Dealership Oil

[2000sunfire]

Took my mom's Grand Am into the local GM dealer for an oil change and when i was paying I asked the guy what oil they use there and he said Petro Canada(This was in Canada, Prince Edward Island). I asked if he knew what they use in the states and he said he didn't.

Is it up to each private dealership to award a contract for supplying their bulk oil? What do you get if you go to the parts counter and buy "GM" oil for a home oil change?

My theory is that dealer bulk oil need not be good at all - waranties only go to 100000 kilometers and there's NO API approved oil out there (SL, SJ, SM, whatever) that bad that it would cause a problem in that time if it's changed anywhere's near often enough.

 

[yugrus]

quote:

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My theory is that dealer bulk oil need not be good at all - waranties only go to 100000 kilometers and there's NO API approved oil out there (SL, SJ, SM, whatever) that bad that it would cause a problem in that time if it's changed anywhere's near often enough. [/QB]

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According to my experience, you are right. And dealers are free to buy the cheapest bulk oil they can find. Sometimes they'd put wrong grade oil in your car, just because they don't carry anything else...

 

[haley10]

My GM dealer will use any oil that you want to bring in yourself (within reason).

His bulk is a Mobil Synthetic Blend and he puts M1 in cars that spec it. Doesn't use the Mobil conventional.

Many dealer's here and the GM Goodwrench part # oil is Mobil conventional.

Actually my dealer bulk is good stuff. My guess, would be that if it Petro Canada, your probably getting something as good as the GM part #. Possibly better.

If concerned why not purchase your oil of choice and take it with you??

I have not encountered a GM dealer that put's in oil that doesn't meet spec. Hence Vettes and certain Caddy's automatically get M1. Petro Canada puts out some good stuff so, because they negotiate for a better price doesn't mean "lower quality."

It's the the foreign dealers that seem to be out of control and put the cheapest dino in turbo's, etc that spec. top syns.

[ January 10, 2005, 03:41 PM: Message edited by: haley10 ]

 

[Whimsey]

While I drive a Ford, I know the dealer puts in Motorcraft 5W-20, from bulk 55 gallon drums. I've seen the drums at the dealer. For other grades they use Motorcraft bottled oils. I guess I should consider myself lucky as to know what oil they use

.

Whimsey

 

[blupupher]

My Hyundai Dealer Uses Mobil Drive Clean, but another one in town uses Valvoline. Just depends on the Service manager and what kick back he gets I guess.

 

[TomJones76]

quote:

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Originally posted by Whimsey:
While I drive a Ford, I know the dealer puts in Motorcraft 5W-20, from bulk 55 gallon drums. I've seen the drums at the dealer. For other grades they use Motorcraft bottled oils. I guess I should consider myself lucky as to know what oil they use

.

Whimsey

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You should know that Ford dealers having 5W20 on hand, while not unheard-of, is not an iron-clad rule. I have a co-worker with a late-model Focus, and the local dealer was always putting in 5W30.

 

[TomJones76]

Mobil does have a program for GM dealers that seems to be fairly attractive. There's even an MSDS on ExxonMobil's web site that indicates there is or was a conventional motor oil made specifically for consumption by GM dealerships. As I recall, I had a used oil analysis done on a vehicle with this oil in it, and there was a fairly robust used oil analysis-visible add pack.

 

[rjundi]

http://www.petro-canada.ca/eng/prodserv/lubesgreases/6886.htm

The Petro-Canada web site states its SM rated.

 

[Mystic]

I say the service manager often gets some sort of kickback, at least at the more unsavory dealerships. I remember when I owned a Toyota car and I attended the new owner maintenance seminar. The service manager ran the seminar and he said that the dealership was in the process of changing from recommending Pennzoil oil to Valvoline oil. There was a woman at the seminar who was the Valvoline representative. The service manager said that they made the change because the engines stayed cleaner and the Valvoline was less expensive. The way it all came across I felt unconfortable. My own thought was that there was something under the table. And the more I visited that dealership the more I felt that way. Eventually I traded in my Toyota car for a Saturn and I never went back to that Toyota dealership.

 

[Bror Jace]

Dealerships are usually allowed to spec their own oil, cleaning solutions, etc ... depending on the franchise and the incentive program(s) each brand may have in place.

For instance, where I bought my last car, it's a Mercury, Nissan & Volvo dealership. Just which of those three brands would be allowed to spec the oil?

The dealership in question advertises they use Castrol Syntec blend. But I don't trust them and I do my own oil changes.

--- Bror Jace

 

[Blue99]

I bookmarked a previous thread in which Johnny from Pennzoil commented on sources of oil for both car mfg's & dealers.

per Johnny:

quote:

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Mobil makes oil for the following car mfg:

GM, MoPar, Honda, and Toyota.

How do I know this, one of my largest distributors is also a Mobil distributor. They are authorized to supply all of the above dealers. When they make a delivery to one of these dealers, they send the paperwork in to Mobil for billing.

Now, not all of the above dealers carry the mfg brand oil. Some may choose to sell Pennzoil, Quaker State, Castrol, Valvoline, or whatever they want. They will all have some of the mfg oil in stock for warranty purposes, or the so called free oil change the mfg supplies.

Hope this helps to clear things up.

Then there is Ford. Ford has two suppliers. Conoco makes the MotorCraft oils you see in the red bottles on the retail selves. The factory fill oil for Ford products is Shell.

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[lukey]

The Honda dealer around here uses Valvoline.
I don't know whether it's in bulk form or what,
I didn't ask that.

 

[John_E]

The synthetic oil used by VW dealerships is Castrol Syntec 5W-40, but some dealerships are evidently still putting bulk dino (Castrol GTX???) in 1.8T engines, unless explicitly asked not to.