Do You Use Amsoil? Why or Why Not?

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Amsoil Pros:
Shipped to your door, no fusing around.
Family run, I believe the quality control is superior because of this.
Always a great up to date Web site for checking things out.
Receipts/order history available online.
Amsoil Cons:
No High Mileage oil option (really not good).
Your order has to be well organized and planned to make it economical and sometimes you just need some stuff.

Not concerned with MLM, that's overblown many different ways to run a company, look at Amazon and others years ago who would guess that would happen?

TOTO.
 
Then how is it, that the dealer nearest me, Dalton R & Jolee V Jones, gets a cut from all of my online purchases, yet I never had anything to do with him? Out of curiosity, I got ahold of him some time after doing the PC thing and making several orders. His name showed up on the log in page on Amsoil showing him as my servicing dealer. Yet he has had nothing to do with any of my orders from day one. When I contacted him and talked, he confirmed that he gets a "cut" whenever I order. He knows every time I order and gets something from it. And he confirmed that the dealer above him in the chain gets a portion also. That is at least 2, at least if I learned to count in college. So Big Al and company is getting their take, and at least two dealers, confirmed, are getting a piece of the pie also. So I am not posting about things I know nothing about. I still use some niche products that fit well with what they are for. But the situation is what it is. I have no problem with any company making a profit from their products, but it is somewhat unethical to also see that people who have had no part or effort in the sale get something also.


Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
And even if a potential customer orders online or signs up as a PC, a dealer near them will get the cut, even though that dealer had nothing to do with a sale. And, of course, the dealer that is tied to that dealer gets a cut. Now that is pretty lame. I have no problem with a MLM deal if in fact there was work involved by a dealer in the chain to get a sale. But to tie in all the downline dealers from the company on down to the customer, when the customer had no interaction with the dealers and instead bought direct from Amsoil corporate is questionably ethical.

I use a few Amsoil niche products, but this kind of thing i mentioned keeps me from considering more of them. Gives the impression of most of what I spend for a product being tied up in other ways than the product itself. It leads to the vitriol that some express about Amsoils MLM game.


Simply not true. Yes a regional T-1 Certified dealer will get associated with any customers in his area IF that person doesn't signup with a particular dealer , but he won't get "get a cut" if that person signs up with another dealer. So the way you write it says two people - no. Just the one and nothing unethical about that. The closest best qualified dealer gets local sales, default mechanism if customer doesn't sign up with a dealer. Period.

Then you write "all dealers downline"? No again not true.

I read this thread and worst part are how many lies, half truths and misconceptions persist.

Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Amsoil offers no benefit to me or my vehicles, regardless of cost.

It is also difficult to find, and carries no real certifications.


Very true and I understand it is no longer a real German standard group 4 full synthetic, or even a group 3 GTL base stock oil range.

About the only time it would make sense to use Amsoil is for extended OCI's or cleaning up a sludged block. The reason for that is it contains more Calcium based detergents than the other full synthetics.
One of their oils I looked at had 4K ppm, when Mobil 1 has about 3K ppm.


Amsoil absolutely does have some certifications, so to say this "very true" just carries on a falsehood.

And of course the BITOG lie about base oils is repeated in the same post. Now Amsoil isn't even a Group III. Yes the OE and XL base oils are Group III and the SS oils are IV and V.

Please stop just posting things if you really don't know.
 
Never ever, and don't plan to. The MLM thing turns me completely off and I have never, in 35 years of driving, had a lubrication-related failure in an engine or other major component...my cars tend to get destroyed in collisions or die from rust LONG before the drivetrain gives up the ghost.

We have a couple of leased Hondas now, we'll do 4-5 oil changes, a couple of sets of wiper blades and a couple of tire rotations and send it back to the dealer for a shiny new one. I could give a hoot what oil goes in those cars, as long as it successfully gets turned in at lease-end.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Then how is it, that the dealer nearest me, Dalton R & Jolee V Jones, gets a cut from all of my online purchases, yet I never had anything to do with him? Out of curiosity, I got ahold of him some time after doing the PC thing and making several orders. His name showed up on the log in page on Amsoil showing him as my servicing dealer. Yet he has had nothing to do with any of my orders from day one. When I contacted him and talked, he confirmed that he gets a "cut" whenever I order. He knows every time I order and gets something from it. And he confirmed that the dealer above him in the chain gets a portion also. That is at least 2, at least if I learned to count in college. So Big Al and company is getting their take, and at least two dealers, confirmed, are getting a piece of the pie also. So I am not posting about things I know nothing about. I still use some niche products that fit well with what they are for. But the situation is what it is. I have no problem with any company making a profit from their products, but it is somewhat unethical to also see that people who have had no part or effort in the sale get something also.


