Extraordinary prices for mundane engine oil

[gbb]

Pricey stuff. I have not bought oil for many years, I did not realise oil had got that expensive, even that oil for higher power engines.

When @gbb posted £1.xx for 4 litres, that is the complete opposite end to your oil I guess.

I used to scoff at those ( along time ago) days when dealers started charging over £200 for a "service". Grrr. Then electric cars came out and they still said they need to service those cars annually. I think Tesla has the right attitude to servicing, they do not seem to get "over serviced".

Colleague has an XF Jaguar, it wasn't that expensive to buy, low mileage, lovely condition, very economical, 2015, around £16k. He loves it but....
Servicing is expensive. Cannister type fuel filter, £60. Oil, over £60, some things he will compromise on but not oil and he can't compromise on the filter, its a far more involved thing than just a paper filter, its all hooked up with the evap system now.

EV servicing I tend to think its more 'condition checking' than servicing. Safety checks, states of wear etc.

 

[DRM]

My last 2 cars and the van are checked, but have never needed topping up between services, the car is low mileage, but the van is high mileage, neither use a drop even though it's 25.000 mile/2 years service interval on the van

 

[Smokin Joe]

My old man was a mechanic. He always maintained the oil was the hardest working and most important component in an engine - and the cheapest.

Neglect it at your peril.

 

[Smokin Joe]

My car uses about a litre of oil every 1000 miles, typical of the model. I think it’s about £8 a litre, get deals on eBay

Not an Astra by any chance?

 

[vickster]

Not an Astra by any chance?

Skoda Fabia VrS

 

[gbb]

Not an Astra by any chance?

I said up post, I never had a car that was an oil burner...I had an astra H and J, neither burned oil despite the general feeling out there, they do.
Same with a BL car I had (can't remember which now) a renowned oil burner, yet mine never did.
Driving style ?...I don't push engines, rarely ever go over 3k RPM

 

[johnnyb47]

I always avoid the big branded oils and always opt for the cheaper ones.
I often buy my oil from places like Home Bargains where it's a hell of a lot cheaper.
On the back of the 5 litre bottles of oils I check though it's ACEA A5/B5 approved,and quite often on studying the back of the bottles you find the cheaper oil is just a rebranded name of a more expensive popular brand.
I change mine every 5000 miles using a Pela pump. It's as simple as putting the tube down the dipstick and then pump the oil out.The filter is located on the top of the engine so it's really easy to get to.No messing around underneath trying to get to the filter.
I've had the car for well over 10 year's now and is nearly 23 year's old and still going strong.
It's a big old lump with a big engine that takes around 8 litres of oil.
Last time I asked at a garage I was quoted around £130/140 for an oil change (I was curious) but I can do it myself for around £40/45.
The waste oil can be taken down to the local recycling centre for safe disposal

 

[figbat]

My old man was a mechanic. He always maintained the oil was the hardest working and most important component in an engine - and the cheapest.

Neglect it at your peril.

I have spent my whole career, currently just over 30 years, working in oil product development and technical support. I’ve worked on oils for ships’ engines, cars, motorbikes, trucks, engines and transmissions. Your dad was a wise man. The oil is what keeps most other parts working properly and yet there is a common approach to spend as little as possible on it.

A little tale… one job I did was to welcome customers to our technology centre, show them around and explain a bit about the development of engine oils. More than once I had the following experience. At the beginning of the tour I’d ask if anybody had any questions before we started. A hand goes up… “why is oil so expensive?”. I respond “OK, can you hold that question and we’ll come back to it later?”. The tour goes on, taking in the laboratories, bench testing and engine testing departments along with explanations of why we do what we do. At the end I ask again “any questions before we finish?” The same hand goes up… “how come oil is so cheap?”.

This is not a twee little tale, this genuinely happened to me more than once. Most people who visited us had no idea about what happens to get an oil developed and tested, nor even what goes into them and how complex it is.

 

[sevenfourate]

Driving style ?...I don't push engines, rarely ever go over 3k RPM

That’s not always a good thing; in terms of reducing bore glaze, burning of carbon deposits, piston rings staying clean / clear of a build up of debris etc etc

In fact some cars / engines are positively known to run better / need less maintenance if they have a ‘clear out’ / are taken to the redline / given an Italian tune 😎 now and again.

