposed to heat from the engine oil and all the road chemicals. If I stayed with the plastic, I'd probably replace the plug every 2-3 years to be safe, but that would probably be more frequent than absolutely necessary.

 

Sounds like they were just trying to pick your pocket for a few extra bucks. I did change mine, but to a Fumoto valve to make the oil changes easier and less messy on my 3.5 EB......

 

The plastic plug started on the 2015 F150 with the 2.7. (For F150's anyways...)

 

The only time I've ever changed a drain plug was because a previous owner rounded the $h^^ out of it with a vise grip. Been changing oil for 35 yrs, and I can only remember that one time. It was on a '76 Cutlass Supreme...LOL What a boat!!!

 

When I worked at one of those oil change places we would replace the crush washer if the plug had one but we never replaced the drain plug unless it was necessary and even then we just replaced it and never charged the customer.

 

My dad had a '76 Chevy Caprice Classic - LONGEST CHEVY SEDAN EVER. It should have come equipped with an anchor and foghorn.

 

It wasn't just rather long... my 71 Coupe deVille was only three inches longer, and there are only two other production vehicles made in the US that were longer.

As far as needing anchors, the CC was only 4200lb, and my CdV was 4600. For their size, they were rather svelte. The 2020 CTS is 4000lb, and 30" shorter. A lot of full size sedans that are smaller than the CTS are 3600-3900lb.