Bulk oil - really?

[atomant48]

Just had the family car serviced at the OEM dealer. I accept it is likely to cost more than an independent, but that is by the by.

Today I questioned the cost of the oil - 6 litres at XX per litre. I can buy the same oil as a retail customer at about 1/3 of the cost, so I asked why. The answer was "our bulk oil tank has other additives put in, which help your engine, but push the cost up."

Is there any truth in this, or is it a very clever excuse?

 

[BrokenBiker]

sounds like a mechanics set list of excuses to me but i may be wrong...i do all my services myself now but on the odd occasion that i havent had time or cant be bothered i get my mechanic to do it, he tells me to buy the oil myself as it will be cheaper but thats only becasue i use cheap oil and the garage dont, he has never said it has extra goodness in it though and openly admits that its not worth the money for the stuff they use

 

[rikrobson]

They've used that excuse for ages. I got 6 litres of Mobil 1 off ebay for under £30

 

[Bear]

Complete nonsense. Its just main dealer prices and any reason they can think off to validate them. If the "additives" were needed or better for your car then the main oil suppliers would be using them in all there oils. You pay hiked up prices at main dealers because there technicians are "specially" trained to be "specalists" of that make of car. Nothing fancy its all the same nuts, bolts and fluids in every car.

My brother in law was recently quoted £847 to fix an issue with his relativley new car at the main dealer and its got sorted for £450 at and independant garage and they had to buy the part from the main dealer. So that should tell you something.

 

[Tiggy_dorset]

You would think, that they get it cheaper simply buying it in bulk/drums/barrels?

 

[BrokenBiker]

because there technicians are "specially" trained to be "specalists" of that make of car. .

all that says to me is they only work there because they know naff all except what they have been shown at their induction...would much rather use an established independent that will work on any make or model that somewhere that only deals with one make but i suppose that down to personal choice.

there was a place down here open up that did only did oil changes and filter changes (not air filters though), i took the megane there becasue i couldnt get the sump plug out and thought it better that they damaged it rather than me as then its their fault...all was going well until they told me they didnt have the right tool to take the sump plug out...an 8mm square socket...how can you survive as an oil change place without the tools to do an oil change? they didnt even have a ramp or lift so never went back...they only lasted 4 months and the place is empty again

 

[Shox Dr]

What do you expect when they think £2+ per ziptie is a good deal

 

[500e]

They are taking the proverbial you buy bulk for price breaks.
Always bought in bulk for our sites, the other thing is it cheap oil ? or quality product ? unless you have confidence it their integrity

 

[hotrodder]

Someone has to pay for the posh glass fronted building and the free coffee

They'll being peanuts per litre for the oil and lie when called out... one litre bottle of the Fuchs oil i use in the daily is around a fiver. As said, price per litre goes down as quantity goes up. With virtually everything from bog rolls to welding gases. I usually buy 20 litre drums which brings the price down to ~£3/litre and means i don't have go shopping as often (5 litre bottles works out at ~ £4/litre). Garages would buy 205 litre barrels and pay less than £2/litre if they aren't buying in even larger quantities

* Brakes is the other common one... claiming pads/discs are 50% worn (or whatever figure they pluck out of the air) regardless of their actual state as most sheep just bend over and pay

 

[ibrooks]

You would think, that they get it cheaper simply buying it in bulk/drums/barrels?

You can. I've done it a couple of times through Opie where I've ordered 100+ litres of oil for the Mini club members. We split the cost and get decent oil for less than we can get it individually. Only problem is that it arrives in 20l containers so the guys with just one car need to provide a 5l container to decant it into unless they want 4 years worth of oil in one hit (or they are changing it at silly small intervals).

I'd be asking the garage what the API or ACEA approval codes for their magic potion are and then questioning them when they aren't any better than the decent stuff you can buy for less elsewhere. I'd also be thinking hard about the phrase "our bulk tank" - how often is it cleaned out? how do they rotate the contents to make sure that the old stuff is used first? what measures are taken to ensure there's no condensation forming inside?

Can you tell I firmly believe they are trying it on?

 

[AndyStobbs]

Why should the dealer / garage pass the saving on?
We/they have tied up £100's in oil, and until its sold, that money isn't coming back.

You need to quote what the dealer actually charged for this discussion to be worthwhile. I charge 5w/30 fully synth low ash (c3 grade) out at £4.50/litre plus vat.

Oh and unless its itemized separately it might include a disposal charge per litre for your old oil.

