Blackstone Prices Going UP

[Johnny]

Just got an email letter from Blackstone and one of the articles said the following.

Heads Up! Price Increase on the Horizon
Postage, hot air balloons, the price of tea in China...everything goes up, including the price of oil analysis. But there's still time to do your sample before we raise prices at the end of the summer. Got a sample in the garage that you haven't sent in yet? Send it now!

They did not say how much it is going up.

 

[sdan27]

We used to use Blackstone but then found Polaris labs was less than $20 including TBN, nitration, oxidation and soot which Blackstone doesn't do.

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: sdan27
We used to use Blackstone but then found Polaris labs was less than $20 including TBN, nitration, oxidation and soot which Blackstone doesn't do.

Does Polaris charge for test kits?

 

[sw99]

Originally Posted By: barlowc
[/quote]
Does Polaris charge for test kits?


+1

 

[Bill in Utah]

While I understand that prices are going up they have lost a lot of my business due to the price.

I remember that $10 was the number. $22.50 right now and I'd bet its either $24 or $25 for the basic test when the increase is in effect.

When it was $10 you could get a UOA here and there. At over $20 its a one or two every couple of years.

They still are one of the best for UOAs and their Customer service IS THE BEST!

Too bad. Bill

 

[tig1]

All the more reason not to do UOAs.

 

[daves87rs]

Still have to do one myself. Still....

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: tig1
All the more reason not to do UOAs.


Took the words right out of my mouth. I'd only consider one if I suspected fuel injector problems or couldn't find a coolant leak with my pressure tester, which BTW nails a leak everytime. Or maybe if I planned on doing some super long OCI, but with my severe service driving that isn't going to happen anytime soon. JMO

 

[scurvy]

It's going up to $25. Still worth it at that price, IMO.

 

[jona20062000]

Will they still be putting (?) question marks as a result for coolant on the higher price point?

 

[Bill in Utah]

Since I've had a $10 UOA SAVE me $1200 plus the cost of a rental for 2 weeks they ARE worth something.

I'll do one here and there.

Bill

 

[FCobra94]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Since I've had a $10 UOA SAVE me $1200 plus the cost of a rental for 2 weeks they ARE worth something.

I'll do one here and there.

Bill

Interesting...story?

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: jona20062000
Will they still be putting (?) question marks as a result for coolant on the higher price point?
I've never had question marks for coolant on any of my 4 UOAs from them - always 0.0. If they're giving you question marks with no explanation, you should ask them why and to re-run the test.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: FCobra94
Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Since I've had a $10 UOA SAVE me $1200 plus the cost of a rental for 2 weeks they ARE worth something.

I'll do one here and there.

Bill

Interesting...story?


Huh here for over 5 years and you have not heard it?

Real quick a UOA showed coolant @ 61k (out of warranty) Taurus needed head gaskets. Because of the UOA Ford ended up paying for 90% of the repair and all of the rental.

When the gaskets went again @ 108k Ford did not want to talk to me at all.

Bill

 

[Patman]

Does Blackstone offer a discount if you buy a whole bunch of UOAs all at once? Up here with Wearcheck if you buy a box of 12 sample kits they knock down the price by $10 per kit! The basic UOA (no TBN) from them works out to only $21 per kit when you buy in bulk.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Does Blackstone offer a discount if you buy a whole bunch of UOAs all at once?


Yes they do. But I forget the # required to have the discount kick in.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: tig1
All the more reason not to do UOAs.


Took the words right out of my mouth.


If too many of us think like this then BITOG would become a very dull place. I have said this before but surely we all realize that VOA and UOAs are the life blood of this site.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: Patman
Does Blackstone offer a discount if you buy a whole bunch of UOAs all at once? Up here with Wearcheck if you buy a box of 12 sample kits they knock down the price by $10 per kit! The basic UOA (no TBN) from them works out to only $21 per kit when you buy in bulk.


It's 6. I've done that before their last price increase. Knocked about $4-5 off each one.

Bill

 

[mrsilv04]

I sent a sample in yesterday... unrelated to the price increase.

Hope it doesn't get swamped with a rush of other samples. This sample I mailed in a small box. Maybe it will get there a little quicker than the week and a half that it took the last sample that I sent in the little black plastic bottle... the delay was probably due to the fact that the USPS knew it was a liquid sample.

Something is screwed up somewhere when it takes the USPS a week and a half to carry something 220 miles.

 

[Gary Allan]

Week and a half? My postal fairy assesses a near month long toll to make the bridge from here to Fort Wayne. That's if she's needy for stuff to quarantine.

BITOG members must be on more agencies "lists of interest" than any other group. Even Terry says it gets delivered easier with a return address on his packaged samples. While this surely makes sense, one would also sensibly conclude that those return addresses are filed away somewhere. It would provide a good list of (un)usual suspects when such matters hit some fan spinning some place.