I strongly disagree with running the car a few days to darken the oil so you can easily read the oil level. I mean... you're reading the level so you don't end up driving the car with too little oil in it after the oil change, right? Am I missing something here?!
I find the oil level to be very hard to see with new oil, too. There's a couple of tricks you can use to read it.
The one I use is to turn the dip stick and look at the unmarked back of it (the markings make the oil harder to see). Hold it so the sunlight will make it sparkle in your eyes. You'll see the difference between the glint of sunlight on the wet oil and the dry metal.
An alternative method would be to lay a paper towel over the end of the dip stick. Translucent or not, oil is wet. It will be obvious on the paper towel. Lift it up carefully so you can see where the wet was on the stick, and there you go.
Beware that there is sometimes a little oil just on one edge of the stick. Don't be fooled by this. Read only from where the oil crosses the entire width of the dipstick.
Hope this helps...
- Skant
