Boycott Castrol !!!

[geeeman]

To all the German Castrol buyers out there...WHY are you voting for Castrol with your hard earned $$$'s. We whine about Castrol's (and others...) "fake" synthetics, and then some of us go out and actually BUY!! another one of this company's products...talk about hypocritical! Do we REALLY know whats in the "made in Germany" bottle ? Is it exceptional oil? Should we really care ??? Buy something else, please!!! There are other good oils out there; we talk about them every day. Lets support those guys instead!

 

[greencrew]

I would say because the content of those threads is unbiased opinion based on UOA.

 

[mulepacker]

Are you really wanting to boycott Castrol or Made In Germany?

 

[buster]

geeeman makes a good point. Why support a company that doesn't know what oil they are bottling and have ripped off the consumer for years selling garbage Syntec.

 

[Mystic]

I am somewhat upset with Castrol. They start selling this German Castrol in America and Canada and people have to search for it like it is some rare wine. Either produce the stuff or take it off the market. What I can't understand is this-the German Castrol appears to be very good. Maybe good enough to be superior to Mobil 1. Does Castrol want to compete with Mobil 1? They have an oil available to do it, it would seem. Or maybe they are just dumping this oil in North America. I don't understand the marketing. And the orginial made in America Castrol Syntec could have competed with Mobil 1-it used to be PAO. Mobil Corporation apparently supplied the PAO. Getting away from the Castrol Syntec, however, Castrol makes a really good conventional motor oil. People were concerned about the high pour point, but freezer testing indicates that Castrol flows well in the cold. Castrol is probably at least the equal of Pennzoil in conventional motor oils. I don't know why I personally did not become a Castrol guy, because so many people who actually seemed to know something about motor oils told me Castrol was good.

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

there wouldnt be many oils left on the shelf if you took that attitude, group 3 fake synthetic oils are all around us and they all advertise as full synthetic stuff. Castrol started the b.s. but many followed. Even the almighty Amsoil would have to be turfed. About the only truthful company out there would be Schaeffers, perhaps Redline (but they dont discuss their formulas at all), to some extent Mobil1. I still think Mobil1 played with their formulas in the past though their current formula seems like a good quality full synthetic now. Castrol knows how to build a good oil, so its good to see us getting a better syntec over here now. I've always liked their GTX conventional oil, its hard to beat. There's no defending their marketing crap though, but the german made syntec appears to be working well in my car and I would like to continue using it after some more testing.

 

[TSoA]

Huh, killer oil...don't buy it because a guy with 4 posts has a gripe??? Ok, sure.

 

[Last_Z]

quote:

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Originally posted by geeeman: To all the German Castrol buyers out there...WHY are you voting for Castrol with your hard earned $$$'s. We whine about Castrol's (and others...) "fake" synthetics, and then some of us go out and actually BUY!! another one of this company's products...talk about hypocritical! Do we REALLY know whats in the "made in Germany" bottle ? Is it exceptional oil? Should we really care ??? Buy something else, please!!! There are other good oils out there; we talk about them every day. Lets support those guys instead!

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Either you woke up in the wrong side of the bed, someone took your lunch or you are just tired of seeing GC threads on here. Whatever the case may be, I agree with you. I should give Schaeffer's (excellent oil according to some here) a try, but instead I buy GC I want to give it a try and see what it does; but it would definitely suc if it does good and then they pull the plug. Rick

 

[BadBatsuMaru]

This is a little silly. A couple hundred people boycotting Castrol isn't going to get anybody's attention, and I don't see the point anyway. It seems a little late to be singling out Castrol for what they did with Syntec (when was that? 1997?) when just about every oil company is doing the same thing now. UOA's show that German Castrol is an exceptional oil. While boycotting Castrol in general isn't going to do anything, it might catch somebody's attention if the German 0-30 flies off the shelves and people are always asking about it at Auto Zone, while the other Syntec gathers dust.

 

[Mystic]

Last_Z, I have a bas feeling about that. I have tried the German Castrol and it is a very good oil. But it is really strange that it is so hard to find and I keep thinking that one morning we will wake up and the supply will be gone-tank empty.

 

[Last_Z]

Yup....some people say it is a preview of what's to come....maybe totally new and good oils; some say Castrol is just getting rid of the phased out oil from who knows where....the fact is no one has a clue what's going to happen next. Maybe PScholte is right on stockpiling. Rick

 

[JohnBrowning]

Well I want to try because I have an open mind and like trying new oils. I agree that Castrol is not to be trusted at all.

