Jaguar Oil Change

Reddwarf · Feb 28, 2007

Please forgive me for asking a newbie question. I’ve searched the forum and read a number of threads but have not been successful at fully researching my question.

I bought a used 2003 Jaguar S Type V8. The manual says to use synthetic oil and change every 10,000 miles or 12 months.

I took the car to a mechanic shop (not a dealer) that works on Jaguar, Land Rover, and other British cars. They recommend I use regular oil and change every 3,000 miles. Or, if I insist on synthetic then change it every 5,000 miles.

I used the manual’s advice and said I wanted synthetic. They put in Castrol Syntec 10-30 and changed me $125.00! The charge for the oil was $67.50 (6 quarts).

At these prices I think I’ll start changing my own oil. But, what oil to use? Synthetic or no? Change 10,000 miles or less?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Bob Woods · Feb 28, 2007

11 bucks a qt is steep upcharge, I would find another place to have the service done. Shop around and find mobil one for less per qt and do the work yourself.

Bob Woods · Feb 28, 2007

And also you should be able to get 10k between oil changes, if it starts using oil or the oil gets so dirty you can't stand it, try Motorcraft blend and change it more often.

FD777 · Feb 28, 2007

Of course it's best to do your own work, but...
Some luxury and exotic cars are a PITA to work on. (No idea what its like to change oil on a Jag.)

Find a place that's "ok" with you bringing in your own oil. Castrol Syntec shouldn't cost more than $7/qt.

JustinH · Feb 28, 2007

Castrol Syntec is about a 4-5 dollar a quart oil at walmart the last time I checked.

So there's 30 bucks in oil.

Oil filter is 10-15 bucks at the very most.

Looks like they charged you an hour labor to change the oil.

I'd learn to do it yourself at rates like that.

FD777 · Feb 28, 2007

Just to clarify, $7/qt is the MOST you should pay for Syntec. (Or any typical over-the-counter synthetic.)

Definitely do some shopping and you'll find better prices. Excluding sales and rebates - Walmart generally has the best prices here.

Merkava_4 · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

The manual says to use synthetic oil and change every 10,000 miles or 12 months.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE MANUAL.

3000 mile oil changes on dino or 5000 on full synthetic.

The dealer ripped you off big time on the Syntec.

Winston · Feb 28, 2007

Merkava, you are crazy!

BTW it was not a dealer that he went to.

ReddWarf,

This is the age old question. However, 3k OCI's are a Jiffy lube marketing gimmick. In reality, OCI requirements vary based on the particular engine. In addition, some oils last longer than others. Amsoil makes extremel long lasting oil (up to 35k miles) Mobil 1 EP is also rated to last very long (15k miles). Other synthetics dont advertise that they last longer, just that they protect better.

All in all 10k OCI's with synthetic are not that outrageous. Good luck on finding a more reasonable mechanic. Even the dealer would probably not charge that much.

hominid7 · Feb 28, 2007

Congrats on the new ride!

As far as your oil of choice and your oil change interval, there is no one size fits all formula. It depends on how, where, how often you drive your car, how many miles per year you put on it, and how long you plan to keep it.

I drive a LOT of short (less than 2 mile) trips, and put about 1200 miles a month on my car. Due to the multiple short trips i choose to change my oil at least every 3000 miles.

If you drive in optimal conditions and mostly highway miles at moderate speeds in relatively flat terrain, you may get away with 10,000 mile oil change intervals. However most of us dont drive in conditions like that. I would think a 5000 mile interval with a decent oil would be a good place to start.

Castrol is "official" oil for your car. Castrol Syntec Blend would be a good fit at a reasonable price and be fine for 4000-5000 mile oil changes.

The believe the recommended viscosity in the US for that engine for all temps is 5w30. However 0w30, 5w40, 10w30 can also be used. I'd be curious what viscosity your owners manual recommends?

