Whats a viable option for M1 0w40?

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My daughter has a 2000 MB ML320, which they purchased used with 60k on it. Mobil 1 0w40 is the preferred oil of choice and thats what it got last oil change ( that I paid for). Well it's been 10k miles and it's time for an oil change, that they can't afford and frankly I don't want to fork out the 7-8 bucks a quart for an eight and a half quart sump. I would think a HDEO 5w40 would work? Oil is going to be run 1 year or 10k, mostly city driving.

Thoughts and reccomendations please.
 
I don't see why Rotella T6 5w40 wouldn't work for your application. Easy to find, great used oil analysis in beat'em up applications (turbo gas, turbo diesel.)
 
Except that T6 isn't that much cheaper than M1 0w-40. As a matter of fact, M1 0w-40 can be found on sale often times for about $5/qt which makes it even cheaper than T6.

Are you really that strapped for cash that you can't justify spending $60 for engine oil per year? If you buy HDEO 5w-40, it's going to cost you about $45. So, $15/year savings so that you can use non-MB approved oil? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
 
Just a suggestion.

Valvoline SynPower, 5w-40, European Blend, for MB, Porsche, VW etc... is on sale at Advance Auto Parts this month, along with a Bosch Distance Plus Filter for $30.99 before rebates of $7 and $5 for Valvoline and Bosch, respectively.

For some reason Advance does not have the 5w-40 SynPower, full synthetic, European Blend in stock.

So....you could try what I did....I brought the Flyer from Advance to Walmart for a price match on the Advance special.

Some Walmarts, carry this oil, not all, and they now carry the Bosch D+ filter. Walmart honored the special.....which after Rebates from Valvoline and Bosch....works out to $18.99 for 5 quarts and a great oil filter.

Napa auto parts also has the Valvoline 5w-40 oil on sale for $5.69 a quart and has a Valvoline rebate for $1 a quart up to 12 quarts for synthetic and all blends or Valvoline. So after rebate...each quart is $4.69.

You could get 5 quarts and the D+ filter from WM and another 12 quarts from NAPA auto parts.

I'm sure that your daughter and her husband, or partner, could skip a few Starbucks coffee's and pick up these deals.
 
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Except that T6 isn't that much cheaper than M1 0w-40. As a matter of fact, M1 0w-40 can be found on sale often times for about $5/qt which makes it even cheaper than T6.

Are you really that strapped for cash that you can't justify spending $60 for engine oil per year? If you buy HDEO 5w-40, it's going to cost you about $45. So, $15/year savings so that you can use non-MB approved oil? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.





Sort of what was getting me too.... She's driving a Mercedes but cannot afford to spend $60.00 on an oil change????
 
I don't know how T6 will hold up in this particular engine for a year or 10K, it may or may not. I would stick with the Mobil 1 0w40, it's well proven in this engine.
If this thing has any sort of lube failure its going to be a heck of a lot more money than an oil change.
 
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Originally Posted By: mongo161
Just a suggestion.

Valvoline SynPower, 5w-40, European Blend, for MB, Porsche, VW etc...

The Synpower 5w-40 sold at retail is a mid-SAPs product, which means it may have a tough time lasting 10K miles in service due to the fact that our gasoline isn't ultra low sulfur.
 
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
Castrol 0w-30 has MB 229.50 approval and Valvoline HST 5w-40 does as well. .

Like others have said. Wait for sale.


Option # 2 (and i`m not trying to be smart) Sell the MB,and buy something they can afford to maintain.I know first hand how much it costs to maintain these cars, (have had many over the years) you can not take short cuts with these cars. It will come back and bite you real bad.
 
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Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
Castrol 0w-30 has MB 229.50 approval and Valvoline HST 5w-40 does as well. .

Like others have said. Wait for sale.


Option # 2 (and i`m not trying to be smart) Sell the MB,and buy something they can afford to maintain.I know first hand how much it costs to maintain these cars, (have had many over the years) you can not take short cuts with these cars. It will come back and bite you real bad.


Well said, if you (they) can't afford a $60 oil change once a year its time to sell the Benz and go wtih a Honda!
 
