Premium Conventional vs. Dealer Bulk

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

camrydriver111

Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
2,123
Location
Canada
How big of an upgrade is premium conventional oil versus dealer or quick lube bulk oil?

I've heard the stories about quick lube places using inferior bulk oil that does not meet proper spec or additives, but is this really common practice?

Finally can I extend my OCIs if I use premium conventional from shaken jugs and with foil under the cap instead of dealer or quick-lube bulk?
 
Take a look at your shop. Does it look like it is a pos?

All quick lube places or dealers are not bad.
Do you think they are really getting saving by using non specced oil?

At worse it will be some thing like they put 5w30 in everything.
You can usually bring your own oil if you want them to do labor only. But the paraboid will saythey just steal the oil (for what logical end? It doesnt make sense to me)

Comes back to the same point why are you going to such a bad sbop to begin with


Its the same as fast food. You can read about l how disgusting one run down store was and had an outbreak of e coli. But many or fine to eat at.
 
Last edited:
There's a place near me that uses parts master filters and QSAD do NOTHING all quick lubes are bad. Some dealerships near me use VWB, MaxLife also
 
It's easy for bulk oil to get contaminated especially when everyone is in a hurry and it's not their vehicles that get this oil. But don't worry. The damage it might do probably won't show up right away.
 
i know according to my oil distributor some shops want the cheapest of the cheap. He said most of the time they want as he calls it something in between which is what we use here in my engine shop... The something in between they refer to is usually Conoco, Gulf and Petro Canada all very good oils in my book. The premium oils he sells are mobil 1 and castrol which is not what i prefer. When we do an engine that requires synthetic we buy jugs as needed we always have at least 15-25 jugs on the shelf. As for the syn we use it's usually QSUD or Napa syn which is Valvoline.
 
Gulfpride AFE 5w30 and Gulftech FS 5w20 have treated us and our customer's vehicles very well. In fact, when we see a vehicle that comes in for engine noises or internal engine failure, very rarely is it a vehicle that is serviced with us.
 
DIY. Quickee shops suck. Even "junky" SuperTech or NAPA oil is good oil and it's inexpensive.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Last edited:
Quick Lane at the Ford dealer for an oil change. I take my 2005 Matrix there. Ford dealers can vary so do a little due diligence first.
 
You could just ask them what kind of bulk oil they use. Both Valvoline and SOPUS have said they don't make a special blend for bulk oil. Valvoline said their bulk conventional is the normal premium conventional on the shelf. Pennzoil said theirs is the normal yellow bottle.
 
I was at my dealer when their oil was delivered. IT was Valvoline conventional and Valvoline Synpower and it was in 55 gallon drums.
No need to worry there.
 
I've seen shops have "bulk" oil in 200 gallon tanks, but their premium oils are in 55-gal drums. Firestone is set up this way.
 
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
You could just ask them what kind of bulk oil they use. Both Valvoline and SOPUS have said they don't make a special blend for bulk oil. Valvoline said their bulk conventional is the normal premium conventional on the shelf. Pennzoil said theirs is the normal yellow bottle.


Yep, I always do a quick recon before I would take my car some place.

Ask them their prices, what oil they use, and see how professional the staff look.

The place I mostly go to, if I don't do it myself because I was working two jobs and my wife would drop the car off, used Valvoline DuraBlend semi-synthetic as their bulk fill. No problems with that oil. I would never send my wife to a place I haven't personally check out first. I expect her to be treated well, and don't mind paying a bit more for the right place.
 
Usually there's no problem with bulk oil at the oil change shop. It's often Warren and the same stuff in Super Tech and Peak bottles.

Bad business practices are the thing you need to watch out for at any service center. Sloppy careless work and cheap jobber filters would be my biggest concerns.

PYB has a stronger additive package than Warren supplied Peak. That gives it a little greater margin of error if you develop some problem like a fouled air filter or other contamination. I wouldn't extrapolate that into running it for EP synthetic OCI's.
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
The something in between they refer to is usually Conoco, Gulf and Petro Canada all very good oils in my book.


If I buy a jug of PYB or M1 Super 5000 am I getting a better product? If so how much better?

One of the posters also brings up an interesting question of contamination.
 
I think most bulk oils will get you 200K+ miles with no problem. However, I know the owner of a local service station real well and I was in their shop shooting the breeze with him when I caught him putting bulk oil in a vehicle where the customer had specified PYB.
Now both oils were good oils, but sometimes the temptation to cut pennies obviously can be great.
In my book, just another reason to avoid the quickie lubes all together.
 
I've found that most shops use a name brand oil like Valvoline, Pennzoil, QS, etc.

I wouldn't have a problem getting an change at a Valvoline Instant change shop or the like if i had too. The main problem is the Cost. A synthetic change at Valvoline instant change is like $95 for a 6qt change with a filter.

I've found the quality of work to be decent overall. And you do certainly Get a quality product. The issue is i can do it for half the price in my driveway and use a better filter than a valvoline VO.

Most small repair shops in my area use House brand oil from carquest or Orielly as conventional as they stock it by the quart.

My uncle runs a lucrative small business and he uses House brand conventional for those who are budget minded or had engine repairs done that warrant a quick change within the next few hundred miles (head gasket changes etc).

He uses Ford motorcraft for normal services and he also Stocks Amsoil OE and XL for those that require/want an API Full synthetic. It works well for him.

Most people either want the Cheap house brand, or they want Amsoil. The MC is mostly used by guys with F150's that he services regularly. Fords keep him in business. I think he has 3-4 f150's a day that need COP's changed
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
Classic vs Modern Engine Break-In
Replies
9
Views
479
vpr5703
J
GM dealer filled oil with conventional 5W30 vs synthetic, should i worry?
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
12K
GARYT28221
celicaxx
2012 Hyundai Accent Blown Engine, under 100K miles, on 3K Jiffy Lube conventional changes.
3 4 5
Replies
86
Views
13K
csandste
wwillson
  • Locked
Pennzoil - Drain Intervals Q&A - Answers
Replies
4
Views
17K
Silver
OVERKILL
HOBS base oils and implicit/inherent FM
Replies
7
Views
4K
bruce381
Back
Top