 

[pscholte]

geeeman, Since I don't know you, I have no idea what your true intentions are with this post. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you mean well by this; but please, let me give you some advice: IF you only knew what goes on behind the scenes of some of your favorite products, and if you stopped to consider how most companies actually market or advertise their products, you'd have to live an ascetic lifestyle because you would find they all offend in some manner...you just don't know about it, or it doesn't happen to affect you. Boycotting Castrol, if they DO make some products you like: (1) is only going to rob you of a good product, a product that may, in fact be the "best of breed"; and (2) is NOT going to change the way Castrol does business. If you are standing on principle, I respect that; if you think you are going to change the world, I believe--no offense--you are being naïve.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

I'm not sure this fits under the "boycott Castrol" topic, but... I was at Walmart in Franklin, TN this morning looking for Mobil1 in 5 qt jugs. There were none. All the shelves that used to have Mobil1 are now filled with different types of Castrol. I checked many of those bottles, none of them had the sought-after German label. Why is Walmart (at least this one) switching its stock from M1 to domestic Castrol? ick! Mr Wal-Mart, I'll stick with Chevron Supreme or Mobil1. Just my $.02.

 

[geeeman]

To everyone who replied to this post; or even gave it the tiniest thought...Thank You ! That's what forums are about; discussion, disagreement, enlightenment...lets all try and remember that!! To TSoA: Your 97 posts makes you, ummm, 93 posts greater than me....?! Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed...YES! I HATE getting ripped off; and I hold a grudge. I bought Castrol Syntec a few times; did my engine catastrophically fail...no. Did I feel "happy" when I found out Syntec was Group III...NO! I am a businessman; I understand profit! I also know that if I cheated a customer...and he found out...he wouldn't be MY customer any longer. I pose this question: How many people on this forum bought Syntec BEFORE the German Castrol hype? Probably not many. We knew that Syntec was not a true synthetic, and was over-priced for what it really was. In a sense, I am that customer who found out he'd been cheated. If Castrol came back to me and said "we're sorry we mislead you and thousands of other customers; here's a free case of our newest, greatest true synthetic oil, German Castrol 0w30...I might consider trying it. Until that unlikely day (maybe a class- action lawsuit would help)!!!, it IS a matter of principal. In this era of phenomenal motor oils, I have other options available, and I will not buy Castrol "synthetic" oil, regardless of the hype.( or facts... again...principal) Enough ranting about GC, I think I've got that out of my system...and now my Honda needs to see it's redline...Good day to all!!!

 

[Pablo]

Actually Geeeeeeeeman I'm with you. I thought Syntec was overpriced from day one....but that alone would not be enough for me to protest. However, combine that with the fact of all their 70's hype....about mostly oils with HUGE amounts of viscosity improvers that turned out to be the WORST thing for small high revving motors....and well, I think we end up with a motor oil that I refused to use BEFORE I became an Amsoil dealer. Boycott? Nah...but I simply don't buy Castrol products. Sure I look at all brands. GC? No thanks.

 

[buster]

quote:

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Boycott? Nah...but I simply don't buy Castrol products. Sure I look at all brands. GC? No thanks.

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I'm with Pablo. If though GC stays here and becomes a permenant product here in the US, great. I'd still rather use Mobil 1 or Amsoil. Castrol just can't be trusted. They themselves don't know what the **** is going on, or they do and are BS again like they did with Syntec. $4 for a group III oil. No wonder Mobil 1 owns 63% of the market.

 

[Spector]

Most people have short memories and/or other issues take over in importance over the original principle. For me, I agree. I swore years ago I would never purchase another Chrysler product (20 years ago) never have and never will and I don't care how good a product they make in the future. If we don't punish these companies for bad products or lies it will keep recurring. I know most of you disagree, fine. I don't have a problem with that. I have not purchased Castrol (used to run it exclusively years ago) and never will after their twisting of the word synthetic and their false and misleading adverstising. My Vote!

 

[TSoA]

quote:

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To TSoA: Your 97 posts makes you, ummm, 93 posts greater than me....?!

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Are all your posts devoted to hopeless causes? Honestly, it takes a few posts rooted in logic and applied science to influence inteligent board members. A whiney and emotional plea from a NOOB is hardly enough to make me pour out my 50 or so bottles of GC. Good luck with your boycott: "yeah, it's a great oil, but don't use it because it is NOT fake synthetic". Thanks for the pointless advice (edit) . [ October 11, 2003, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: rugerman1 ]

 

[VeeDubb]

I think all the bashing of Castrol is based more on faith in PAO's being the dominant factor in a good oil (never mind additives) rather than on data. All of us on this board have access to UofA's and if UofA's end up showing that Syntec is indeed an inferior product, then I'm all for ditching it. Until then, it's a bunch of aimless speculation. This "Castrol is ripping us off" argument reminds me of the one my grandpa used on me when I bought a new Mustang in the late-eighties. He was dismayed at all the plastic and aluminum being used on the car and diatribed about how car makers were trying to rip us off by replacing good old fashioned steel with these "cheaper" parts. He felt that the automakers should charge less because they used less expensive materials, never mind that this new stuff might actually be lighter and just as strong. But old mindsets die hard. Once again, it is all about performance. If Syntec proves to be an inferior product based on data, I'll be the first to ditch it. But I'm not going to abandon it on some pro-PAO ideology alone.