**Mk3 Mazda MX5 with its Ford derived Duratec would be one of those cars for example. One of the piston rings is more prone to gumming up unless ‘given a seeing too’ now and again to push the engine a little, burning / clearing off the deposits - which in turn helps the rings seal better. Meaning lower oil consumption and no tell-tale smoke……

 

[gbb]

That’s not always a good thing; in terms of reducing bore glaze, burning of carbon deposits, piston rings staying clean / clear of a build up of debris etc etc

In fact some cars / engines are positively known to run better / need less maintenance if they have a ‘clear out’ / are taken to the redline / given an Italian tune 😎 now and again.

**Mk3 Mazda MX5 with its Ford derived Duratec would be one of those cars for example. One of the piston rings is more prone to gumming up unless ‘given a seeing too’ now and again to push the engine a little, burning / clearing off the deposits - which in turn helps the rings seal better. Meaning lower oil consumption and no tell-tale smoke……

I long since realised much of the above is/could be a consequence of my driving style. The Skyactiv engines are high compression so deposits on pistons risk taking that compression ratio even higher, forcing more pressure into the crankcase, thus through into the pcv system and into the intake, thus increasing deposits around the valves.
I do give it a bit of welly now and then, not driving fast but rather holding gears to raise the RPMs or occasionally hold 5th instead of getting into 6th for maybe 10 miles. Whether this is enough......
You can become a slave to economy driving

 

[sevenfourate]

I long since realised much of the above is/could be a consequence of my driving style. The Skyactiv engines are high compression so deposits on pistons risk taking that compression ratio even higher, forcing more pressure into the crankcase, thus through into the pcv system and into the intake, thus increasing deposits around the valves.
I do give it a bit of welly now and then, not driving fast but rather holding gears to raise the RPMs or occasionally hold 5th instead of getting into 6th for maybe 10 miles. Whether this is enough......
You can become a slave to economy driving

Agreed ! It’s a balancing act 😎

Same pretty much here. I have a roundabout a few hundred yards from work - and the same heading home: luckily. Both on fairly major roads.

And when I get to those roudabout(s) - and the car is fully warm - a few times a week I’ll give it full beans off the roundabout and then also leave in the lower gear after - thus keeping revs high for an extended period.

The above because: I too have a car with an engine prone to the rings ‘gumming up’. Is what I do enough ? Who knows. But as yet it’s been completely trouble-free and hasn’t used a single drop of oil in the 35k since new. I’m definitely not doing enough high load / miles revs to hurt it; put it that way…….

 

[Electric_Andy]

I was in Asda the other day, i ventured past the DIY , motoring section, they're doing Carlube fully synthetic engine oil at the following prices (I may have them the wrong way round but bear enough)
5w30 for Ford, Land rover etc...4 ltr for £2,56
0 or 5w20 (can't remember which way round it was) 4 ltr for £1.34

I brought some anyway, not even for my car but Itd do for someone with an older car perhaps, just ridiculous prices.

I don't know if its an error, they're trying to clear the shelves or what. The /20 is an unusual grade and there was a lot of it, perhaps it was a stocking error.
Who knows but weird.

That's got to be a stocking error, or they're trying to clear the shelves.

When I had a motorbike I changed the oil frequently, and Asda 10w40 was about £15 for 5 litres, that was 4 years ago. better deals can be had on fleabay if you buy a 25 litre drum.

My POV is that it's better to use cheap oil and change regularly, than to use expensive oil and not chnage it enough

 

[sevenfourate]

My POV is that it's better to use cheap oil and change regularly, than to use expensive oil and not chnage it enough

^^^^Absolutely a valid POV that’s often carried out by various enthusiasts on numerous vehicle forums. And one I pretty much agree with.

I tend to use above average quality synthetic oils and change every 5k….

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I used to check oil levels decades ago but haven't done so for many years.

Never checked when I was doing 60k pa back in the late nineties (Saab/BMW/Merc) - no problems either.

I am though, diligent at clearing leaves out of those drainage holes near the wipers. 😁

 

[Smokin Joe]

I used to check oil levels decades ago but haven't done so for many years.

I still check mine regularly. It isn't just for the oil, but the other fluids too and a regular look under the bonnet can catch other issues such as small weeps before they become a problem.