Auto Zone Experience

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So, I stopped in my local AZ to pick up stuff that I needed to and have a look'round.

What I found in their discounted oil section was some 10W30 Quaker State Ultimate Durability Full Synthetic(QSUD) for $1/qt. So, I bought the last few available. Every other oil was 20W50 and I have no use for it!

Ringing up at the checkout, I was telling the guy that I just want some cheap oils..."I don't care if it dino or syn"! He says..."You know, you can't mix the two"?

Well, do I really need to tell the rest of the story?
laugh.gif

You can imagine where I went with that conversation!
He mentioned that this information about mixing comes from their training.

Although, I don't just look for oils to mix for the fun of mixing but, I do mix straggle qts of oils and, drain my qts/jugs of clean/new oils into a larger jug after doing an OCI.

Any comments or questions about the rest of the conversation?
 
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Poor training or no training at all on the part of the sales staff.If you can run a computer you are hired at AZ.
 
I may have to check out an auto zone! The problem around here is , whenever they have anything go on sale, the small garages buy out all the stock.

Like when they had teh $1 quarts thing going on earlier this year.
 
No problem at all mixing dino and synthetic oil. They are both hydrocarbon products. The help at our new AZ doesn't know squat about anything mechanical. NAPA is still the best source for me. Regards
 
If you mix oils how do you know if the resulting mix would meet the spec's for either donor oil? You can mix engine oils any which way you like because they are miscible but why not just pick an oil and stick with it? Let the formulator do his/her job. For me, I'll admit that beyond a UOA I don't know what goes into designing a finished product that sits on the shelf that meets the spec's listed on the bottle. My answer would be, of course you can mix the oil, dyno or synthetic but I prefer to stick with one brand and viscosity.
 
I have come to realize the local auto shops have little to no mechanical knowledge whatsoever. Most around here are run by the old geezers that wont use PYB because of sludge. Anyways, I go in and buy my stuff and leave. I try to get parts from AAP with online codes which means even less human interaction. AZ is by far my least favorite store though.

If I ever have any mechanical questions, I seek the internet for help and go from there.
 
The local AZ to me used to have some real car guys working in there. They were great and always knew what was needed and could find or order the hard to find parts. On the other side of the coin is the guys who dont even know how to check the oil in their own cars but will offer up "advice" to customers.
 
+1 on finding what's on sale, paying and leaving.
I have no "least favorite chain store". That has to be a store-by-store call.
I have been treated well by all of them.
I have been stunned by lousy and/or incomplete stock by all of them. Kira
 
Whenever I go there...or any parts store...I say as little as possible. I don't want to hear some clods opinion nor do I expect him/her to listen to my opinions.
I just want to buy what I want and get out....unscathed by the ramblings of smalltalk and misinformed banter.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
He says..."You know, you can't mix the two"?


As much as people seem to say this,I wonder if this myth was true back in the days when synth oils were pao and ester,before synths became hydrocracked conventionals?
 
Autozone has been useless to me unless I need some screw or part ASAP I usually order it online.


Walmart prices simply cant be beaten for fluids, my local AZ store never has them super discounted. They only have the combo's which ussualy means [censored] filter.

I rather buy 5qt from walmart and fram Ultra for filter. it will cost a few bucks more but you get wonderful filter.
I use amazon auto delivery for the filter. it comes out 6-7 bucks shipped to my house. I dont trust walmart workers when it comes to buying filter.
 
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I like to bring up a bottle of blended oil and ask what that is.
then you get the HUH? look as they say synthetic and conventional.

Or ask them what a blended oil is..

I once a long time ago brought up 3qt of regular and 3qt of synthetic valvoline, and the kragen guy was like.. you can't do that! I said I'm making a blended oil. He said if I want a blended oil I have to buy it in the bottle because it's formulated to be like that.
yeah whatever!
 
Actually if you are an ordinary customer that knows nothing about oil he is right. Like another poster said here that if you mix two different oils and your car requires a specific spec, it very well could be that the spec will not be met.

The training might have mentioned that in more detail but the counter guy probably couldn't remember it all.

That being said of course you can mix dino and syn oil and it won't destroy your engine.
 
I ran into the "you can't mix or the motor gonna blow up!" many times at Advance. I think it comes from misinterpretation of information on using the correct type of oil for a car. Point out the synthetic blend oil on the shelf and the "can't mix!" people get totally confused.

There are still many people who think Pennzoil "make a wax in the motor." That one is just best left alone.

If someone comes to me asking what kind of oil to use in their car, I will help them out. I avoid getting into pointless discussions with people who already have their minds made up though. Just let them buy their non-waxy brand of conventional 20W50 and carry on.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Ringing up at the checkout, I was telling the guy that I just want some cheap oils..."I don't care if it dino or syn"! He says..."You know, you can't mix the two"?


The way you have it worded, with the question mark on the end of his quoted statement, it sounds like the AZ employee was asking you if you can mix the two; not telling you you can't mix the two.
 
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