Dealership oils

[H. Swanson]

Years ago I realized that my dealer was using 5w20 no-name brand oil or whatever they had in bulk. That's when I converted to bringing my own 5w30 oil.

 

[Foxtrot08]

To play devil's advocate, why does that matter as long as Shell/BP ensure that there is a robust quality management system in place at the sub-contracted blenders?

The short answer isn’t really short. That’s part of the problem with the internet. I could go on for a long time about this topic. But a forum really isn’t a place to air my grievances out with major oil companies and their business practices, nor who they partner with.

At the end of the day it works “good enough.”

 

[ripcord]

The short answer isn’t really short. That’s part of the problem with the internet. I could go on for a long time about this topic. But a forum really isn’t a place to air my grievances out with major oil companies and their business practices, nor who they partner with.

At the end of the day it works “good enough.”

Collective BITOG gasp!!! <just kidding!>

 

[lokijoker]

That's a marketing agreement.

I’ve read that Castrol used to make the Mini Cooper and BMW branded oil that they sell in the dealerships. I’ve read that Pennzoil now makes the Mini/BMW oil.

 

[Analog-1]

The last Honda dealer i worked for used Penzoil bulk it was cheap. Never really heard of any engine failures due to it though. Got the job done providing you kept up with normal OCI's.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

You do realise the oil is pumped from the bottom of the bulk tank?

You do realize that as some additives slowly settle to the bottom, that's when the top half of the tank holds less additives. So the bottom-half purchasers when the tank falls below half full, aren't getting all that they paid for.

Again I stress / recommend getting your oil changes at places that do high volume and have constant turnovers / refills, inside those bulk tanks.

The two BITOG members that Liked your reply have a combined 42 years experience at this site. There has possibly been a thousand comments over the years on how the additives settle in these bulk tanks. In many cases, these tanks are allowed to get very low on volume before being refilled. That means the 2nd half of the tank buyers are often being cheated out of Additives.

I'm done with this topic. Carry-on without me. The only time I ever had the dealer change my oil, well when I picked up my vehicle at the end of their work day, I checked the dipstick volume and found their new oil was darker than the used oil I ran for the prior 3k.

Never again will I have someone pour new oil into my vehicle, unless I bring the new five quart jug with me at time-of-purchase (oil change).

 

[Jetronic]

You do realize that as some additives slowly settle to the bottom, that's when the top half of the tank holds less additives. So the bottom-half purchasers when the tank falls below half full, aren't getting all that they paid for.

Again I stress / recommend getting your oil changes at places that do high volume and have constant turnovers / refills, inside those bulk tanks.

Those tanks don't last long, a few weeks at most.

 

[MBBW]

I doubt too many Subaru dealers in north america uses Idemitsu unless they are near their distributor?

Aren't Subaru using some kind of Motul-branded oil with the Subaru name on it? There is at least one more that's paired up with a major producer as well. Audi, I think. There might be others.

 

[factorytuned2012]

Aren't Subaru using some kind of Motul-branded oil with the Subaru name on it? There is at least one more that's paired up with a major producer as well. Audi, I think. There might be others.

if it's factory sealed single or 5 QT jug the oil will most likely be Idemitsu other than that whoever has the purchasing power will more than likely being buying wholesale bulk and that can be a majority of brands. could be Mobil, Havoline may even be a house blend like Highline Warren and could change from time to time

 

[Shel_B]

Here’s another claim. In those 12 years turning wrenches I had torn down hundreds of engines. Not all approved oils produced the same results. Certain ones stood out.

Which oils stood out, and in what way? Have you noticed that some oils behave differently, or give different results, depending on the engine in which they're used?

 

[Glenda W.]

Which oils stood out, and in what way? Have you noticed that some oils behave differently, or give different results, depending on the engine in which they're used?

Yes engine design dependent. An example was the 3800. Even on conventional oil this engine did very well. On the flip side SBC’s were known at the time to collect sludge and or debris in the valley. Mobil 1 try syn consistently produced spotless SBC’s even when neglected. One example is the time my jaw dropped when I did an intake on a 300k mile van, the engine honestly looked new inside. This van had an inconsistent oil change schedule but our dealer always did the service with Mobil 1 per customer request. I turned into a believer pretty quick. Keep in mind this was a long time ago. Oil has changed.

