Oil selection gripe

[Pablo]

In the Bellingham area (very most NW area of Washington state) the motor oil selection is just pathetic.

You would think this is a benefit to me. Not really.

I like to see the oils of the world...I am even jealous of you guys with GC. It took me 4 stores to find Pennzoil LL 15W-40.

Here's the most magical find of all: The local Lynden NAPA had two whole qts of Royal Purple 10W-30 for $5.55/qt. Other than that, nothing. The Car Quest downtown outlet, which is generally a cool place with lots of neat stuff and they car some exotic equipment filters has a terrible oil selection. Shucks? What a JOKE!! Walmart? Nothing. K-mart? Nada. Fred Meyer? Hey hey - they had the Pennz LL 15W-40.

Thanks for letting me vent

[ September 29, 2003, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: Pablo ]

 

[Patman]

My main gripe up here is not so much the oil selection, but the filters! It's so hard to find decent oil filters in the major stores here! The two biggest places to buy oil up here are Canadian Tire and Walmart, and their selection is limited to K&N (but only in a very small number of sizes), Fram, AC Delco and that's it. In order to find anything else you have to go to little out of the way places, and even then the selection isn't much better, we can then only get NAPA Gold, Carquest Premium, Purolator Premium Plus or the PureONE. If you want to find anything else, it then becomes extremely hard, if not impossible to find up here.

Our oil selection isn't much better, but it's not too bad. My main gripe is that some oils are sold here but they don't carry all of the viscosities of it. Like M1 for instance, you can only get 5w30, 10w30 and 15w50, but their 0w40, 0w20 and 0w30 is nowhere to be found at Walmart or Can.Tire. And good luck finding a 0w40, 5w40 or 10w40 synthetic up here, it's very hard to find other than Delvac 1 and the odd Can.Tire might have Rotella T 0w40, but both of those are only found in 4L jugs.

Our problem is we have nothing up here like Autozone or Pepboys, which have endless choices of oil and filters.

 

[Pablo]

We don't have Autozone or Pepboys this far north. (there is a Pepboys in Everett)

Filters don't seem to be a issue. Just oil

I NEVER even see M1 15W-50 in stores.

I must admit I don't cross the border as much after 9/11, and now the Canadian peso is stronger, but I was quite amazed that Walmart Canada had all kinds of AC filters - but NO Motorcraft. (strange) They also had that SafetyClean oil in Can., but not US.

 

[Dr. T]

That's weird because the upstate NY Wal-marts have 5-40 synthetics, Syntec 20-50, Valvoline Racing 40,50,60 straight-weights....you name it....

I can't seem to find any synthetic 5-40 on the shelves here anywhere....

 

[Toy4x4]

Sounds like you have an opportunity for yourself. You could open a small business w/ the best oils and a good selection. You've already got a head start w/ Amsoil. Just a thought.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pablo:
I am even jealous of you guys with GC.

---

Pablo,

Can't believe this statement didn't sink in the first time I responded...may I print it, frame it and preserve it for posterity?

[ September 29, 2003, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[JohnBrowning]

I can not get bypass filters localy but all other brands from Donalds to Baldwin are available and everything in between. THe only oils not availble localy are European brands like Motul and Boutique oils everythng else is available. I can even get Castrol 0W30 but it is the garbage American made yellow lable 0W30. I have been trying to get German Castrol since the first post was made. Here I sit still waiting!!

It really pi$$'s me off that some can buy 75 quarts in two week ends but I can not get so much a single quart in months.

 

[Mystic]

If you guys who live in Canada live close enough to the USA, can you cross the border on a shopping trip and are you allowed to buy stuff in the USA? Or is there a big hassle at the border?

 

[Pablo]

Not much hassle at the border, but now it's 100% Passports. Check to make sure youths are with the correct parents (caught a youth pastor with a 17 year old girl in his trunk for personal use a few weeks back - the excuse was "love").

My wife had her fresh gingerroot confiscated last winter, but if plants are "in season" on both sides then that produce is OK IF there is no specific bug quarantines, such as apples. Recently no fresh beef. Packaged foods are generally OK.

A few cases of oil for personal consumption that evening aren't a problem.

 

[pscholte]

I'm not going to complain. While I would love to have the whole gamut of European oils available, between Advance Auto, Checker, Autozone, NAPA and Wal-Mart, we in the Springs have access to all the M1s from 0W20 to 15W50, some grades in the large containers, GC and the other variations of Syntec, many of the Mobil, Castrol, Pennzoil, Chevron, and Valvoline "synthetics," dinos and blends, and some of the diesel oils. The one diesel oil that I wish was available close by, but isn't, is Delvac 1.