Yes, so initially when you bought online you had to have been associated with his ZO#. Probably by geographical default. If you didn't purposely enter another ZO#, or follow a link with an associated zo#, then it defaulted to him. Well sure his Direct Jobber is involved with him, in a similar way the local and regional sales supervisor gets paid. I fail to see the ethics violations, it's just different.
 
I don't use Amsoil for many of the same reasons the OP brought up...it's expensive and I can get a 15,000 mile oil at Walmart for around $25, if I choose...which I don't. I just don't feel comfortable going that type of distance between oil changes, so there's no reason for me to spend extra on a long distance oil.

I'm sure it's a great oil, I suppose I'd give it a try if I could buy it for $28 bucks a five quart jug, but I can't, so it will never happen.
 
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
Never ever, and don't plan to. The MLM thing turns me completely off and I have never, in 35 years of driving, had a lubrication-related failure in an engine or other major component...my cars tend to get destroyed in collisions or die from rust LONG before the drivetrain gives up the ghost.

We have a couple of leased Hondas now, we'll do 4-5 oil changes, a couple of sets of wiper blades and a couple of tire rotations and send it back to the dealer for a shiny new one. I could give a hoot what oil goes in those cars, as long as it successfully gets turned in at lease-end.


Well you bring up some good points, I've never seen an engine go bad because of a specific brand of oil. Cars eventually end up in the junkyard because of corrosion...too many things that need replacement at high mileage and age...or major component failure. And those major failures aren't because of oil brand.
 
I don't because it would have been unsuitable for my Elantra (leaking oil) and I'm only running 5000 mile OCIs on my Sentra while it's in warranty, which defeats the purpose of using Amsoil.
 
I have sixteen or seventeen quarts of SSO 0W-20 in the stash bought at a moving sale found on CL for two something a quart. I have yet to use any of it, although I will.
There is no compelling reason for me to use Amsoil motor oil.
I can get M1 a couple of times each year for less than eight bucks a jug and we put maybe 15K on each daily driver a year, so trying for 25K drains with a few UOAs just doesn't seem worth it.
Now, the SS oils do have add levels well beyond those found in the PCMOs on the shelves at Walmart and really do use Grp IV and V basestock blends, but if I don't tax the capabilities of inexpensive syns available on the shelf cheaply after MIR, why would I care?
In late 2008, I thought that I might end up with a daily commute of 180 miles or so for at least a couple of years just to keep a job I was and am married to for pension and earned time off reasons. Many others did. I fortunately didn't. If that had turned out to be the case, I would have seriously looked at the extended drain capabilities of SSO backed with a few UOAs. The time and trouble savings for that kind of use would have been worth the effort and cost.
As it is, it's no hardship to do a couple or three changes a year on the cars we use most and is also quite inexpensive using any brand of syn available on the typical reatail shelf.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo

Yes, so initially when you bought online you had to have been associated with his ZO#. Probably by geographical default. If you didn't purposely enter another ZO#, or follow a link with an associated zo#, then it defaulted to him. Well sure his Direct Jobber is involved with him, in a similar way the local and regional sales supervisor gets paid. I fail to see the ethics violations, it's just different.

I don't see it as an ethical issue, but is odd that someone gets cash just for being in an area that I ordered something in. If I bypass the middle men, shouldn't I get a better price instead of them getting paid for just living near me?
MLM is just more confusing than it needs to be.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo


Yes, so initially when you bought online you had to have been associated with his ZO#. Probably by geographical default. If you didn't purposely enter another ZO#, or follow a link with an associated zo#, then it defaulted to him. Well sure his Direct Jobber is involved with him, in a similar way the local and regional sales supervisor gets paid. I fail to see the ethics violations, it's just different.


