I had some repairs and an
oil change done on my old car recently. The crew at my favorite auto fix it
shop told me that they used a blend of synthetic and regular oil for the oil
change. They said that they used the blend to save me money. I think they
meant that they saved me money compared to the cost of using all synthetic oil.
That rang an alarm bell in the back of my head but I did not complain at the time. They do good work and treat me fairly.
My old Buick has 250,000 plus miles of experience so we talked about it as I drove away. Please don’t tell my doctor that I talk with my car.
My car said, and I quote, “Remember I started out with real oil but, I don’t care what kind of oil you give me, just make sure that I have enough.”
I know that the new synthetic oil is great for new engines. With the run up in oil prices I did not know what the relative cost was for the different oils. So, I went price shopping at my favorite discount store.
I found that real oil was about half the price of synthetic oil. Also, the price of blends of synthetic and real oil was somewhere between the price of the two. No surprise there.
If you stick close to your car builders recommendations for oil changes, you should use the oil that they recommend too. Using the right viscosity of motor oil does help keep your miles per gallon up where it should be.
But, for an old clunker like my car, the least expensive oil works just fine for me. I have no warrantee to worry about.
If you could drive twice as many miles between oil changes with synthetic, it might be a better deal. But, I don’t think that is a good way to treat an expensive machine. Especially during the first 100,000 miles of breaking in a new engine.
Some folks are stretching the time between oil changes to save money and to reduce the amount of imported oil needed. That is a good idea and I agree with the thought but…The fraction of crude oil that is good for lubrication is not used for fuel so the motor oil savings is a minor part of the total oil issue.
Yes, it is a good idea to save your money while conserving resources.
But, I DO NOT recommend that you stretch out your oil change intervals. That could cause me a legal problem.
My cars get an oil change about twice a year whether they need it or
not.
What really happens is the only time I have the oil changed is when I need other work done on a car. That may sound strange coming from a Mechanical Engineer with as history in maintenance management, but that is what I do.
If
you have better information on synthetic vs. real oil please share it with your
fellow readers by leaving a comment.
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The cost to buy lube oil has increased more than 75% since the start of the twenty first century. Lube oils are items that keep our personal and corporate economies moving ahead.
