Originally Posted By: TBoneTX1234
I greatly appreciate everyone's informed suggestions and obvious passion. It's clear that there are several options, so it appears that I'll have to run the numbers to figure out whether it's cheaper to: 1) buy a 5-gal. jug + extra quart from Walmart or elsewhere + filter; 2)
order the Kendall synthetic, which divides neatly into 6-qt oil changes; or 3) simply pay the $39.95 or whatever at the dealership or service station.
Money is an issue, so it behooves me to look for specials, both for jugs of oil and for full oil changes. The dealerships here typically want $59.95 for oil changes, so in that instance it would be cheaper to buy the components and take it somewhere.
I just bought a bunch of Napa Gold oil filters (#7045) on sale to use in the wife's 2012 Impala; if my 2014 Impala takes the same size, I'm OK for a while in regard to filters. I have a few unused oil filters (for my traded-in vehicle) for which Napa has agreed to give me store credit, so perhaps that credit will knock down the prices of Napa's 5W30 dexos-compatible oil jugs to a competitive level for my first purchase. This will enable a fuller search for what I can find for the change after that.
I've asked a buddy (a doggoned good shade-tree mechanic) whether there are any price-alert websites for motor oil; he's aware only of
www.slickdeals.net but says that he hasn't seen oil advertised there for a very long time. In lieu of such a search site, I'll probably shop individual sales or look at Walmart first.
I just went to the DEXOS approved oil site and found that Kendall GT-1 Full Syn 5W30 is approved. I bought four cases from a local distributor last year in March ($42 plus tax per case). I haven't used any yet since I have replaced both vehicles I purchased it for with new vehicles. It does not have the DEXOS label on it. Is it safe to assume I can use the oil I bought last year? If so, I am one happy camper.