Dollar General sued over obsolete oils

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I think people should know better than to shop at Dollar General for motor oil; but then again, your average normal person is pretty dumb.


A couple of times a year they sell Peak motor oil at BOGO prices. So by the time you get it past the cash register, it's well under $2/quart. Peak oil is SN rated. There is nothing wrong with shopping for motor oil at DG....as long as you know what you are shopping for. This lawsuit against DG will only make the lawyers rich and raise the prices for anybody who shops at DG. If the consumer can't/wont read their owner's manual to determine what oil they need, I have no sympathy for them.

 

[Panzerman]

I have seen this SA rated and oil and wonder what they even sell it for. I have never bought any. That said, its quite clear what automobiles it was made for. It is clearly labeled. This is nothing more than dumbing the public down. People need to be responsible for your own actions. I don't smoke, my Dad died of throat cancer due to smoking and chewing tobacco. I would never infringe on your right to smoke. If you want to smoke do so of your own free will, just don't cry about it 15 years down the road and try to sue the tobacco industry when you discover the results of your lifestyle. I am all about personal responsibility and personal choices. Read the label, if you don't, its your fault and yours alone.

 

[NH73]

Dollar stores have no reason to sell obsolete oil. I just stop at a Family Dollar to see what they do. I will give them good marks on there Multi-weight oils for being the latest API ratings, but bad marks for still selling the 30 weight API SA. The only business that should really be allowed to sell a Non-detergent oil are hardware stores, and only that would be separated from the motor oils in the auto section, and business that need ND oil to support there products and services.

While I am all for personal freedom and responsibility, I am also as much against business doing deceptive practices. In fact, a good business that sell motor oils should encourage people to know what there cars require and only sell what is commonly required.

 

[robertcope]

I hope this catches on. I see this is same thing at big chain grocery stores, service stations, etc. There is no reason at all to sell an SA oil to the general public.

robert

 

[buster]

Shame on stores that sells this garbage and shame on consumers that are so dumb they can't even read their owners manual. People spend thousands of dollars on their cars and refuse to even read the basics.

 

[53' Stude]

+1000 sir

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
Originally Posted By: TFB1
if consumers can't read the label and/or owners manual, isn't the oil mfgr problem... These same consumers likely have their noses stuck in a smart phone all their waking hours... Would not want me on that jury...


Blaming consumers is absurd. That's like blaming the baby antelope for being eaten by the lion. We can't all research and become knowledgeable about every product we buy - we have to trust and rely on the information provided on product labels. We all do it every day. Companies that prey on our lack of full knowledge in a specific area through clever and deceptive labels and product placement are predators. They seek out the poor and ignorant, the weakest of consumers, for their personal gain, and when the products they sell are downright harmful they are evil.

Most of these companies know exactly what they are doing and the potential damage it can cause. They proceed with full malice for personal profit. I can't speak for Dollar General as many retailer buyers are ignorant on motor oils, but someone in the manufacturing/marketing line must have known what they were doing.

Tom NJ

NOTE: While I am an unpaid advisor to PQIA, the opinions I express on this forum are my own and not necessarily those of PQIA.


So the consumer who knows nothing about their vehicle OR what goes in it probably shouldn't be buying something to put in it then, right? I mean I agree with almost everything you said but in this scenario if somebody is buying the wrong motor oil they also don't know enough about their vehicle to be doing maintenance on it. How is that Dollar General's fault?

Now if this oil isn't even suitable for small engines/lawn mowers then I agree that it is just junk oil and there's no reason so it to be on sale if it can't even go in anything.

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
.... They seek out the poor and ignorant, the weakest of consumers, for their personal gain, and when the products they sell are downright harmful they are evil. ....


Good grief. Selling correctly labelled SA and SF motor oil is evil?

What about booze and coffin nails? Pot? Cokes? Twinkies? White bread? "HD" tv antennas? Ammunition? VW diesels?

Where do you draw the line at protecting people from themselves, especially when this is not even protecting people - it's protecting clunkers, at best.


+1, Amen, brother.

 

[NH73]

Originally Posted By: ccap41
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
Originally Posted By: TFB1
if consumers can't read the label and/or owners manual, isn't the oil mfgr problem... These same consumers likely have their noses stuck in a smart phone all their waking hours... Would not want me on that jury...


