What is the cheapest oil available for purchase?

[Astro14]

If you do your own oil changes, then you are completely compliant with their policy, and I know at least a couple of car enthusiasts who live in Connecticut and do take advantage of this policy. It doesn’t make sense for me, with the shipping, and I probably buy several thousand dollars worth of parts from FCP Euro every year, they’re a good company and I recommend them.

I would consider doing your own oil changes

 

[Tdbo]

In summer I'll do my oil changes myself and recover my own used oil, so I won't need all these gymnastics, and the jug of new oil will cost me just the drive and the hassle.

This is really the only way that your scenario makes any sense.
Going out and buying new oil does not make any sense.
It is a waste of new oil and your cash.
Either keep your own used oil, whether it is out of your vehicles, OPE, or whatever and make the swap.
Get yourself a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, and dump it in that.
I've done that for years, except I take that to Tractor Supply to dump.
If that is not enough, get some from a garage, or ask family/friends who do their own OC's to save it for you. Provide them with appropriate bucketry to do so.
I don't see what you are doing as being fraudulent (however I can see how your initial explanation could lead one to draw that conclusion.)
I'm still not sure that it is worth doing, especially in looking at some of the scenarios that you proposed.
However the only way that it really make sense is with true, used oil.

 

[Patman]

If you’re ok with doing your own oil changes in the warmer weather then why not just time your oil changes accordingly? Do an oil change right before the cold weather hits and then ride that out until the weather gets warmer. I’m pretty sure that’s what a good portion of the members here do. Not many of us want to be doing oil changes in extreme cold or when the roads are snow and salt covered.

 

[scrllock]

The lifetime replacement guarantee isn't really meant to be used by a shop. It's for DIYer as a perk. That's part of why shop's wholesaler accounts with FCP don't get to take advantage of it.

 

[goblin]

If you’re ok with doing your own oil changes in the warmer weather then why not just time your oil changes accordingly?

Because I'm due for oil changes now, for oil I poured in a few months ago. It just stacked so that I'm due a change on two cars - both currently running oil that I bought under that program.

The lifetime replacement guarantee isn't really meant to be used by a shop. It's for DIYer as a perk. That's part of why shop's wholesaler accounts with FCP don't get to take advantage of it.

I'm not a shop. In winter I pay my local oil change shop to do my oil changes with oil and filter that I provide - they have a flat fee for that.

I would also pay them a few extra bucks to drain my oil in my container rather than in theirs, which has worked before. But now, they are getting picky and won't accept to drain it in my container, unless I find the right guy on shift that's willing to do it. Which is a hassle.

 

[fdcg27]

Unless you're doing some heroic mileage, a fall and spring change schedule should work for you.
While Motul might not be the jug of gold some make it out to be, I'm pretty sure that it would be adequate for whatever miles you run in six months time.

 

[widman]

I was talking to a friend who owned the Suzuki/Chevrolet dealership. He showed me a two-year old Suzuki that the owner brought in with a seized engine. He asked the owner of the car why he never brought it in for service or oil changes, and the owner said that he charged too much. That he went to a place (familiar to us) where the oil was only $1.10 a liter, while the dealer charged almost $10.

My friend and I knew that the place he frequented poured old/used oil through a cheese cloth and then resold it. He also cleaned the outside of filters if they were salvagable to re-sell them

Of course the warranty claim was denied.

 

[goblin]

Unless you're doing some heroic mileage, a fall and spring change schedule should work for you.
While Motul might not be the jug of gold some make it out to be, I'm pretty sure that it would be adequate for whatever miles you run in six months time.

7k on the Kia since September, last oil change was at 1700 miles. Change time in my book.

I was talking to a friend who owned the Suzuki/Chevrolet dealership. He showed me a two-year old Suzuki that the owner brought in with a seized engine. He asked the owner of the car why he never brought it in for service or oil changes, and the owner said that he charged too much. That he went to a place (familiar to us) where the oil was only $1.10 a liter, while the dealer charged almost $10.

My friend and I knew that the place he frequented poured old/used oil through a cheese cloth and then resold it. He also cleaned the outside of filters if they were salvagable to re-sell them

Of course the warranty claim was denied.