The only problem with your analogy. A local and regional supervisor would have direct involvement. The folks I mentioned and you referenced had zero input in securing sales contracts or distribution of any product to me or were involved in introducing me to the company product line. Your analogous persons actively seek sales and contracts, and distribution of product is a direct result of their endeavors. Not even close to what is going on with the Amsoil gig. They can explain it better at the Business 101 course at the local Community College.

Sales personnel typically work on commissions based on contracts they secure or customers they deliver to the business they are representing. Jacobson Transportation, a local trucking and logistics operation in my area, doesn't get a cut because I secure a load from a local manufacturing outfit to deliver to a customer, even if Jacobson is their primary logistics and transportation provider. Only if I go thru Jacobson to secure the load do they then get a cut of the action. Jacobson might have direct involvement in negotiating transportation to cover the needs of that customer. If I deal with the customer directly and negotiate the load on my own, Jacobson has no involvement and they therefore get nothing from it.

Using the Amsoil methodology, Jacobson Transportation would get a cut of the action even though I dealt directly with the customer. That is unethical business practice. If nothing else, because there was no disclosure made. That kind of thing can lead to legal action in the normal business world.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker

Originally Posted By: Pablo


Yes, so initially when you bought online you had to have been associated with his ZO#. Probably by geographical default. If you didn't purposely enter another ZO#, or follow a link with an associated zo#, then it defaulted to him. Well sure his Direct Jobber is involved with him, in a similar way the local and regional sales supervisor gets paid. I fail to see the ethics violations, it's just different.


The only problem with your analogy. A local and regional supervisor would have direct involvement. The folks I mentioned and you referenced had zero input in securing sales contracts or distribution of any product to me or were involved in introducing me to the company product line.


Not zero input. They work with the dealers, show them the ropes, answer questions, and can provide product if necessary. In a typical company, if there are local reps, and say a NW regional manager, that manager can interface with the customers, but doesn't with all customers.
 
Originally Posted By: OldEuroCarLover
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Exactly. Thanks, QP.
thumbsup2.gif


All I was asking about was your statement "I don't think anyone can say Amsoil DOESN'T have a higher-quality product than what you can buy off the shelf". I wondered why (for example) an Amsoil product is "higher quality" than M1 EP.

He's not saying that Amsoil IS a higher quality oil than M1 EP. He's just saying: "I don't think anyone can say Amsoil DOESN'T have a higher-quality product than what you can buy off the shelf"

Meaning, that you can't say Amsoil isn't better. The flip side, of course, is that you can't say that M1 EP isn't better.


Ahha. Sorry, I was reading it all wrong.
 
I think it's good oil, but not worth the hassle to obtain anymore, especially in this day and age where off the shelf brands have gotten so darn good. I've tried Amsoil in my Tacoma as well as my Honda ATV and didn't notice any difference over what I had been going with.

If they made it easier to obtain, I'd use it more often, but going through a pyramid sales network is a waste of time, IMHO. I, like many others would like to see some third party tests done on Amsoil versus all other big name oils by a NON-BIASED and NON-SPONSORED BY AMSOIL company and affiliation. Trying to find that is impossible it seems, every oil company will jump through hoops to make their oil look better than the competitors, that's how marketing works and Amsoil really pushes it hard which is quite annoying when you google "synthetic oil" and 50 different Amsoil dealer websites pop up..
 
I am so loving this feedback. It seems that people using spec oil synthetic is working out just fine. I'm receiving swag from Pennzoil which I will post on clubcivic.com/HockeyZombies. I do think amsoil does have a place,but not with people who have a true grasp of a dollar or people struggling it to make it. No api doesnt help and the dealers are garbage at best. Look at their homes; all the money spent on oil and their houses neglected via paint peeling,etc. Glad I am a Pennzoil user using natural gas.If amsoil was so good Ferrari would use it and so would Hennessey,but they dont.
 