Blaming consumers is absurd. That's like blaming the baby antelope for being eaten by the lion. We can't all research and become knowledgeable about every product we buy - we have to trust and rely on the information provided on product labels. We all do it every day. Companies that prey on our lack of full knowledge in a specific area through clever and deceptive labels and product placement are predators. They seek out the poor and ignorant, the weakest of consumers, for their personal gain, and when the products they sell are downright harmful they are evil.

Most of these companies know exactly what they are doing and the potential damage it can cause. They proceed with full malice for personal profit. I can't speak for Dollar General as many retailer buyers are ignorant on motor oils, but someone in the manufacturing/marketing line must have known what they were doing.

Tom NJ

NOTE: While I am an unpaid advisor to PQIA, the opinions I express on this forum are my own and not necessarily those of PQIA.


So the consumer who knows nothing about their vehicle OR what goes in it probably shouldn't be buying something to put in it then, right? I mean I agree with almost everything you said but in this scenario if somebody is buying the wrong motor oil they also don't know enough about their vehicle to be doing maintenance on it. How is that Dollar General's fault?

Now if this oil isn't even suitable for small engines/lawn mowers then I agree that it is just junk oil and there's no reason so it to be on sale if it can't even go in anything.


It goes both ways. Stores shouldn't sell it. Consumers shouldn't buy it. Someone going to buy motor oil, at most at least, are checking the oil. So the store at least should encourage consumers to check to see what there vehicle requires.

 

[TiredTrucker]

Well this stuff may be "garbage" to a person with a newer vehicle. But one also has to consider that the reason DG, Family Dollar, and similar outlets even exist is to meet the needs of many lower income people and value minded folks. The lower income tier, they usually can only afford an old beater that was made when older oils were still the norm, or their vehicles go thru as much oil as they do gasoline, so what gets put in them is not of any significance. The value minded folks are usually savvy to such things, know exactly what they want, and are just looking for a good value if they can find it.

The bottles are labeled properly per federal law. There is no obfuscation going on. There is no appreciable evidence that anyone has been harmed financially. It is just another way for ambulance chasing lawyers to stir the pot and go after the money. Even if it is found that DG was doing anything unethical, only the government and the lawyers benefit. The government will get its pound of flesh from DG and the lawyers will go down an buy new Beamers. The consumer will get saddle with less choice and higher pricing.

The times I guess.

 

[meborder]

Originally Posted By: buster

Shame on stores that sells this garbage and shame on consumers that are so dumb they can't even read their owners manual. People spend thousands of dollars on their cars and refuse to even read the basics.

Some people spend hundreds of dollars on their car because spending thousands is out of reach.

Not picking on you directly, but your comment resonates with many others so that's why I quoted you.

The other day I saw a 1985(ish) escort. Why should this person not be allowed to buy an oil that works in his/her car at a discounted price?

if there was no market for this stuff, no one would sell it. Granted, it is labled as not suitable for 89 and newer, and someone may put it in their 1994 escort.... but it is a consumer choice at that point. save a dollar and use DG, or spend the dollar and use Peak. let them make their choice, whether it is informed or uninformed doesn't really make a difference since they get to control their own fate.

As for the SA rated oil: Personally, it is nice to know that I can get some at DG if my local NAPA is closed. Works fine (and is called for) in my compressor and pressure washer. Why should they not be allowed to sell it? Why should NAPA not be allowed to sell it? I need it and my little town's hardware store doesn't sell compressor oil ...

and even if a quart of this ends up in a 1985 escort, is it going to do more harm than adding nothing? In the ends, that decision, whether informed or uninformed, is up to the consumer. do people get burned? probably yes, but if they are choosing on price point alone -- I hate to say it -- they get what they bought -- it is cheaper for a reason, and if you take 2 seconds to turn the bottle around, you would know the reason why it is cheaper.

people who are buying the SA oil because it is 50% cheaper are not doing oil changes (by and large), they are just trying to keep a car on the road so they can (hopefully) get to work.

 

[meborder]

Originally Posted By: djb


I don't consider that reasonable.

I have a bunch of 10uF 250V capacitors on my workbench. Can you tell me which is suitable for use as a motor run capacitor? What rating should you be looking for? Will a CBB60 capacitor substitute for a CBB1 rating? Is a 25/70 temperature rating worse than a 20/85 rating?

If you get this wrong, you could destroy expensive equipment and perhaps start a fire.

Ask someone with basic electronics education and they'll tell you that if the capacitance is the same and voltage rating is the same or higher and it will substitute. (Much like "if the viscosity range matches...") That is very very wrong.

It's not like this is exotic hardware. You very likely have significantly more equipment with run capacitors than vehicles that use oil.

