Can Walmart special order motor oils?

[aquariuscsm]

I was wondering if Walmart can/will special order motor oil for customers like the auto parts stores can as long as they carry the particular brand? The supercenter here sells RP for only a lil over $6 a quart whereas the autoparts stores are selling it for $9.99 a quart. They only sell RP in 5W and 10W30 and I was wondering if they can get the 15W40 and the 20W50.

 

[Johnny]

Usually they will only order it at the store level for you if it is in their warehouse system. Wal Mart has big bean counters in Rogers, AR to figure how much shelf space they need for each product, and if it won't move at a certain rate, they will not put it in their system.

 

[ravenchris]

Nice if we could order M1 0W-20 in 5 quart jugs...

 

[crinkles]

I would prefer what seems to be the american system, of getting oil in 1 L or 1 qt bottles. i find the 5L / gallon jugs to be wasteful as you always have some left.

 

[Mr Nice]

No , Walmart will NOT order it.

I know that PepBoys will price match if you have proof, maybe you can buy a quart of RP at Walmart and then show your receipt to the PB manager. This is what I would do when Kmart always had Exxon Superflo on sale for 79 cents and always ran out, I went to PB after buying 1 quart of oil at Kmart.

PB manager said that I could have as many quarts of Superflo at the Kmart price.

 

[Mark888]

You would probably have to talk to a regional auto-parts manager or someone in Bentonville AR headquarters, but they are not going to order something for one customer. If you thought they were making a big mistake by not stocking a certain oil or a certain type of packaging in all stores then you could talk to the person in charge of deciding what gets stocked in stores and try to persuade them to carry what you want. But you would have to make a really good case (not pun intended) that a lot of other people would buy the same product.

One time I was shopping in the Walmart optical department for some fairly expensive progressive lenses (no-line bifocals for you young folk). The lenses cost about $385 at Walmart (not including the frame) and were called NikonEyes, but were actually made by Essilor. It turns out that they were the same model of lens as sold by small optical stores for about $500-$600 but they had a different name so the small optical shops would not get upset about Essilor selling the same product to Walmart. But I couldn't figure out what model they were, because there was no mention of them on the Essilor website. Anyway, the local optical shop could not answer my questions about the lenses, and they gave me the phone number of the regional manager who could not answer my questions, so they hooked up with the person in charge of purchasing optical products for all of Walmart. I talked to him for about 20 minutes on his cell phone while he was driving his car. They guy was pretty sharp, and I was impressed that they let me talk to him.

 

[wannafbody]

Buy the RP at $6. I saw it at $6 at one WM and $8 at another.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: wannafbody
Buy the RP at $6. I saw it at $6 at one WM and $8 at another.


Yeah,Walmart`s pricing can be weird.........the small Walmart here would sell milk for $4 a gallon,while the supercenter across town would sell it for $2.

 

[Mark888]

I would get the M1 Extended Performance at Advance Autoparts for $30 for 5 quarts, which includes a M1 oil filter.

Or sign up at Mobil website for $10 mail-in rebate and buy 5-quart container of M1 EP at Walmart for $28.50 ($16.80 net).

or many Walmarts are discontinuing the Q-Power synthetic and selling it pretty cheap (forgot the exact price).

Or get a really good job and pay list price for RP and don't worry about it.

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
I would prefer what seems to be the american system, of getting oil in 1 L or 1 qt bottles. i find the 5L / gallon jugs to be wasteful as you always have some left.
That's funny, other than the 1L bottle that I keep in each vehicle for top-offs, my sentiment is just the opposite. I find the 5L jugs also make it far easier to take my waste oil for recycling.

I guess it only proves that the grass really is greener on the other side. Even if you're both just looking across at the other guy's patch...

 

[tropic]

I like the price per volume of the big jugs--all other concerns are secondary.

OTOH, quart bottles are easier to hide from your girlfriend/wife... makes me wonder if there are pairs of women's shoes hidden all over the house.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Usually they will only order it at the store level for you if it is in their warehouse system. Wal Mart has big bean counters in Rogers, AR to figure how much shelf space they need for each product, and if it won't move at a certain rate, they will not put it in their system.


This is an accurate answer for you. Wal-Mart will only special order for you if it is something carried in their warehouses. Either their own or the independant ones they deal with for things like Tires and Guns. There are also some items that can be ordered in to the store for customer pick up off their web site but sadly oil is not one of them.

Unless Wal-Mart carries those weights somewhere, so they are in the warehouse system, you are SOL. Sorry.

 

[Jaymus]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
I would prefer what seems to be the american system, of getting oil in 1 L or 1 qt bottles. i find the 5L / gallon jugs to be wasteful as you always have some left.


Well, that would depend on what you drive. Example, my truck calls for 6 quarts, my mom's trans am - 6 quarts, my mamaw's Buick - 5 quarts. Then my wife's Eclipse holds 4.2 exactly every time, but uses a little over the course of the OCI, so that used to work out fine. Now that I use GC 0W-30 in it, I have to buy it by the single quarts at Autozone.

 

[deven]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Usually they will only order it at the store level for you if it is in their warehouse system. Wal Mart has big bean counters in Rogers, AR to figure how much shelf space they need for each product, and if it won't move at a certain rate, they will not put it in their system.


For a guy who avoids Walmart like the plague, you sure know your walmart stuff. You are right on.