Mobil 1 0W-40 vs. T6. I had the pleasure of pouring both last year into my snowblower when leaving the choke partially on caused me to have to do an emergency oil change. It was about 20 degrees out and the T6 was very, very thick compared to M1 0W-40. Because of this I am going thinner this winter with german castrol.
 
Over the past year I've become bewildered by the increasing price of engine oil. I've also started to pay much closer attention to the rebates and promotions board on this site. It's become very worthwhile to look for oil on sale, and stock up. Back when the oil I needed was $1.39 every day, I didn't care. Now that the 0w-40 I need is normally $8.79, yeah, I look for it at around $5.

I noticed recently that my Fred Meyer had 0w-40 at $7 with a rebate for $15 back on 5 quarts. That makes it $4 a quart! Anyway, that's what I look for now.
 
I wouldnt screw around and try anything defferent. An oil change is cheaper then a new engine and the labor to put it in a Mercedes. Dont be cheap when it comes to maintanance on a good quality car. Otherwise go buy a saturn for 14.00 you can do a supertech oil change with the filter.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Except that T6 isn't that much cheaper than M1 0w-40. As a matter of fact, M1 0w-40 can be found on sale often times for about $5/qt which makes it even cheaper than T6.



I don't know where you're buying T6, but I've rarely paid over $25/gallon for it. And that's not even at MallWart, they have it for that at Pep Boys. I'd also love to know where you've found M1 0w40 so cheap- its the one M1 that a) never shows up in jugs, and b) never goes on sale around here.
frown.gif


To the OP's question: I agree that T6 5w40 would be my next choice to M1 0w40. If you can still find the real "German Castol" 0w30, that would be a good pick too. After that, any good 0w30 should realistically be OK, provided this engine isn't getting a lot of heavy loading and high-speed driving

As to the general question of oil costing too much... well, yes the prices have shot up a couple bucks a quart over the past year. But then its still such a TEENY TINY part of the total cost of owning a vehicle that I would never scrimp on it. You can buy a LOT of $8/quart oil for the cost of one engine rebuild.
 
Originally Posted By: racin4ds

Well said, if you (they) can't afford a $60 oil change once a year its time to sell the Benz and go wtih a Honda!


Funny thing is, in the used market a 2001 ML320 runs about the same as a CV-R. No, I'm not kidding.

That said, with a 10K OCI and an engine that will require super expensive repair, I'd only use an oil that meets the specifications. When you look at the additional cost of the M1 0W40 over the 1 year OCI, this really is a no-brainer. Just use the M1, or Castrol's 0W30 if it meets the specs.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I don't know where you're buying T6, but I've rarely paid over $25/gallon for it. And that's not even at MallWart, they have it for that at Pep Boys. I'd also love to know where you've found M1 0w40 so cheap- its the one M1 that a) never shows up in jugs, and b) never goes on sale around here.
frown.gif


T6 is about $21.50 at my local Walmart, so that's $5.37 per quart.
I bought M1 0w-40 when O'Reilly had it on sale for $5/qt. They have that sale here a couple of times a year. Other retailers sometimes do to - just keep monitoring our Product Rebates subforum. You should be able to find something.

Quote:

As to the general question of oil costing too much... well, yes the prices have shot up a couple bucks a quart over the past year. But then its still such a TEENY TINY part of the total cost of owning a vehicle that I would never scrimp on it. You can buy a LOT of $8/quart oil for the cost of one engine rebuild.

Agreed.
 
I didn't need the why does she drive a Mercedes if she can't afford it, things are things and theres no need for delving into the fine logistics of my daughters financial status..


I can get M1 0w40 at WM for 6.xx a quart so I'll take your advice and stick with what MB wants...
 
When it comes to a heavy 30wt, light 40wt oil there isn't a better value in the States to M1 0W-40. This past summer I did some cross border shopping and picked a few cases of the stuff at AZ for $29.99/5qts & M1 filter.

Aside from it's great value, it's also one of the best oils available at any price, so if you do manage to find something marginally cheaper you WILL be making some lubrication compromises in using it.
 
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