Is Cost the Only Reason Not to use OEM Oil?

[Garak]

Cost factors in of course. TGMO up here is cheaper than just about any off the shelf oil, even when that off the shelf oil is on special. On the other hand, Motorcraft oil isn't readily available here outside of dealers. Nissan/Infiniti has an agreement with Mobil, so you're getting Mobil products you can buy anywhere else. AC Delco oils are available outside of dealers here, all the while a few GM dealers (and others) are pushing Castrol.

Generally speaking, I wouldn't think that the majority of OEM oils are any better or worse than what's readily available on the shelf. Sometimes, it's the same thing as what's available on the shelf, and others, it's something more proprietary, and others again, it's just whatever a dealer/OEM gets cheapest.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
IF you have engine problem and have used oil and filter from dealer there can be a warranty benefit.

Is that what a dealer told you ? It's not a false statement but it's not entirely accurate either. You can use a $3 filter and $15 oil if it's suitable and you are covered just as much.

 

[Gebo]

Cost isn't a real factor here. The filters are cheap. A lot of dealers here don't use their own oil. The ones I know about use either Valvoline or Castrol. My son-in-law was a parts mgr for Honda and they shopped for the cheapest bulk oil. They carried Castrol 0w20 for synthetic and Castrol 5W30 for conventional. They did use brand specific filters.

 

[benjy]

OE oils are blended to their specs as well as a pricepoint so stealers can make more $$$$, + once warranty is gone stealers care less + just want you to buy another new $$$$ vehicle!

 

[4WD]

They seem to know they are minimal since they offer to upgrade your free change to a synthetic for a few bucks

 

[Fifty150]

Originally Posted by ad244
So cost is the only reason not to?


Some people will spend a lot more money. They believe that they are buying a better oil.

 

[GZRider]

I do not trust bulk fluids from my time working in dealerships. I always fear the Service Manager or GM decided to buy Fly By Night Brand 5w-? at $200 per 55 gallon drum, transferred it into bulk OEM ones, and is in the bathroom snorting the difference. That's what I meant by you do not know what you are getting. I did not mean to imply the manufacturers bulk is mystery oil, and was aware those oils are also made by Mobil, Valvoline, Castrol Eneos, Warren ect. Like others have pointed out, those OEM oils are still formulated to a price point, specific function and a general use pattern for the model or manufacture.

 

[dbias]

VW dealer I often buy from doesnt sell VW brand oil and im not aware that VW even has one. The Castrol they sell for 504/507 is as cheap as anywhere i can find it so i get the oil and filter there.

 

[Imp4]

Originally Posted by GZRider
I don't trust bulk fluids of any kind, you don't really know what you are getting....

Because little bottles are better?!?

 

[SteveG4]

Originally Posted by dbias
VW dealer I often buy from doesnt sell VW brand oil and im not aware that VW even has one. The Castrol they sell for 504/507 is as cheap as anywhere i can find it so i get the oil and filter there.

My "VW fan" #1 son has said the same thing about the VW dealerships he's had service his Passat cars. They relied on Castrol oils meeting their specs.

 

[PandaBear]

Aftermarket oil is usually pretty good if you stick to major brands, aftermarket parts like suspensions, probably not.

OEM oil is good enough, but there are better / more expensive or cheaper / just as good oil out there.

 

[dbias]

Originally Posted by SteveG4
Originally Posted by dbias
VW dealer I often buy from doesnt sell VW brand oil and im not aware that VW even has one. The Castrol they sell for 504/507 is as cheap as anywhere i can find it so i get the oil and filter there.

My "VW fan" #1 son has said the same thing about the VW dealerships he's had service his Passat cars. They relied on Castrol oils meeting their specs.



Yeah when the oil cap says "Castrol" I'd say they probably worked together on the spec. I've never had a VW or Audi dealer do anything other than the free initial services. i can get Castrol Edge 5w-30 Professional LL03 there for $8 and its $9 to $11 dollars everywhere else online that i used in my 2015 Passat TDI.

 

[BurntMusic]

Yeah, VW and Castrol have some sort of partnership.

The Castrol Edge in stores is actually different than the Castrol Edge the dealerships use. Dealerships get the Castrol Edge "Professional" which is basically just Castrol Edge with a dye added to help identify leaks. Cost wise, a VW dealership charges $70 for the oil change. It's not TERRIBLY priced if you think about it. 5w40 is a pain to find sometimes (for my vehicle it's 5w40) and when you do, it's $10 a quart. 6 quarts later and it's $60 + tax. Add another $7 filter to it and you're already near the price of the dealership. On top of that, you still have to do all the work yourself. For another $4, you can have someone else do all the work for you while you sip coffee. No mess to clean up, no oil to bring in to recycle, and you won't have the apartment people shrieking at you over some spilled oil.