 

[cumbriasteve]

We used to get the chancers asking how much a service was and then asking how much if they fetch their own filters and oil, our answer was 'the same price'.

One guy, who we must have been too dear for, returned a week later with a very nice rattling sound, the result of a badly fitted filter and his oil covering the road a few miles away.

I now get my own car serviced and expect the garage to make a profit on everything they supply, same as I used to on my wire, gas and steel, what I can control is how much profit they make, hence why I go to a good independent rather than the main dealer and save 40%.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i agree that they need to make money, but making up excuses saying there is extra chooch in the oil is just crap...if someone tells me that something costs x because thats the price of materials, labour and disposal in the case of an oil change then fair enough, but when they start saying its got more goodness in it and all that crap them im out of there like crap through a goose...

my independent is happy to let people bring their own oil in and charge less for it, but its generally only the people that know the mechanics that do this and as such we all go back when we need to rather than shopping around for a better price...

a girl in work topped her brake fluid up with water the other day, i told her how much of a mistake that was and she started to panic so i rang my guy, he came to work and collected the car the next day, did a full drain and replace of the fluid for £35 including fluid and returned the car before the end of the shift on a saturday... now she has booked her car in for an mot, a service and 4 tyres with him, he will make money off the oil, the labour and the tyres all becasue the main dealer wanted £250 plus vat to do the same job...

 

[Robotstar5]

* Brakes is the other common one... claiming pads/discs are 50% worn (or whatever figure they pluck out of the air) regardless of their actual state as most sheep just bend over and pay

Or tyres, Mrs Robo has a 3 year service package on her Peugeot so has to be serviced at main dealers. I've attached a copy of this years report on the tyres, designed to frighten people and sell them stuff they don't need.

She came home worried about needing new tyres 'til I had a look and measured the tread depth which was fine. Took the car to a local independent tyre specialist to get the nail in tread sorted and they measured the treads and couldn't believe what the dealer had put, particularly the comment about Toyo being a budget brand.
It does make you wonder how many are taken in by "100% worn" and "178% increase in stopping distance" comments and immediately buy new tyres at dealer prices?

 

[CompoSimmonite]

there was a place down here open up that did only did oil changes and filter changes (not air filters though), i took the megane there becasue i couldnt get the sump plug out and thought it better that they damaged it rather than me as then its their fault...all was going well until they told me they didnt have the right tool to take the sump plug out...an 8mm square socket...how can you survive as an oil change place without the tools to do an oil change? they didnt even have a ramp or lift so never went back...they only lasted 4 months and the place is empty again

My Smart hadn't even a sump plug (has now as changed the sump, which was rusting badly, for an aftermarket item). The oil was previously changed by sucking out and with advent of underbody trays I wouldn't be surprised if a lot a garages drain oil in the same way on all types of vehicles. When recently changing the sump I sucked the oil out first and was pleasantly surprised to find it left less than an eggcup full of oil behind - I expected a lot more.

 

[BrokenBiker]

My Smart hadn't even a sump plug (has now as changed the sump, which was rusting badly, for an aftermarket item). The oil was previously changed by sucking out and with advent of underbody trays I wouldn't be surprised if a lot a garages drain oil in the same way on all types of vehicles. When recently changing the sump I sucked the oil out first and was pleasantly surprised to find it left less than an eggcup full of oil behind - I expected a lot more.

i got fed up of taking the underbody tray off the megane so i put a 35mm hole in it where the sump plug is...few weeks later i took it off and left it off

 

[rikrobson]

.few weeks later i took it off and left it off

every day a little bit less french

 

[colnerov]

i got fed up of taking the underbody tray off the megane so i put a 35mm hole in it where the sump plug is...few weeks later i took it off and left it off

Aah that now means the MOT man can find lots more things to fail the car on that couldn't be seen and were only advisories as couldn't be checked. Plus more noise, more drag so more fuel used.

 

[Robotstar5]

i got fed up of taking the underbody tray off the megane so i put a 35mm hole in it where the sump plug is...few weeks later i took it off and left it off

I did similar with the Freelander and found a blind grommet at work to plug the hole.

 

[cliff366]

Lmol our oil has extras put in!!! That's a yarn if I've ever herd one yes they need to make money but stealer prices for work is shocking why I will never buy a new car as they have you by the balls due to warrantys it gives them a licence to print money same as vets since this pet insurance came about there prices seem to go higher and higher from one day to the next