Valvoline NEXTGEN over already?????

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I see it as a premium product, but the greenies didn't put their money where their mouths were. I like the concept and have a bit more faith in valvoline than in other rebranders. I agree that it should have been priced at least a few cents below regular WB. It wasn't.

I'll admit that I have maxlife nexgen in my truck - the first time ive run non synthetic since 1999 or 2000. I also have a ton of 10w-40 in my basement for my BMW.


Good move.
My old four cylinder BMW has done very well with Nextgen.

 

[simple_gifts]

They probably should just mix in the recycled base stocks with virgin stock and put it in VWB. If the economics were/are there, everyone would be doing it.

Unfortunately, many people on BITOG would have tirades of criticism about having been cheated or they have a right to know what they are buying (e.g. Mobil 1) even though they could not begin to understand the complexities of formulating a motor oil.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
It was worth a try FAR and based upon the UOA I had with it, Nextgen would be worth buying at normal sale prices.
I do think that Nextgen has raised awareness of Valvoline oils generally, always a good thing from a marketing standpoint.
Will the product survive?
Your guess is as good as mine.
If the product fails, you can bet that it will be some years before any other blender offers a recycled motor oil product at the consumer level.
The reason that Valvoline didn't price this oil below either VWB or red bottle Maxlife is that many shoppers would then conclude that it was an inferior product, which is clearly not the case.
Funny, I was just having a "conversation" with our fleet company (Enterprise Fleet Services) in which he said "Don't use that USED Valvoline MaxLife oil"-to which I replied "NextGen?", then he started on an anti-Valvoline tirade, accusing them of overcharging for synthetic & synblend oil changes at the VIOC stores. Then he suggested taking it to Jiffy Lube for a MOBIL 1 OIL CHANGE? I had to inform him that Pennzoil/SOPUS owns the "J-team"-and I wouldn't have my WORST enemy's vehicles serviced there! Idiot! And NextGen has performed PERFECTLY in the vehicles I've used it in.

 

[antonmnster]

I've got about 30 quarts for my BMW and Audi. I'm not too worried about either car.

At my work, we've been using re-refined oil for 30 years. You know what? Used oil is a lot cleaner than crude oil. In those 30 years, there have been two engine failures, out of a fleet that averaged about 60 trucks at any time.

 

[volk06]

Originally Posted By: antonmnster
I've got about 30 quarts for my BMW and Audi. I'm not too worried about either car.

At my work, we've been using re-refined oil for 30 years. You know what? Used oil is a lot cleaner than crude oil. In those 30 years, there have been two engine failures, out of a fleet that averaged about 60 trucks at any time.


And it probably wasn't an oil related failure, right?

 

[VicVinegar]

I'll be buying some assuming the FAR continues. Tried to get some yesterday but the shelves were bare.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The reason that Valvoline didn't price this oil below either VWB or red bottle Maxlife is that many shoppers would then conclude that it was an inferior product, which is clearly not the case.


Official NONSENSE, from Valvoline marketing.

That may be the excuse they gave but obviously it is just bunk since overall the product hasn't sold at the retail price and the only people "buying" it are those looking for the FAR. LOL.

 

[Zako2]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The reason that Valvoline didn't price this oil below either VWB or red bottle Maxlife is that many shoppers would then conclude that it was an inferior product, which is clearly not the case.


Official NONSENSE, from Valvoline marketing.

That may be the excuse they gave but obviously it is just bunk since overall the product hasn't sold at the retail price and the only people "buying" it are those looking for the FAR. LOL.



IMO, Valvoline's strategy is 100% correct. Selling NextGen cheaper would only help to spread the wrong notion that recycled oil is inferior. I think the biggest mistake Valvoline made is use the word "recycled". Re-refined would have been a more appropriate label, as not every recycled oil has been re-refined, and less scary to an average person. Buyers need some education on this matter, and this will take some time. I think the buyers of FAR oil are the biggest marketing they have. I bet the folks who picked up FAR NextGen have mentioned this deal to their friends and on other forums. Some had to explain this stuff is just as good, etc, but it will take time to spread the word.

In any case, each Walmart operates differently and adjusts its offerings based on demand. The one nearest one to me has a lot of foot traffic and yet they just have three brands: Mobil, Supertech, and Castrol... and forget about finding any "exotic weights". No Motorcraft, Quaker state, Pennzoil, etc. Another one has a very wide selection but still not comparable to say AutoZone.. no 0W20 (in any type of bottle) or 0W30 (except M1 in a quart bottle).. no GC or any oil officially compatible with German cars.