If it were MY car, i would do a couple of short interval oil changes using regular inexpensive dino oil to 'clean up' the engine. However you already have expensive synthetic oil in there, so get your money worth out of it

rotellasyn · Feb 28, 2007

For your next oil change I would go with Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40. It is a great oil and more reasonably priced and you can easily go 10k plus with synthetic. Best of luck with everything.

Greggy_D · Feb 28, 2007

Isn't the Jag S Type based on the Ford Taurus?

Kestas · Feb 28, 2007

The Jaguar S-type is a clone of the Lincoln LS and the new Thunderbird.

Reddwarf · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

Isn't the Jag S Type based on the Ford Taurus?

The S-Type is built on the Lincoln LS chassis. Different engine and still built in England.

Reddwarf · Feb 28, 2007

Thanks very much for all the advice. I intend to do the oil change myself now. I've done some research and as I understand it the process is easy. There is a shield under the car that one removes and then everything is right there.

I checked with a local Quick Oil change place and they wanted $70 to change the oil (They said they would use Royal Purple I think).

So, next oil change time I'll shop around for some Castrol synthtic or comparable brand and do it myself. Just like when I was in in my salad years!

Thanks again.

Iain · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

Please forgive me for asking a newbie question. I’ve searched the forum and read a number of threads but have not been successful at fully researching my question.

I bought a used 2003 Jaguar S Type V8. The manual says to use synthetic oil and change every 10,000 miles or 12 months.

Owner's manual will always be a definitive guide to maintenance.

BTW, is your 4.2L V-8 non-supercharged or supercharged as in S-Type R model?

Quote:

I took the car to a mechanic shop (not a dealer) that works on Jaguar, Land Rover, and other British cars. They recommend I use regular oil and change every 3,000 miles. Or, if I insist on synthetic then change it every 5,000 miles.

Defo find another shop. Bunch of wankers.

Quote:

I used the manual’s advice and said I wanted synthetic. They put in Castrol Syntec 10-30 and changed me $125.00! The charge for the oil was $67.50 (6 quarts).

At these prices I think I’ll start changing my own oil. But, what oil to use? Synthetic or no? Change 10,000 miles or less?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Listen to your owners manual.

How do you feel about your local dealer maintenance department? My local Ford dealer have an excellent maintenance department I trust implicitly. I would not trust another dealer as much however, as some are great and some are dodgy. YMMV!

Iain · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

Quote:

The manual says to use synthetic oil and change every 10,000 miles or 12 months.

Click to expand...

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE MANUAL.

3000 mile oil changes on dino or 5000 on full synthetic.

The dealer ripped you off big time on the Syntec.

Merkava, you should know better than to post this rubbish. Always listen to your owners manual. It's the definitive guide to maintenance of your vehicle.

Merkava_4 · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

Merkava, you are crazy!

You can call me crazy all you want, but if I'm spending $75,000+ on a Jaguar, I'm keeping that oil clean; even if that means wasting oil in your mind.

Quattro Pete · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

Quote:

Merkava, you are crazy!

Click to expand...

You can call me crazy all you want, but if I'm spending $75,000+ on a Jaguar, I'm keeping that oil clean; even if that means wasting oil in your mind.

Why not change it every day then? That ought to keep it even cleaner.

FYI, an '03 Type S is probably worth around $20k.

Merkava_4 · Feb 28, 2007

Quote:

Why not change it every day then? That ought to keep it even cleaner.

That's alright Pete, you go ahead and keep changing your BMW's oil at every 19,000 miles; your Fe numbers are probably around 1700 parts per million.

Quattro Pete · Feb 28, 2007

C'mon. I never said that's what I would do. You're referring to a previous thread where I was trying to justify someone who follows the owner's manual. I never said I recommend doing it. I was just explaining a typical owner behavior, which you consider clueless. We here on BITOG are oil freaks, but it doesn't mean the rest of the world has to be as well.

Jaguar Oil Change

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