Quote:
Originally Posted by A- W
Sorry been miles away.
It is a 2004 D5 SE. Just hitting 68k.
So around 16/17 litres then? What would I expect to pay for the good stuff?
Would it be changed still annually?
How much would you expect a garage to 'knock off' the £175 + VAT service fee if I brouught my own oil to the party presuming they accept me bringing it along.
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Garages are actually having a hard time and need to make money wherever they can. Oil is one place. It is rare for a garage to use a very good quality oil as the price they quote would have to be higher and they would loose custom to other struggling garages who quote lower with cheap oil. The mark up on oil and filter will be high. As a result you may not be getting quite what you think you are paying for which is why people are now taking in their own oil. Perhaps the garage will knock £40 off the price which will give you an idea.
With oil you generally get what you pay for. The Multi National have huge advertising costs which have to be passed on to you the customer. which can reduce what you get for your hard earned. On the flip side occasionally companies like Mobil will 'dump' old spec oil to Cost Co or the like when the label or mix is changed. If you are in luck this can be a real bargain. viz £25 for 5L of good synthetic.
Expect to pay double this otherwise.
Mineral oil does work fine but has its drawbacks. People rave that if it meets the Volvo spec it is fine etc etc. What Volvo are saying is that if it doesn't even meet this low standard then they wont even stand by the warranty period! Remember all oils degrade with use, in general the cheaper the oil the quicker it will degrade and sooner it will need changing. It is therefore totally false economy to pay half the price of a top synthetic for a mineral oil that will be changed perhaps 4 times more often. The opposite is also true; there is little point in buying a top synthetic to change it after 4,000 miles. A further factor to add in is that if you pay for someone to change your oils this should be added to the cost; if you have an oil that will last twice as long then this cost is clearly half. (never mind the time and trouble). There are synthetic oils out there that are advertised to do 18,000miles , 25,000 miles and even 35,000 miles; in the modern world of litigation you can guarantee that they will too.
Further considerations are that you might really need a high spec oil to resist the high temp breakdown a turbo causes. With winter upon us a low 1st number ie 0w-30 or 5w-30 will ease starting as it means the oil is relatively thin at cold. This could save you the cost of a new battery and will make the warm up period shorter and more economical. A real synthetic, Amsoil, Motul, Redline etc (not halfrauds please) will have a greater film strength as a thinner 30 grade than will any mineral 40 weight oil (this is the 2nd number) You can therefore run the thinner 0w-30 or 5w-30 in a synthetic rather than perhaps a 10w-40 in a mineral oil with the advantages of better starting better protection plus a little bit more power (because less power is consumed pumping and spinning through it) and better fuel economy (2 - 8% we are told by testers) Emissions can also be reduced)
At the end of the day you pays your money and you makes your choice.... Just make sure that you know what you are getting and that you are getting what you pay for.