I use Amsoil once in a while. Why? Sometimes the cost is decent. Their standard 75w90 gear oil retails for 16$ before tax for a quart, the other name brands go for over 20$ per quart for something similar. My brother runs orders through his work and can get a decent deal as well if I want to wait a year or two to pick up when I see him. Otherwise I think the cost is too much. I have found similar products available locally for a h ell of a lot less.
 
It's decent oil. I use it on occasion. I mostly use their injector cleaners and on occasion gear oil.

I used to be into it, However it's no better or worse than any other name brand synthetic. As long as I can still buy 6 bottles of Kendall FS for $22 shipped I have 0 interest in Amsoil motor oils
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo

Not zero input. They work with the dealers, show them the ropes, answer questions, and can provide product if necessary. In a typical company, if there are local reps, and say a NW regional manager, that manager can interface with the customers, but doesn't with all customers.


Yes, zero input on my purchase. There was no consultation done with me, there was no sales literature sent to me, there was zero input on my purchase choices by any sales person. Every part of my looking at data sheets, selecting products, and purchasing was done direct at Amsoil corporate. Sure, when dealers have direct input in these things with a customer, they should be compensated, and compensated for the extent they contribute. A sales associate at, say, Proctor and Gamble, is not compensated directly by my purchase of a tube of toothpaste or box of laundry soap. Nor is a sale associate or regional manager at Exxon Mobil directly compensated for the gallon of oil I purchase at Wally World or any other location. They are compensated on sales contracts they establish. Yet the Amsoil gig, a unseen dealer is compensated directly by each quart of oil I buy. Try as you might, you are not making a solid case.
 
Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Originally Posted By: Pablo

Not zero input. They work with the dealers, show them the ropes, answer questions, and can provide product if necessary. In a typical company, if there are local reps, and say a NW regional manager, that manager can interface with the customers, but doesn't with all customers.


Yes, zero input on my purchase. There was no consultation done with me, there was no sales literature sent to me, there was zero input on my purchase choices by any sales person. Every part of my looking at data sheets, selecting products, and purchasing was done direct at Amsoil corporate. Sure, when dealers have direct input in these things with a customer, they should be compensated, and compensated for the extent they contribute. A sales associate at, say, Proctor and Gamble, is not compensated directly by my purchase of a tube of toothpaste or box of laundry soap. Nor is a sale associate or regional manager at Exxon Mobil directly compensated for the gallon of oil I purchase at Wally World or any other location. They are compensated on sales contracts they establish. Yet the Amsoil gig, a unseen dealer is compensated directly by each quart of oil I buy. Try as you might, you are not making a solid case.


But the help is available by simply asking. I know what you are saying though, if you choose to buy direct and don't want help, why should anyone be compensated? In that case the analogy would be a store, you drive to the store, buy your product without asking questions. The person ringing you up may have never touched the product, and knows very little about it. He and his manager, and some corporate people get paid from the margin on that and other products.

Originally Posted By: Marco620
.... the dealers are garbage at best. Look at their homes; all the money spent on oil and their houses neglected via paint peeling,etc......


Really?

I appreciate the dialog by reasonable people such as TT. Insults? Not so much.
 
You are incredible, Pablo. While I once thought you were reasoned via other posts, I realize fully that you are not breathing oxygen in this discussion, and your credibility has been tarnished. To equate a store clerk as not being compensated because they never touched the product as equivalent to what I have outlined? The sale of the product at a store front where a clerk works obviously supports the store's operations, including that store's employees. The sale of Amsoil's products should indeed support the corporate operation and the staff and employees, but dealers are not corporate staff or employees. They receive no employee enumeration from Amsoil for being dealers. They are not on Amsoil's employee payroll nor is Amsoil accountable to the IRS for tax withholding on their income. Best I can tell, they are not even 1099 independent contractors, though I could be in error on that one. They pay for the privilege of being classified as dealers, they pay for literature for distribution, etc. Store clerks are not even in the same classification and to even equate dealers with them is ridiculous to the extreme.

The Amsoil system is such that an equivalency would be that I, as a commercial truck company, receive enumeration from the rate another trucking operation gets for hauling the freight, though I have no contract with them and no interaction with them, just because it is being hauled from the same shipping dock of a customer I have my own contract to haul for. That would be insane business practice in the normal world. it is just plain that simple.
 
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