Opinions on Stashing Oil?

[Matt_S]

I agree with Laminar Lou's point of view. If you can get a killer deal, go for it. If not, then hold onto your money. I'd definitely recommend against getting more than a few changes or about a year's worth of oil. Speaking for myself, I don't like tying up my money in a non-liquid (financially speaking) asset. I'd rather have it either invested or sitting in an interest-bearing account where I can earn interest. Of course, if you can get a killer deal on oil, it can be said that you're getting a return on your investment that way. Still, buying more than you really is silly and can definitely become an addiction, as some on this site have clearly demonstrated. I also want the freedom to pick whatever oil I want from time to time and not be tied down to the 326 quarts I have on hand.

That being said, I currently have one case of M1 5w-30 ($3.83/qt at Sam's Club) and 6 qts of PP ($2.38/qt at Advance). This is up from 0 qts onhand about a month ago, not counting various partial quarts I might have for yard equipment.

 

[javacontour]

I have about 48 quarts right now. Stocked up when it was on sale.

The only debt I have is my mortgage and car payment.

If the ~86 I spent, tax included, makes a significant dent in my financial position, then I have bigger problems to deal with.

That money is less than 0.1% of what I will make this year, so I don't think it will really help or harm my financial position.

Plus, I earned a 2% cash back bonus on that $86 from my credit card that was paid in full at the end of the month, so that's like another $1.60 I got off the price, LOL.

 

[m2200b]

I'm buying a case of Chevron next 49 cent sale which keeps me through the summer. I'm betting I'll see less of these deals during that period.

 

[Volvohead]

I think at any one time I've got about a dozen cases of various oils on hand, from RL and M1 to Schaeffers and Havoline. And probably about 50 filters of various sizes, primarily Wixes, Manns and Mahles, and several Purolators and MCs. It all takes but a few square feet. All the other adds, lubes, greases and chemicals are another story.

Most of it was delivered to my door. Most of this has been going on long before BITOG.

The reason? I've got a lot of engines to care for, from marine engines to tractors and lawnmowers. Most suck down half a case at a shot. And I hate stores (especially on weekends) and all the time it wastes. I'd rather be at home than in a checkout line. The only thing worse is running out of oil. And my unit cost is lower, too.

Occasionally, I stumble on a few quarts of old stock I forgot about. The last find was over ten years old. That goes into a friend's beater K-car that runs on anything and everything.

And for some strange reason, I've kept an empty can of the original early '70s M1 formula on a shelf, not too far from the garage stereo.

Our garage is an interesting place.

 

[Cutehumor]

I have 115 quarts..probably 4 years worth all of it bought on sale or free. I'm not buying anymore oil unless it's free after rebate which wouldn't be consider buying if I didn't pay for it, right?

. or some really super deal like mobil 1 or GC for $1/qt; or some BITOGer has an appifany and decides to have a free giveaway of their stash and to be free from the oil prison. ya right

Downsides:
1) the one thing you got to be careful about when you stash oil: having obsolete oil when you buy that new car in 4-5 years. New car requires SO oil but you have that 4 year old SL oil to use; who wants to put that in their brand new engine?

2) With a huge stash, I feel sorry for ya if your house catches on fire for obvious reasons.

3)Most likely would be a serious oil waster, you get 200 quarts of chevron supreme for .49 cents/quart. To use it all up, you have to change every 3 months just to use it in your lifetime.

4) Your wife or significant other will hate you for being an oil whore. She'll make you put it all in storage outside to suffer the brutal winter weather which descreases the shelf life.

5) You will become a topic of many jokes by family members and friends.

Now that I mentioned the down sides. This advice will save future oil hoarders possibly hundreds of dollars, possibly their life. Anyone with 300 + quart stashes want to donate free oil to me?

[ April 25, 2006, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Cutehumor ]

 

[TallPaul]

Before I was infected at BITOG, I would try to have one oil change on the shelf. Now ... well, last count I have over 180 quarts and only three vehicles with combined total of about 20,000 miles per year.

My feeling is that if you are going to stockpile, do it for a good reason, such as that it's good oil and on clearance. Other than that you can stockpile for the fun of it, but still at least buy only on sales, rebates, etc. I would not stockpile as an investment, but to avoid shortages. I stockpiled SL to avoid SM.

 

[Laminar Lou]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Volvohead:


Occasionally, I stumble on a few quarts of old stock I forgot about. The last find was over ten years old. That goes into a friend's beater K-car that runs on anything and everything.

---

Threadjack:

My uncle had a K-car that just wouldn't die. 270K miles on it and it still ran decent. He finally donated it because he son would rather work summers and buy his own car then drive an Areis K station wagon. The funny part is that he could have afforded a much nicer car but it became a game of how long it would last. He bought a 7 series BMW after that (talk about a jump!). Not sure why he didn't buy another Chrysler - I need to ask him that someday.

 

[thooks]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Laminar Lou:

I guess it depends on how much you speculate that motor oil is going to climb in price. Will it be faster then what you can make investing that money?

Oil might be a liquid, but as an asset money has a lower viscosity (sorry for the bad attempt at humor).

---

I only gots a free gubment paid fer Alabama skool education, too (even post-secondary). My current stash is comprised of an undisclosed number of cases of Havoline at the ripe ol price of $1.18 per quart.


I think that I did "OK" spending a few dollars on a top-grade SM oil in which I will use for atleast 5k miles in my cars.

 

[twentynine]

Hey, I don't drink, I don't chase fast women, I collect oil. Yes, my name is twentynine and I hoard oil.

75 qts of 5w and 10w-30 Coastal synthetic @$1 ea.
20 qts of 5w-30 TropArtic syn blend @$1.48 ea.
2 5qt jugs 5w-30 Supertech Syn @$12.50+/- ea.
10 qts 10w-30 Havoline @$1.18 ea.
15 qts 5w-30 Havoline @ $1.18 ea.
2 5qt jugs 10w-40 Havoline @ ? ea.
5 qts 30w URSA @ ?
5 qts 30w HD Havoline @ ?
1 qt 30w old Pennsoil SH (found it)

All kinds of 2str, tranny fluid, Marvel Mystry, Lucas fuel conditioner, and filters out the wahzoo. I even save old spark plugs. Thank the Lord we don't have a Kragans around here cause they ain't no tellin how much .69 oil I'd have.

I AM OUT OF CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!!!

But you know guys, it's my money, my time, so what's it matter.

 

[bob_ninja]

I have a "modest"

stash. I did get too much synthetic Esso XD3, only because its and other synths' prices are going up. Up here in Canada they are already much more expensive, so the difference can be sunstantial. I really need synth for our harsh winters, so ...

Another benefit of having a stash/collection of some sort is that now I can use appropriate type for each engine. My engines range from an air cooled generator to liquid cooled car engines, so different types are often called for. In the past I just had few bottles, 2-3 types and didn't even pay much attention to the type. I actually used a Syntec 5W50 in Honda engines

just because it was on the shelf.

Now that I learned about different types and have a decent collection, I re-checked my manuals and will be using more appropriate type for each engine. As mentioned before, the worst scenario is missing an oil type while changing.

Regarding prices, few years back I paid $10 for a single quart of a motorcycle synth blend oil!!!! Yep, dumb. Which is what happens when you ignore sales and purchase only when needed. Last time I waited for a sale I got a Shell Rotella T jug for $12, so the difference can be significant.

Some stashing is Ok, so long as it doesn't get out of hand. Which of course is hard to control ... Oh well, there are worse vices.

 

[GoldenRod]

777,

Fluoxetine HCL?