No more GC at AutoZone?

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I went to AutoZone tonight and saw that there was no GC on the shelves. There wasn't even a place for it to go. So I went up to the counter and the guy told me that the new inventory sheets didn't include any 0w oils. They were instructed to pull them off the shelf. So, I said "what did you do with it, I'll buy whatever you have". At this point he said one of the commercial accounts had used it right along and he bought it all. I kinda had a bummed look on my face and it must have been obvious. At this point the guy told me he probably had some Mobil1 0w-30 that he could give me a deal on. I said "oh?" He went in the back and then told me he had a couple of cases of it he could sell me for $10 a case. He said he had 40 & 30 weights. I asked 0w-40 & 30? He nodded. How many do you have, I'll take it all. I ended up with 18 quarts of M1 0w-30 (All API SL except 2 are SJ) and 6 quarts of SM 0w-40 for $40.

Bad news is that it seems like GC is gone for good
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[ February 16, 2005, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: medic ]
 
I stopped in the AZ my son works in tonight and bought the last 9 quarts of M1 0W-30 they had for $1 a quart. A bunch of other guys were in there picking through the dollar oils and bought most of the heavier weights. They passed right over the M1 - "That stuff is way to thin." - "No problem, I can use it in something."
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When we were done about all they had left was a couple cases of M1 0W-20 and some 5 quart jugs of Superflow 5W-30.

They still have quite a bit of stock of US 0W-30 Syntec and continuing shelf space for it but they've never had any GC.

I also went to another AZ about 30 miles away where I'd seen GC in the past. They had tons of US Syntec and shelf space for it but no GC.
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The oil section there was a disaster. Full and open cases of oil sitting everywhere. Old Mobil stock mixed with the new stuff etc. and paper labels on the shelves where they'd moved oils and hadn't gotten a printed label yet. No $1 oil of any kind though.

This whole dollar a quart thing seems to be very strange. The managers apparently have been told to move out discontinued oils this way but the computer at my son's store anyway still scans the oil at full price and they have to manually enter the $1 price at the register.

I'm starting to wonder about ever finding GC again. Even though the datasheet on the Castrol site shows the 0W-30 the specs as what we know is GC, every store that I've been in that had GC at some point no longer does. They have lots of new stock of the US stuff instead. Maybe the assumptions in the beginning about Castrol packaging up and dumping old stock really were correct...

[ February 16, 2005, 01:37 AM: Message edited by: jsharp ]
 
The AZ near me was a complete mess, oil boxes all over the place, M1 EP mixed in with the old stuff, etc. The manager said a new display was going to be setup in a few days. Oh, and they didn't know the difference between the old M1 and M1 EP, thought it was just new packaging.
 
I didn't get anything for a buck, and ended up with 2 quarts of SJ Mobil1 0w-30, but I still think I did pretty good at 24 quarts for $40. Even with this great price, I'm still depressed about the way GC went out, almost as quick as it came in.

The clerk had to call somebody on the phone to get the code for the "grab bag" before he could ring it in and then my reciept shows that I purchased 8 grab bags.

I've never used Mobil1, but I think its about time for a try.
 
Hi,
you may notice that I have posted on the issue of Castrol SLX 0w-30 which was released here in Australia in 1996 as SH/CF A3/B3, with Porsche, BMW and VW Approvals. Being a longterm Castrol user (and assisting in the in-field developement of "R" 10w-60 and Enduro LD 15w-40 semi synth HDEO) I commenced using it immediately in a number of vehicles - a new VW, new BMW and a new V6 Ford Explorer

It was launched with great fanfare and Castrol sponsored a SLX V8Supercar as such! It was not a very successful race car either!!!

After an engine failure in the VW that we (VW Engineer, Service Manager and I) believe was caused by this oil I stopped using it. So did a number of dealerships

It worked well in the Explorer and the BMW engines

It was totally recalled and withdrawn from the OZ market in 1999 or thereabouts - it was a SL/CF oil at that stage and blended in OZ

I still see the odd 5ltr container on shelves at prices ranging from $65 to $101!!!

I believe that the initial GC SLX 0w-30 was mis-applied and oversold. It was withdrawn as a "flop". This is sad because at the SL/CF stage it was probably a very good product

Castrols "R" synthetic range starting with 5w-30 and as a 5w-40 and 10w-60 are very popular here but do not equal M1 on the synthetic popularity front!

