Engine oil cost for a mechanic

Pennzoil motor oil
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Samkhan

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Hello everyone.

What would be the true cost of engine oil ( conventional and synthetic) for a mechanic. I am assuming mechanic would make a profit on engine oil as well if they are using there own along with labour charges.

Thanks
 
I doubt that they itemize the profit on oil versus labor cost, but just look at it as one margin on the task. Oil changes are a loss leader anyway. They underprice what it would cost so that they can make real money on brakes, air filters, wipers and repairs.
 
Rarely do places make any money off oil changes. They set the price competitively so you will set foot into their shop and have an opportunity to review for needed repairs or maintenance on your vehicle. I would venture to guess the shops loose money when bay is tied up for $25-$50 work.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Rarely do places make any money off oil changes. They set the price competitively so you will set foot into their shop and have an opportunity to review for needed repairs or maintenance on your vehicle. I would venture to guess the shops loose money when bay is tied up for $25-$50 work.


There are many times that more profitable work is unavailable and oil changes are mostly neutral cost compared to doing absolutely nothing .

Some of the local places do the changes quite fast which means not much time investment.

Aka it keeps the lights on.
 
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At my garage i could save a little on filters over the walk in price.. the cheapest way to get oil was for me to drive to the distributor and cut out the middleman and the delivery charge. By the time i saved all that money i could afford to pay a guy to do it..
 
Depends on the brand and the deal you make with the distributor. I know one brand that has over 40% built into their retail price versus wholesale price. And it even get's better from there depending on order amount etc. Makes you really wonder wexactly how cheap it is to make motor oil formulas, especially those on the walmart shelf they sell all day for twenty bucks, great oil formulas.
 
I know my mech has a set charge for an oil change which includes bulk oil, if you ask for something specific he charges more. I'm guessing he makes more on the bulk.
 
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Unless they do enough to buy bulk 55 gallon barrel, they probably pay more than from Walmart. They do get it delivered, sometimes even by an attractive young lady.

But they can not afford to drive to Walmart unless they have nothing else to do. If that is the case, you probably do not want them touching your car.

Rod
 
Originally Posted by Duffyjr
I know my mech has a set charge for an oil change which includes bulk oil, if you ask for something specific he charges more. I'm guessing he makes more on the bulk.

The upsell to a premium lube can be great, that's where the ching is made....

(on Groupon you can often find oil change pkgs for a fixed price. One place in my area offers 4x for $60 and that includes the filter and disposal fees. More often than not it's gonna be a bulk dino; not that there's anything wrong with a dino if you're changing the oil out 3 or 4x a year... point is, these cheap oil changes are loss leaders for the shop much in the same way your grocer advertises milk for $1.99gl. As long as you resist the urge to be upsold, it's (cheapo oil change) a relative bargain.. and you have added bonus of having the underside looked at several times a year ðŸ‘)
 
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Originally Posted by Duffyjr
I know my mech has a set charge for an oil change which includes bulk oil, if you ask for something specific he charges more. I'm guessing he makes more on the bulk.

Federated Auto Parts had a sales flyer not long ago and they listed 55-gallon drum of their private-label engine oil. Can't recall if it was conventional or synthetic blend (quite certain it wasn't full synthetic). It was about $600. That works out to $2.72/quart. Typical vehicle is 5 quarts of just under $14 in oil, $5 (max) for a filter, they charge you $25 for an oil change - they lost money. That leaves $6 and where's the labor charge ?

When a customer asks for some special oil, they have to call Autozone, OReilly, etc and get it delivered. Sure, they might get a (small) discount on the price vs what you and I pay but on the oil change invoice, it's going to be priced at least at what it sells for off the shelf at those stores. The shop should do this too.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Rarely do places make any money off oil changes. They set the price competitively so you will set foot into their shop and have an opportunity to review for needed repairs or maintenance on your vehicle. I would venture to guess the shops loose money when bay is tied up for $25-$50 work.


That must be why Pennzoil has a huge chain of Oil change shops across the nation.
 
Volume, volume, volume. They also upsell as much as they can. They don't pay their employees what full-blown mechanics make. They don't have infinite amounts of investment in tools and equipment (they have a rather specific and small list of what's necessary for doing oil changes only).
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by madRiver
Rarely do places make any money off oil changes. They set the price competitively so you will set foot into their shop and have an opportunity to review for needed repairs or maintenance on your vehicle. I would venture to guess the shops loose money when bay is tied up for $25-$50 work.


That must be why Pennzoil has a huge chain of Oil change shops across the nation.



And why they pressure people into other services and filters plus charge more than most shop that run specials. Let alone they are getting oil at cost VS retail/light discount pricing.

Oil change is very little of what they do.
 
My understanding was that what ever the cost they take 15-20 dollars in labour. And rest is used up for oil and filters. For a full synthetic oil it can be around 30 - 35 dollars which will end up to around 50 dollars per change. So the profit margin with in oil should be within those 30 - 35 dollars minus the cost. And as someone said before in the thread volume volume volume which means they can make a good amount by the end of month. Otherwise I don't see business potential in those quick oil change franchises.
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by madRiver
Rarely do places make any money off oil changes. They set the price competitively so you will set foot into their shop and have an opportunity to review for needed repairs or maintenance on your vehicle. I would venture to guess the shops loose money when bay is tied up for $25-$50 work.


That must be why Pennzoil has a huge chain of Oil change shops across the nation.

Pennzoil obviously is going to get a better deal on their own oil, and I'm pretty sure Jiffy Lube is franchised, so PZ is making money on that as well. But, as said above, the big money is on the upsell. Want some crappy $25 wiper blades with that?
crazy.gif
 
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