We all say that petrol is far too expensive at £3.50 a gallon. However we know that around £2.70 of this is tax.
Why then does un-taxed {save VAT?} engine oil cost £5 to £12 for a gallon?
What is the difference between supermarket oil {my local ASDA was selling a gallon for £2.99 recently} and branded oil at around £12.00?
I hear that garages will charge over £20.00 for engine oil {plus labour} when servicing.
Why are people prepared to pay so much?
I do my own oil changes with £3.00 oil. 300,000+ miles on my 1990 Montego and no problems yet.
Regards
Paul Whitehead.
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Paul
Your £3 can of oil might well be OK - but how often do you change it?
The oils we use in our workshops is of a specification deemed suitable by the manufacturer and our customers demand it.
No, offence, but your Montego (an under-rated car, BTW) is using 1980's technology. Much has happened since, what with multivalve engines, hydraulic tappets and tighter clearances all round.
Oils are now expected to last 15000 miles between changes nowadays.
We charge a 5L fill of 10W/40 semi-synthetic engine oil out at £16.88+ VAT and in the 9 years or so we have been doing this, we have had NO complaints.
I am aware of other dealers not too distant to us charging out at £25ish+VAT
In fact, many customesr return to us to purchase a top up pack of oil, very keen to use the SAME oil as we use.
Kind regards
David
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I don't know if this will be classed as affecting the impartiality of the site, but I would be very content to take my car to any of the regular contributors who are in the trade. Trouble is, I've no idea where you all are, i.e. whether it's worth trying to find you.
Any chance you could all let us know roughly where you all are so we can decide whether to look you up?
Back on the thread, as far as I can see, dirt cheap oil requires more oil changes if it's to keep in grade, equals oil that is no longer cheap.
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It should be remembered that the "trade" has to expend a lot of money on collecting and disposing of used oils and the legislation regarding health & safety etc is fairly formidible. The equipment reqired, to drain, handle & store used oil, does not come cheap and, despite some of the public's assumptions that the waste oil "goes down the drain" a financial return on this investment in equipment and labour, has to be made
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I would expect to pay £20 to a garage for the reasons expressed above. Although I think we are being ripped off with the price of oil generally, I do recognise the different quality of oils and would never use a cheap brand, even changing it every 3000 miles or 3 months (which makes it expensive anyway).
I change the oil myself, using Mobil 1, and justify the cost (£35) by thinking of the labour charges I am saving. Hopefully it will pay dividends in the long run. A peek inside the cam cover, through the oil filler hole, is encouraging. At 40,000 miles and 6 years, it is spotlessly clean and shiny. No black stains, just bright metal.
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Hi Vin,
I live in Somerset (Cider Country - ask my brother!), not far from Taunton. I work in Tiverton, in Devon. Check out our website at www.richardsons-group.com. I am situated at the MG Rover site, although no photos of me yet!
I look foward to taking your on-line service booking!
Loads of holidaymakers around at the moment. Means that half-hour trip to a customer's home address can take twice as long due to sheer volume of holiday traffic!
JD is right, there is a lot more than just the new oil - there is the disposal of the old oil, coolant, brake fluid and filters to consider. It is not cheap at all.
We do not make any money on this 'Environmental Charge', I just pass it on to my customers at the nett cost. This is usually about 80p per service.
I seem to recall a letter to the Torygraph Motoring supplement some time ago with reference to this subject
I remember the days when we were paid for our 300 gallons of used engine oil.
It used to make the Christmas party much more fun.........(more beer & not loose women, before any of you speculate)
Rgds
David
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David,
So, will you do a free collect and deliver service on my Omega in Southampton?
Vin
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I am sure that David Lacey and co are not rip off merchants but someone is. I suggest that most Mobil 1 comes from one source but the price at which it is sold varies enormously. I used to buy it in germany for under $3 a litre; it is £7 here isn't it? How is that difference explained or justified?
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Vin,
Hmmm methinks that could be difficult!
Rgds
David
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£25 (ish) for 4 litres in my local Costco. Is this the cheapest ?
Martin
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My local Halfords are quite competitive for Mobil1 at present 28.89 for 4 litres & if you spend over 50-00 pounds they discounts by 10-00, thus 8 litres cost me 47-79.
Incidentally, the ten pound discount applies to any of their oils for sale.
Simon
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IMHO, Mobil 1 is a very extravagant, overpriced engine oil.
It should be used in high performance, highly stressed turbocharged multivalve engines, I agree.
But, to use it in 'mainsteam' cars is over the top.
Just my views!
David
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it's not the lubrication qualities that attract me to mobil 1, it's the way it keeps the engine so clean. Whether it's because it is a synthetic oil and any synthetic oil would do the same job I don't know. Every other oil i've used over the past 25 years has been jet black at oil change time and inside the rocker box or cam cover has always been coated with a translucent brown/black coating (varnish/lacquer, i guess) Not so with mobil 1, just bright shiny metal. Whether the engine lasts any longer remains to be seen.
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If the engine looks like that inside there's only one answer - change the oil more frequently. Clean oil of any type put into an engine like that will just pull the muck of the internals straight away, and be due for a change long before the normal interval.
I've found engines stay perfectly clean using semi-synthetics provided it's changed regularly. It certainly takes 2 or 3 thousand miles for the oil to pick up any significant colour. And, given the price of Mobil 1, I think it's go to be a pretty special or hard worked engine to justify the expense - and you can change the oil twice using a decent oil for the price of one change of Mobil 1.
Regards
John
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its a good point John. I used to use semi-synthetic (QXR) but it was still jet black at oil change time. I could have changed it more frequently but then the economics start to change. Are 2 cans of semi-synth and 2 oil filters very much less than 1 can of mobil1 and 1 oil filter?
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