Regards
Doug

[ February 16, 2005, 02:23 AM: Message edited by: Doug Hillary ]
 
Don't forget, this was recently posted by a member on here:

quote:


I called Autozone Corp office and talked to the oil buyer. I asked him if they were going to quit carrying the Castrol 0w-30. He said that it and the Mobil 0w-30 have been dogs for sales. He said they will be discontiued in the stores with small oil racks less than 20'long to make room for other oils. They will continue to be sold in the stores with the 20-30' racks. He said one section was 5' long so it's easy to tell which stores would quit selling it. He also said that they will be carrying the Castrol 5w-40 in all stores as it has been a good seller in it's limited markets.

 
quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
Don't forget, this was recently posted by a member on here:

quote:


I called Autozone Corp office and talked to the oil buyer. I asked him if they were going to quit carrying the Castrol 0w-30. He said that it and the Mobil 0w-30 have been dogs for sales. He said they will be discontiued in the stores with small oil racks less than 20'long to make room for other oils. They will continue to be sold in the stores with the 20-30' racks. He said one section was 5' long so it's easy to tell which stores would quit selling it. He also said that they will be carrying the Castrol 5w-40 in all stores as it has been a good seller in it's limited markets.


I didn't see this before but here's a bit more info. Both my son's store and the other one I was in last night have the "short" racks. They both still have a place for Castrol 0W-30 but none for the M1 0W-30. I know the Castrol was a slow mover at my son's store since I used to go in and dust the bottles off digging through them looking for GC. They've never had any...
 
quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
He said they will be discontiued in the stores with small oil racks less than 20'long to make room for other oils. They will continue to be sold in the stores with the 20-30' racks. He said one section was 5' long so it's easy to tell which stores would quit selling it.



I'm thinking that the AZ employees are going to give me a real funny look when I bring my own tape measure to see exactly how large their racks are.

Perhaps I should count the number of floor tiles instead?
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I've been sold on Pennzoil and M1 products, but sometimes I wonder if I chase down GC just for the fun of it.

Has anyone tried Chevron Delo 0w-30 to compare with GC?
 
I'm still looking for that first 2005 batch of GC. We have seen it from the BC line already so it should be out there.
 
I checked several stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. All the larger stores had Castrol 0w30. There is currently no sign here that it is discontinued. It's still "listed as active." I don't think it sells well though. Most stores had GC, a few had the yellow label.
 
Unless I am doing something different this time I can not find Castrol 0W30 on Auto Zone's web site. They still list Mobil 1 0W30 but no Castrol. Has anyone else checked?
 
Went to our premier Autozone in town and found a place for GC (or shall we say more accurately Syntec 0W-30) (moved from where it used to be located, but all Syntec was moved) with little green occupants in the tray; unfortunately they were still 2004 vintage and I am anxiously looking for a confirmed made in 2005 batch. Also saw some SM rated M1 0W-40 in the new bottle.
 
Those of you who use GC, if it does get phased out, I'd look into the Esso 0w-30/40 line if you can get a hold of it. 0w-30 has a HT/HS of 3.6 and the 0w-40 is 4.2. They are much thicker then the Mobil 1 line. I know the 0w-30 would be great in a C5.
 
quote:

Originally posted by buster:
Those of you who use GC, if it does get phased out, I'd look into the Esso 0w-30/40 line if you can get a hold of it. 0w-30 has a HT/HS of 3.6 and the 0w-40 is 4.2. They are much thicker then the Mobil 1 line. I know the 0w-30 would be great in a C5.

Where can you find Esso oil in NJ?
Thanks
 
Visited my local AutoWrong yesterday and picked up a case of GC and it wasn't cheap
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. They had tons of US 0W-30 on the shelf so I seached through the cases and found what I was looking for. How can I tell if its an '04 or an '05 batch?
 
quote:

Originally posted by EmbarkChief:
How can I tell if its an '04 or an '05 batch?

Look on the bottom of the bottle. An 04 batch will read something like 0428..... I'm surmising an 05 batch will read similar, ie: 05......, but haven't seen any yet. As said, if anyone finds any red label, 0W-30 with the BP sunburst logo and "Made In Germany" on the back, please let us all know that the elixer is still alive.
 
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