Synthetic Oil vs. Conventional

kevhed72

I am slowly wearing down my better half to upgrade my ride. Looking at a VW that requires synthetic oil....and premium gas. On the oil, what would you say the average for a synthetic oil change is cost-wise, and how often do you normally go between oil changes? One dealership near me offers lifetime oil changes for free...so I am trying to figure this into the over cost of one dealer vs. another....thanks in advance folks.:biggrin:

obieone

VW is offering 3/36,000 free maintenance, so the cost won't be seen right off the bat, but on my S10, the Mobil 1 5w30 was about $75(Grease Monkey), and it was good for 5000+ miles. On the VW's I think their interval is 10k miles.

gdb

Go to - Bob is the Oil Guy . Everything you did and didn't ever want to know about oil can be found there.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/



I am just now trying to get up to speed on "Delo" !

Gadabout

When I was running a mandatory synthetic in the last vehicle, I was changing every 6k. That oil change at the quick change shops was about $70. If you go to a dealership for the free oil changes, they will probably determine the interval.

Scott

mesquitehead

I run Mobile 1 extended performance synthetic in my Tundra, $9 a quart but you only have to change it every 15k miles! http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Extended_Performance_FAQs.aspx#FAQs1

jbooker82

I normally buy my Mobil One Extend Performance in a 5 quart jug from Wal Mart for around 26-28 dollars.

Strong Bad

I've been using Amsoil Synthetic and filters in my '08 Accord. The car itself has sensors in the vehicle that takes into account driving habits, speeds, etc...then determines when your oil (and other fluids) needs changing with a reminder on the dashboard display. It counts down from 15% life, then 10%, 5% and 0% (dude, time to change). I'd say i'm averaging around 10k miles between changes.

I'm doing oil changes roughly 2 times a year (maybe a third), so in the grand scheme of things, the cost is very nominal. Invest a little more $$$ with quality of fluids and parts, then your vehicle will last. I have 82k miles on my Accord and have 3 more payments. It will be driven into the ground! No more new cars anytime in the foreseeable future.

newrival

I do as jbooker does. 5qt jugs from walmart. My caddy's northstar takes 10 qts and doing it myself saves me >$50 over taking it to get it done. The sensor has me at about 10% oil life at around 8.5k-9k miles.

When I bought a new VW GTI back in 2000, they had 3 years maintenance which is handy. After the 3 years, maintenance costs are typical, and no different than most other vehicles. I had it for 200k miles with $630 of repair costs before someone smashed into her and it was a total loss. I had just gotten a tune up, and was looking forward to another 100k miles when that happened. Great little cars.

steveinaz

I've been using Mobil1 for over 30yrs, and generally change every 6-7,000 miles. I like knowing I can stretch it to 10,000 if need be without any worries. I think synthetic is cheap insurance, and likely works out to actually cost less when you consider the longer mileage change intervals----add to that the sludge protection that synthetic offers. As far as I'm concerned it's a win-win.

badchad

I drive a 2011 Honda Accord that uses synthetic.

I'm lazy as all hell, so I take my car straight to the dealer for all its work. Last oil change was $56.78 for synthetic (and filter replacement). It was only $10-15 more than the "regular" oil.

Polkie2009

Badchad, I have to ask what brand and viscosity of synthetic oil the dealer is putting in your car? Make sure it's not a para-synthetic since they are quite a bit cheaper than a true,100% synthetic motor oil.

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

I've been using Mobil1 for over 30yrs, and generally change every 6-7,000 miles. I like knowing I can stretch it to 10,000 if need be without any worries. I think synthetic is cheap insurance, and likely works out to actually cost less when you consider the longer mileage change intervals----add to that the sludge protection that synthetic offers. As far as I'm concerned it's a win-win.

Same here Steve. I change my oil twice a year. My mechanic usually swaps out my Summer tires for Winter tires and that's when I do an oil change (once in the early Spring and once in the late Fall). I buy the M1 Synthentic at Farm and Fleet when it's on-sale and has a rebate. Just bought 6Q's @ $3.29/Q after a $12 rebate.

I take him the oil and he provides a factory oil filter and he charges me like $12 for the labor and about $18 for the filter and he disposes of the old oil.

I have been using M1 Synthetic in all my vehicles as far back as I can remember.

H9

heiney9

badchad wrote: »

I drive a 2011 Honda Accord that uses synthetic.

I'm lazy as all hell, so I take my car straight to the dealer for all its work. Last oil change was $56.78 for synthetic (and filter replacement). It was only $10-15 more than the "regular" oil.

Seems really low for a dealer oil change with true synthetic. I can't do it in my car for that price even buying the M1 synthetic on deep sale.

Just for the factory filter and 6Q of synthetic bought on sale it's about $50 if I were to do it myself. If I missed getting the oil on sale, it's closer to $60 just for the materials.

Maybe your dealer provides this service as a "loss leader" to get you into the dealership.

