“some auto manufacturers do specify oil types”
+1
It is not unusual to find specific brands and types of motor oil mentioned in the Owner’s Manuals of European cars. Some of the recommended oil brands (Agip comes to mind) are not always easy to find in The US.
I’ve never owned a vehicle that required an exotic oil. I don’t look at the labels on oil I buy. But I buy brand-named oil usually at WallMart.
Jt, I’ve never seen an owners’ manual that didn’t spec the required oil. If I inadvertently implied that some manufacturers didn’t, that was never my intent.
Unfortunately the overwhelming majority of car owners never read their manual. My intent was to point out that I began to say that people should read the bottles… but in truth most never read the manual anyway. And I’d guess (wild guess) that over half don’t even know how to check their oil. IMHO manufacturers eliminating dipsticks in favor of idiot lights will only exacerbate the problem. An idiot light should be a warning, not a monitoring system.
I am one of the minority that reads my manual and also reads the rating on oil at the store. I saw some cheap oil at an X Mart and once I read the API rating, I think it was SA and saw that it was for cars built several century’s ago, I put it back and got brand name oil. While I am sure it is OK, I do not even use house brand oil with the current SN (?) rating.
@ Bing: Who uses 10w30? I do. I use it in my 1970 Chevy Chevelle (307 engine) and in my 1979 Toyota Celica. I use 5w30 in my 1995 Toyota Avalon, only because it’s recommended by the owner’s manual. In the summer, I use 10w40 oil in my Chevelle. Never had a problem.
A word on "Dollar’ stores. Dollar Tree is the only store that sells everything for $1 in my area. Dollar General and Family Dollar have a few things for a dollar but most items are much more, The cheap oil under Dollar Generals own name was selling for $2.79 in the linked article.
You’d be better off buying the Chevron or Texaco motor oil at Costco. Price is about the same, and you know it meets the standards for “modern” vehicles
The 99c oil is no doubt a marginal quality product but if left with the choice of topping off with that junk or driving 3 quarts low or walking I would choose using the bargain oil. Maybe Dollar General’s customer base is largely financially desperate and mechanically ignorant. A car will run considerably further on low quality oil compared to no oil.
This thread reminds me of the quote “a poor man mounted rides his horse to death.”
Dollar tree and Family Dollar have more than that in common; dollar tree bought Family Dollar in 2014.
I buy my sudoku books at Dollar General, but that’s about all I have found there worth buying.
Personally, I don’t think the Dollar store bought and stocked that “obsolete” oil by mistake
I think they saw a chance to buy something cheap, and resell for quite a tidy profit
And they might just be in clear legally, because the label states it’s for cars built before 1988. They will claim it’s not their fault the customers don’t read the labels or make incorrect assumptions
People who say “oil is oil” scare me. Years ago nearly all cars took the same oil, like 10W30 but now the specific weight and API spec is crucial. A turbocharged VW or BMW using this cheap stuff would quickly burn out its turbo and incur accelerated enginewear.