 

[Patman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mystic:
If you guys who live in Canada live close enough to the USA, can you cross the border on a shopping trip and are you allowed to buy stuff in the USA? Or is there a big hassle at the border?

---

If you spend 48 hours across the border, you're allowed to buy about $300 or $400 worth of stuff and it's duty free. I believe alcohol is limited to one or two big bottles though, same with cigarettes, they are limited too.

I used to cross the border a lot in the past, when I was going down to the US to do a lot of drag racing with the f-body internet clubs. I always used to bring back tons of oil and filters back then, that's the only way I could get TriSynthetic M1 at first, since it didn't come here for about 6 months after it hit the US. It was also the only way I could stock up on Mobil 1 and Ultraguard Gold oil filters back then.

 

[userfriendly]

I used to go across into USA about 8X per year importing up to $30,000 per year in race parts. Since 9/11/01, I have not been back.
No use going where one is not wanted.

 

[mikemc]

I guess I've got it made. Here in east Ky. we have several Walmarts, Advance, Autozone, etc. that carry a decent variety of oil and filters. I buy Chevron Supreme for the wife's Cavalier and Motorcraft filters for my Ranger at Walmart and GTX 5w20 on sale at Advance for my Ranger. Interestingly, my Chevy dealer sells the AC cartridge oil filter for our Cavalier cheaper than a Fram at Walmart.

 

[Patman]

That's one thing I forgot to mention, is that if someone needs to buy a 5w20 oil up here, the selection is very limited. You can either go to the dealer and use their stuff, or you can get Pennzoil 5w20. That's it. You won't find any other 5w20 or 0w20 in the major stores up here. Pretty odd considering Honda made the switch to 5w20 back in 2001. (our 2000 Civic still calls for 5w30)

 

[JohnBrowning]

userfriendly get out of here!!! THe USA is one of the most visitor friendly spots you can go to. Trust me an American in Quebec is not a welcomed guest. Now in American in London or Tronto is not treated badly at all. It might just be where you are goinging.

To Canadas deffense I do not normaly include Quebec in a conversation about Canada. I treat Quebec like it is a soverign country full of wanabe Frenchmen! I have the same disrespect for California so please do take offense. My point is that location is very important as public opion varys greatly by geography even in the same country!

 

[Christopher R. Wise]

quote:

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Originally posted by Pablo:
I NEVER even see M1 15W-50 in stores.

---

Top shelf, fourth row over from left, at Wal-Mart

CRW

 

[Pablo]

Christopher - there, now? Wasn't there week before last when I was there on "the Guide" buying my green coolant.

Userfriendly - where are you coming from? Since the Canadian peso has made some strength Canadians are lining up like crazy at the Lynden crossing (on "the Guide" I might add). Canadians are welcome, I think you are just stirring.

 

[userfriendly]

No, all it takes is one bad experience at a border crossing to do it for me. 176Th St Blaine WA. (truck xing)
They stopped short of the body cavity search.
In the off topic section, there is reference to Canada being on the "second list" with France and Germany.
So, I don't go where I'm not wanted.
Real or imagined.

 

[medic]

Userfriendly, you obviously are going to the wrong places.

This is

but,

Locally, most of us have a bad view of Canadians because a ski resort town is about 6 miles away. Every winter (summers getting bad too) this town floods with Canadians & people from Ohio. These people are very rude and act like they are better than us. These people have very little cosideration for others or others property.

I just keep reminding myself that these are the Canadians that can afford to come down here and live 4 months out of the year. Chances are, the average Canadian "blue collar" working man is a decent guy just trying to make ends meet like me. The problem is that I am never exposed to anyone other that the Canadian snob.

 

[pscholte]

Well, since we are

...

I think the world is just becoming a ruder place in general. People don't want to talk to you; they don't want to know you; and they certainly don't want to share with you ("I got mine and don't you get near it" or "if you get yours, I won't GET MINE). I see it reflected in, "You ain't from around here are you," or "If you are outside my current circle of family or friends, then stay outside." Nobody wants to make eye contact; nobody wants to be bothered; nobody wants to expand their "human horizons." So don't blame just Canadians or just Australians or just Americans or...(I'll bring this up because they have taken hits in a couple of threads lately) I've travelled a lot on business and some of the nicest people I've met are Californians...