H9

Glowrdr

Not sure how the prices compare, but I know Costco has cases of M1 for I believe $35, and they always have $9 off coupons every other month. That's what I used to do.

Lately though, I have been slacking and just taking it to the shop. Definately not going to your local Jiffy Lube / Valvoline Instant, but just my Goodyear shop down the road. Costs me $19 and some change, I don't have the cleanup, and no more storing of oil in jugs unitl I can get rid of it. Granted, it's not synthetic anymore - but I do my changed on a regular basis now so I'm not too worried about it. But I also do run premium fuel, and do all the regular maintanance to the car as required. I'm one of those people that actually "becomes one" with the car - and if something is wrong, I generally know.

Wish my wife was that way sometimes... get in her car a few times a year and things rattle, grind and vibrate and she has no idea. :sad:

heiney9

Glowrdr wrote: »

Not sure how the prices compare, but I know Costco has cases of M1 for I believe $35, and they always have $9 off coupons every other month. That's what I used to do.

That is super, super cheap!! $2.91/Q. M1 came out with new lower cost sem-synthetic called "Super Synthetic" which is a different oil than Mobil 1 full synthetic and is about $3+ cheaper a Q.

If Costco is selling M1 full synthetic for $35/case that's an amazing price. Simply amazing. M1 Full synth sells for $6.69/Q when it's not on sale at many discount stores like F & F and Wally World, so getting it for $2.91 is an absolute steal.

Costco doesn't sell motor oil on-line, I just checked.

H9

pdxfj

I run Sell Rotella T6 full syn in both my bikes and my truck. Usually run it to about 5k in the truck and then change it. Bought the truck new in '06 (Nissan Frontier) and it now has 70k miles on it.. oil still comes out clean.. about $20-$25 a gallon.. A friend is a Nissan service tech and said I could go 10k no problem, but I just feel better changing it at 5k.. cheap insurance..

In the bikes I run it about 3k and change it..

The metals and lubricants now and days are light years ahead of wheat we had even 10 years ago. If properly maintained a well built vehicle should make it 200k miles no problem. One of my dad's ex coworkers had a Toyota Camry he bought new. at about 70k miles the engine blew up.. when pressed for more information the owner never changed the oil or any other fluids that entire time.. not once... nor did he even add any oil..

So 70k on factory oil.. quite impressive.. even more so if it was conventional oil..

steveinaz

I run Shell Rotella T synthetic in our ATV's.

Gadabout

Must be nice to change the oil twice a year. In the new car I change every 5k miles and I'm running a synthetic blend. Oil changes are very 5 - 7 weeks. I put on about 40k to 45k a year.

Scott

heiney9

I only out on between 7-10K a year. Although the past couple years it's been closer to 10-11K. I do some driving for work, local, and my miles per year has increased.

H9

madmax

mesquitehead wrote: »

I run Mobile 1 extended performance synthetic in my Tundra, $9 a quart but you only have to change it every 15k miles! http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Extended_Performance_FAQs.aspx#FAQs1

I do the same.

Glowrdr

Gadabout wrote: »

Must be nice to change the oil twice a year. In the new car I change every 5k miles and I'm running a synthetic blend. Oil changes are very 5 - 7 weeks. I put on about 40k to 45k a year.

Scott

You sound like me. I'm lucky enough to get a couple months out of an oil change though - but it's often enough I just let someone else do it now. I've got an '07 G35 with 149k on the odo. Nothing compared to some cars I've seen/heard of, but this thing isn't 20 years old either.

gdb

Costco for Mobil 1 during the coupon book sales is the way I buy it. FWIW, there are no "oil sensors" in cars, just various parameters are fed into the computer to calculate oil condition/life based on operating time and driving conditions. Oil pressure, level and temperature are the only things measured by a in-car device. (per BITOG)

Drenis

FWIW, I run Shell Rotella Diesel Synthetic in all cars. 0w-30 in the winter especially. Car always starts... always. Even in -45 C

Serendipity

FWIW, used oil analyses of Mobil 1 Extended Performance show that it can go a little longer than the advertised 15k miles, which makes me feel comfortable that their marketing claims are actually genuine and even a bit on the conservative side. Just have to change the filter regularly, as it appears the filter usually clogs first and goes into bypass mode.

gdb

I always install an aftermarket magnetic drain plug, it lets you see how much metal has worn away between oil changes. With 10w30 Mobil 1 i only get a tiny amount of very fine powder on the magnet from a 2000 Pontiac 3800 6cyl. with 136,000 miles on it.

disneyjoe7

Another vote for Amsoil oil with a wix filter, change it every year. Got about 300k on a Honda Accord, and now got 165k on a Toyota 4runner.

Willow

Synthetic in both of our cars and my snowblower. Oil changes are done when we swap tires for winter and "summer".

dorokusai

Synthetic. There's just no reason to use regular oil anymore. If you're always getting metal film deposits, with your fancy magnetic drain plug at every oil change, you have issues.