 

[Foxtrot08]

You do realize that as some additives slowly settle to the bottom, that's when the top half of the tank holds less additives. So the bottom-half purchasers when the tank falls below half full, aren't getting all that they paid for.

Again I stress / recommend getting your oil changes at places that do high volume and have constant turnovers / refills, inside those bulk tanks.

The two BITOG members that Liked your reply have a combined 42 years experience at this site. There has possibly been a thousand comments over the years on how the additives settle in these bulk tanks. In many cases, these tanks are allowed to get very low on volume before being refilled. That means the 2nd half of the tank buyers are often being cheated out of Additives.

I'm done with this topic. Carry-on without me. The only time I ever had the dealer change my oil, well when I picked up my vehicle at the end of their work day, I checked the dipstick volume and found their new oil was darker than the used oil I ran for the prior 3k.

Never again will I have someone pour new oil into my vehicle, unless I bring the new five quart jug with me at time-of-purchase (oil change).

Bulk oil takes years for additives to settle. In some cases, over a decade.

 

[MBBW]

if it's factory sealed single or 5 QT jug the oil will most likely be Idemitsu other than that whoever has the purchasing power will more than likely being buying wholesale bulk and that can be a majority of brands. could be Mobil, Havoline may even be a house blend like Highline Warren and could change from time to time

Subaru by Motul

 

[factorytuned2012]

Subaru by Motul

That’s new to me. Could be the eastern world markets.

 

[MBBW]

That’s new to me. Could be the eastern world markets.

Big on the WRX forums in the US.

 

[Foxtrot08]

Subaru by Motul

Motul has no official OEM contracts.

In the U.S., Idemitsu 1000% is Subaru OEM. I have literally tens of thousands of gallons of it.

 

[MBBW]

Motul has no official OEM contracts.

Might be the case. I just know about the Subaru by Motul oil. WRX'ers use it "religiously" apparently. Not sure about the Outback crowd

 

[Bryanccfshr]

You do realize that as some additives slowly settle to the bottom, that's when the top half of the tank holds less additives. So the bottom-half purchasers when the tank falls below half full, aren't getting all that they paid for.

Again I stress / recommend getting your oil changes at places that do high volume and have constant turnovers / refills, inside those bulk tanks.

The two BITOG members that Liked your reply have a combined 42 years experience at this site. There has possibly been a thousand comments over the years on how the additives settle in these bulk tanks. In many cases, these tanks are allowed to get very low on volume before being refilled. That means the 2nd half of the tank buyers are often being cheated out of Additives.

I'm done with this topic. Carry-on without me. The only time I ever had the dealer change my oil, well when I picked up my vehicle at the end of their work day, I checked the dipstick volume and found their new oil was darker than the used oil I ran for the prior 3k.

Never again will I have someone pour new oil into my vehicle, unless I bring the new five quart jug with me at time-of-purchase (oil change).

In the oil field with remote compressors lube oil is put into a 55 gallon drum and when the oil level drops in the compressor a valve opens and some lube tops it off. Some of these tanks may take months in the weather to empty. The compressors get oil analysis and the only lubrication failures are when the oil add system fails and the system runs low on oil. I think a tank in a shop not exposed to extreme heat and cold in a dealer that services a lot of vehicles is a low risk proposition. Your experience with the dark oil sounds like a bad experience. How long ago was this?

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Bulk oil takes years for additives to settle. In some cases, over a decade.

Does your work involve SOPUS products?
I'm not a believer in your years & decades monologue.

 

[Foxtrot08]

Does your work involve SOPUS products?
I'm not a believer in your years & decades monologue.

You do you. You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to. I’m just letting you know the facts.

I have over 500 bulk tanks just in my own facilities. And over 20,000 in the field. I take over 30,000 retain samples a year. And we’ve been doing this for over 100 years. So just by nature of the beast, I’ve seen some really, really, really old product. Like, over 60 year old products.