 

[antiqueshell]

Nope, the only reason people are buying it is because it is FREE after the rebate,talk about pricing it less and making people think that it is inferior. LOL Seems like the FAR is doing a great job of that. I promise you once the FAR program is done this stuff will sit on shelves for a looooog, time not that it has been selling well anyhow.

Nope, Valvoline made a mistake they needed to price it at a value level to get people interested, not give it away for free.

 

[addyguy]

WM's around here regularly sell 4 or 5L jugs of VWB for around $11.88 as a loss leader, I've bought a couple of those. Sorry, not going to spend extra for NextGen.

I do agree the product is a good idea, though.

 

[Zako2]

Let's admit it, most of motor oil names are silly and don't convey any useful information. I don't remember how many times I had to look up online which one is supposed to be the more high end oil, PU or PP? Castrol's naming of synthetics ("Edge with Syntec" or "Edge with Titanium") is just as silly and required a Q/A session on this web site to clear things up. I'll give thumbs up to mobil because it's immediately clear where the Super 5000 and "Mobil 1 Extended Performance" series fall relative to Mobil 1 (though Super Synthetic still does not convey much in its name, but it's easy to remember "Supper is worse than M1")

 

[Zako2]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Nope, the only reason people are buying it is because it is FREE after the rebate,talk about pricing it less and making people think that it is inferior.


This is a new product that requires additional marketing expenditure to raise awareness. I see no problem with that.

I also don't understand where people get the idea the re-refined base stock should be cheaper. Yes, it's cheaper to make, but its priced at the "market rate" for the base stock of comparable quality. You don't buy petroleum that's made from Saudi produced crude oil for lower price than petroleum derived from other sources, even though Saudi oil is one of cheapest to extract. Valvoline _buys_ it from suppliers, so its possible they don't see any savings from using re-refined base stocks to begin with.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: Zako2
IMO, Valvoline's strategy is 100% correct. Selling NextGen cheaper would only help to spread the wrong notion that recycled oil is inferior. I think the biggest mistake Valvoline made is use the word "recycled". Re-refined would have been a more appropriate label, as not every recycled oil has been re-refined, and less scary to an average person.


My opinion is that Valvoline should of stated the Nextgen is made from extra refined oil.

 

[zerosoma]

I imagine smaller outlet stores like Napa and CarQuest will continue to carry the Next Gen, but possibly Next Gen will be phased out with the chains.

I think it's great oil - but I didn't start out that way. I figured it was a bad idea, as did a lot of folks here about a year ago, but I am glad I took the plunge because it works good.

I think Valvoline played the good samaritan for awhile by giving away free oil after MIR so people could try it and see that recycled oil really isn't all that bad. But perhaps that foiled too. I hope they can recover if they wasted all that money on a failed product!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
That may be the excuse they gave but obviously it is just bunk since overall the product hasn't sold at the retail price and the only people "buying" it are those looking for the FAR. LOL.


Up here, we're finally getting a break.

NextGen is significantly cheaper than any other conventional on the Walmart shelves (except for Supertech, of course). We get zero rebates, though. At least at one location, it seems to be moving reasonably.

@addyguy: Give it time. NextGen will be rolled back nicely one of these days, too. Remember, we never thought we'd see $26/4.73 L of Platinum up here, either.

 

[Shannow]

At around $40 for 5L, it's not priced too badly in Oz terms.

Alas, it's only available in 15w40 in Oz.

 

[Stelth]

From the beginning, it has seemed odd to me that Valvoline would sell two oils side-by-side that are exactly the same, except for the source of some of the base oils. Valvoline says the performance is the same, and the PDS's reinforce this idea. The only difference is the color of the bottle, and, I guess, the happy feeling one receives from buying it.

 

[KCJeep]

Originally Posted By: Stelth
From the beginning, it has seemed odd to me that Valvoline would sell two oils side-by-side that are exactly the same, except for the source of some of the base oils. Valvoline says the performance is the same, and the PDS's reinforce this idea. The only difference is the color of the bottle, and, I guess, the happy feeling one receives from buying it.


It's a tough business with lots of good, worthy competition. They are trying to add market share without losing any of what they already have.

 

[BovineScapegoat]

I PICKED up a jug at a walmart in the Buffalo area. It was marked down to $13.00 and on the end of the aisle so I scooped it up. None on the regular shelves. maybe they are abandoning it.

 

[A_Harman]

I think Valvoline has blinked on NextGen pricing. At my local AZ last week, I saw NextGen bottles sitting next to their regular counterparts with lower everyday price tags. $5.59 for MaxLife, and $5.29 for NextGen MaxLife. I think this is a step in the right direction.