Whew. I thought this only existed in The Mask movie. I surely hope whatever fcp does with the oil and filters they get back under their program - it's not that

 

[Zaedock]

@goblin PM sent!

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Cheapest oil available for purchase is usually soybean oil. After that, probably corn

 

[Insertcoolname]

i got formula shell 5 qts for $9 once years ago

i used to love the $11 chevron supreme

 

[Big O Dave]

Not a joke. Legitimate question. There's a reason for my madness.

- Oil will never be used in an engine.
- Preferably - available in 5qt and 1qt. Larger containers might work, but no more than 5gal preferably.
- All it has to do is - look like used oil of any standard 4stroke viscosity.

You might have guessed it - there's a certain store I love to work with, where you can return the used (let's put that in bold for those who know to write but avoid reading ) oil you bought from them and get credit for the next purchase.
Sweet deal, but I hit the following bump:

- Most of the time I prefer to have my oil changed at my local oil place. They do a good job and it works for me.
- In the best of scenarios, the kids that work there will recover my used oil in a container I'd give them, then I'll drive home, pour it back in the original container and return it to the store. However, there's always a randomness to it - I have to hit the right day to get the right kid that would agree to do it. Plus, even when they do it, I'd feel bad if I don't give them an extra 10 bucks for their trouble.
- So for the half year when I don't do my oil changes myself - it still costs me a few bucks and some trouble to recover my used oil back.

So it would be much less trouble for me if I could find the cheapest of the cheapest oil around a similar price, buy it, and just return that back. Would save me the trouble of negociating, pouring used oil from the recovery container, clean it, etc.

I'll probably still go down the rabbit hole of figuring out how to make it look used, but that's for another day.

Ideas ?
Thanks

Realistically, if you are on BITOG, and you title a new thread…

“What is the cheapest oil available for purchase?”​

…what are you expecting BITOG members to be predisposed to think and to expect in your new thread?

 

[goblin]

Realistically, if you are on BITOG, and you title a new thread…

“What is the cheapest oil available for purchase?”​

…what are you expecting BITOG members to be predisposed to think and to expect in your new thread?

Dunno - people to read the post, like I do for theirs, rather than light me up with whatever projection crosses their mind?

Plus the title was edited later per forum rules. It was more tongue in cheek in the beginning.

 

[OM617YOTA]

Dunno - people to read the post, like I do for theirs, rather than light me up with whatever projection crosses their mind?

Plus the title was edited later per forum rules. It was more tongue in cheek in the beginning.

This is a really weird forum. I have seriously never come across a forum where people are more intent on misconstruing what someone says and then blasting them for what they intentionally misconstrued.

 

[tired]

I have seriously never come across a forum where people are more intent on misconstruing what someone says and then blasting them for what they intentionally misconstrued.

Yes, it's an interesting place. People love being offended here, even when they have to twist your words and completely go out of their way to misunderstand you.

Many a strawmen are bludgeoned to death here.

 

[goblin]

Humanity has a joke for that too

Guy goes looking for a job at the Writers' guild.

- What is your craft, Sir?
- I'm a writer.
- Great, we always need more writers, please read this text for us.
- Can't do. I can't read. Never learned.
- ?!?
- I'm a writer. Not a reader.

 

[Big O Dave]

All I’m saying is that looking for the cheapest oil recommendation at BITOG is a triggering event. People take trying to find the best oil very seriously around here.

 

[goblin]

...triggering event...

I know that the notion of triggering event has started as something useful and positive, but it has been so much sullied in the recent past that I'd tend to ignore it in a no BS, technologically oriented forum such as BITOG precisely.

I don't allow myself to get triggered without having all the information - no reason I see why I should be ok with others getting triggered by a simple title (which, again, is not mine - it was changed to this after referring to the forum's moderators).

That the oil I'm asking about would never be used in an engine is stated on line THREE of my initial post.

If someone couldn't get to read till that line before getting triggered - well, "I empathize" as Elizabeth Banks once said on Jimmy Kimmel.

 

[Plumb Bob]

Heck of a thread.

 

[goblin]

Heck of a thread.

Ditto. It snowballed in a life of its own. Never did I ever

I got the help I needed, thanks for which, to everyone who helped.