The point is that what is obvious to a reader of BITOG is obscure caveats to regular consumers.


your point is well taken, but consider this thought:

let's say I need to get my motor (or whatever) running and I need one of the capacitors above. You have them for sale, clearly labeled and side by side. I would bet to the uneducated (me) they look the same, for the most part.

as the consumer, I now have a choice. this one or that one. both are available. one is probably cheaper than the other. I can try to figure out which one is the right one, or I can buy on price point.

the choice is mine. if choose on price point hoping to "get by" or "get lucky" and I'm fine with that choice, why should I be inhibited from making the choice.

now someone on Bob is the Capacitor Guy and Capacitor Quality Institute of America (CQIA) comes along and says that the cheaper one is rarely used and has no purpose being sold and files suit against you for selling a product that could do harm to a very expensive motor and accuses you of intentionally deceiving uneducated customers.

This customer was deliberately and willfully uneducated and made a choice on price point hoping to get lucky. how did my poor choice become your fault?

Never mind the fact that the cheaper one might actually be just fine for my cheap out of date motor, or might work just fine for another application.

 

[Gasbuggy]

If BITOG wants to fund it I would run this DG oil in one my cars and get a UOA. I may even be able to provide a selection of vehicles to choose from, all 1998+ and requiring 5w30. Though I think my Cavalier would be the ideal sample of what a Dollar Store shopper puts this oil into.

Lets be real though, people buy this oil for topping off their junk, not doing a change on their new Audi.

 

[KCJeep]

I buy a lot of my oil at DG because they carry several top name brands, run them on sale a LOT and will let me use a coupon on top of that which means I end up beating Walmart prices by a good bit and it is closer and far more convenient.

But I have often wondered why they even sell that other oil. With the frequency of their sales, the DG stuff is usually just pennies less than the name brand oils sitting next to it.

I wish they would get rid of it but not a fan of a lawsuit either.

 

[Jimzz]

Originally Posted By: chainblu
Originally Posted By: Chris142
I never understood why they still sell these oils. How much more would Warren,Shell or exxonmobil charge then to bottle a good oil?


Like this?:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/shell...07-P#fragment-1

I think this is a SB rated oil (at best). Why isn't Advance Auto (or Shell) being sued??


Because that oil is not sold beside other current oils and uses normal size font on the front of the container saying its non-detergant. That oil is on the small engine shelf.

 

[Panzerman]

The best thing that even makes the folks that buy it dumber, its really not a lot cheaper. Everytime I saw it, it was less than .50 cheaper than a SN oil.

 

[hattaresguy]

Its a freaken dollar store what do you expect? Its as outdated as the rest of their junk.

 

[Gasbuggy]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Its a freaken dollar store what do you expect? Its as outdated as the rest of their junk.





This oil will do less damage to an engine than the junk food they sell does to a cardiovascular system and pancreas. Bring on the nanny state. Maybe they can get EBT cards accepted at Jiffy Lube so everyone can get the correct oil in their cars.

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: Garak
I'm one to normally pick on the consumer for being clueless, but these discount stores sell so much garbage it isn't funny. Up here, they sell expired pop (yes, I know, pop isn't milk, but they get expired pop essentially for free and then have a nice markup), factory seconds labeled the same as the high end product, other products that were never meant for the North American market in the first place, and so forth.

Consumer awareness is still important. When you need to buy motor oil, know the specifications you require and know what to look for. When you buy toothpaste, be sure that the languages on the tubes are some combination of English, French, and Spanish. If you don't recognize the language, much less the brand, leave it on the shelf. If the Dr. Pepper has an expiry date of a year ago, don't buy it.

My late father used to love these discount stores. Now, he'd never buy a substandard motor oil. But, boy, he used to buy some shoddy garbage that would make a Chinese factory manager blush.


Soda does not have an "expire" date. They are either "sell by" or manufacture dates if they do not have the "sell by" next to it. That is more of a marketing term by the soda companies to ensure best freshness and taste, it is not a go bad date. Until may 10-15 years ago, there was no dating on soda products.

 

[Cristobal]

I do not agree with this lawsuit at all.

Back in the ancient day, when a relative had a 1952 MG TD, we ran SA in it all the time, and the sludge stopped the leaking at the spindle nut. We ran it ten years on that stuff.

I had a 1978 Toyota back in the day and ran SF in it all the time. No problems.

My car now will digest any SH or better oil. I bother to read the labels. Just because other people do not is no reason to blame the store.