So, I guess what I am trying to convey is that it sometimes isn't more expensive to use OEM oil. Not all the dealerships are trying to rip you off. VW has been offering a change for $70 as long as I've had my car, so just two years.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by ad244
So cost is the only reason not to?



And it's motor oil not Mead from the God's.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

Originally Posted by BurntMusic
Yeah, VW and Castrol have some sort of partnership.

The Castrol Edge in stores is actually different than the Castrol Edge the dealerships use. Dealerships get the Castrol Edge "Professional" which is basically just Castrol Edge with a dye added to help identify leaks. Cost wise, a VW dealership charges $70 for the oil change. It's not TERRIBLY priced if you think about it. 5w40 is a pain to find sometimes (for my vehicle it's 5w40) and when you do, it's $10 a quart. 6 quarts later and it's $60 + tax. Add another $7 filter to it and you're already near the price of the dealership. On top of that, you still have to do all the work yourself. For another $4, you can have someone else do all the work for you while you sip coffee. No mess to clean up, no oil to bring in to recycle, and you won't have the apartment people shrieking at you over some spilled oil.

So, I guess what I am trying to convey is that it sometimes isn't more expensive to use OEM oil. Not all the dealerships are trying to rip you off. VW has been offering a change for $70 as long as I've had my car, so just two years.


502 oil very easy to find for 5 bucks per quart, or less.

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-0310...amp;s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

 

[SteveG4]

Originally Posted by Jimmy_Russells
Originally Posted by BurntMusic
Yeah, VW and Castrol have some sort of partnership.

The Castrol Edge in stores is actually different than the Castrol Edge the dealerships use. Dealerships get the Castrol Edge "Professional" which is basically just Castrol Edge with a dye added to help identify leaks. Cost wise, a VW dealership charges $70 for the oil change. It's not TERRIBLY priced if you think about it. 5w40 is a pain to find sometimes (for my vehicle it's 5w40) and when you do, it's $10 a quart. 6 quarts later and it's $60 + tax. Add another $7 filter to it and you're already near the price of the dealership. On top of that, you still have to do all the work yourself. For another $4, you can have someone else do all the work for you while you sip coffee. No mess to clean up, no oil to bring in to recycle, and you won't have the apartment people shrieking at you over some spilled oil.

So, I guess what I am trying to convey is that it sometimes isn't more expensive to use OEM oil. Not all the dealerships are trying to rip you off. VW has been offering a change for $70 as long as I've had my car, so just two years.


502 oil very easy to find for 5 bucks per quart, or less.

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-0310...amp;s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1


That's the ticket!

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by Imp4
Originally Posted by GZRider
I don't trust bulk fluids of any kind, you don't really know what you are getting....

Because little bottles are better?!?


Definitely! If you see a dealership pouring oil out of a bottle, it's 99.9999% certain that you are getting what is on the label. If they are giving you oil out of a drum, you have no clue what's inside it, and might not even be the right viscosity for your car.

 

[cdlamb]

Bottle size is also a deciding factor for me.

I cant purchase Ford motor oil in a 4 or 5 liter jug from my dealer. Need to buy it buy the liter or a case of 12.

Less bottles to mess with, when pouring out of 5 liter jug's.

My dealer also didn't carry a Ford full synthetic, & only had the synthetic Blend available.

 

[DavidJones]

I use Motorcraft semi/syn, which I buy just up the center at Walmart. Cheap, easy and it's good oil. Then they get the used oil back.

 

[blupupher]

Cost and availability are 2 of the biggest reasons not to use it.
Plus some OEM do not have their own oil.

Using the OEM oil in the vehicle will mean your getting the oil that meets the spec for your engine, but may not exceed it.
So in that aspect you could say aftermarket is better since it may cost less, protect "better" (a relative term) and easier to get.

I know when I was getting my "free" oil changes on my Scion, they did use conventional TGMO 5w-20 (made by Mobil from what I read), I think the invoice said $6.xx qt (and this was 2013-2014), that is the price of M1 qt bottles at the time.
So I could drive 8 miles each way to the Toyota dealer to spend $25 for 4 qts of conventional TGMO, or go 2 miles to Walmart (when there for other stuff) and get a top line synthetic for the same price or less.