Is the price dropping for synthetic oil? Our local Rural King is offering full synthetic oil in different viscosities including 0W-20, 5W-30 etc. at $2.79 a quart. This is the Rural King house brand called RK. Several years ago, I remember that 0W-20 was close to $7 a quart at Rural King, although it was a major brand. Is the price of synthetic oil coming down across the country, or did I see a one time special offer?
The price of all oils has been dropping for several months now. Wholesale price now is about .30/quart less than it was 4 months ago.
Remember though that there seems to be no consistency of what exactly full synthetic is and the labeling requirements. We had this discussion a few months ago and sounded like there were no regulations on the name. Mobil 1 around here is still $7-8 so I’d be a little careful.
I’ve never heard of Rural King so the odds of the oil being full synthetic is very iffy in my mind.
Mobil1 has a rebate going on right now, just check their site. Otherwise I usually go with the Walmart Supertech just because their are too big and I am sure they have to at least stick to a minimum standard to keep the noise down. I am sure there are a lot of good oils out there, I just don’t have the time to research them.
Since Mobil lost their lawsuit against Castrol, class III base stock oils can be called synthetic even though they come from crud oil instead of the more expensive class IV and V base stock made from natural gas. The lower cost of crude may be dropping the price of class III based synthetic oils from the “non-name brand” suppliers. I wouldn’t buy it.
@missileman–Rural King is a chain store with outlets in Indiana and Illinois. It is a store rather like Tractor Supply Company and the now defunct Quality Farm and Fleet.
@Mustangman–In the interest of science, I am going to go against your advice and buy the RK synthetic oil. I am going to test it in my 23 year old push lawn mower that burns oil. Maybe the $2.79 purchases of RK Synthetic 10W-30 will buy me another year of service from the mower.
...even though they come from crud oil...
A great Freudian slip…
Group IV is polyalphaolefin (PAO) and Group V is ester, all synthesized from crude oil. (Some ester components could come from vegetable oil sources.) The new “born from natural gas” synthetics go from CH4 (methane) to CO + H2 (syngas) to liquids using high temperature, high pressure, and catalysts. You can just as well use coal, corn stalks, or garbage as the feedstock to produce the syngas. I would put these oils in Group III unless they are actually making the alphaolefins or esters. Natural gas synthetic oil is pure marketing genius.
Just as a layman and not a chemist, how would we even know if it is from group 3,4,or 5, and which is better? I would like to know if I can depend on Mobil 1 to be the better grade but there is nothing on the label to suggest what they are made from. Acura only says 0-20 and nothing about oil made from group 5. Briggs also just says synthetic. Just as a customer, all I want to know is which is the best and how do I tell?
I did buy a quart of the RK 10W-30 full synthetic motor oil. Here is what is on the label:
API SN Full Synthetic Motor Oil
API SERVICE SN,SM,SL, ILSAC GF-5
Meets or exceeds the performance specifications of: GM 6094M and Chrysler MS 6395.
Packaged by: Warren Oil Company, INC. Dunn, NC, Benton, AL, San Antonio, TX, Marion, IL, Johnstown, PA, West Memphis, AR.
Distributed by: RK, 4215 Dewitt Ave, Matoon, IL 61938
The container does have the API seal on it.
Since I spent my month’s social security check for a quart of oil @2.79 and will now have to go to the mission for free coffee, I hope it does the job.
The one thing that I did get at the Rural King store seven years ago has been great. An animal rescue organization was at the store with three puppies. I had lost a dog to kidney failure a couple of months earlier. I saw these puppies while buying lawn mower parts. I chose on of the pups and he has been my constant companion since that time.
We had a Quality Farm and Fleet around here for awhile,the biggest beef I had with them was,you absolutely could not find a thing for anything foreign,not a good business model these days in my opinion(ask the Waltons about foreign things) anyrate if it makes the talk,it should" walk the walk"(the ratings on the bottle,)I believe as electric vehicles become more numerous,you should see some decrease in the cost of motor oil(now if I could just get my “tweels”)
Never Got A Puppy At A Ranch King, But I Got A Nice Nike Dri-Fit Golf Shirt Mailed To My House From Mobil-One!
I always buy Mobil-1 Extended Performance at Wal-Mart. It varies in price from about $26.50 to $28.50 for a 5-Quart jug. That works out to be about $5.30 - $5.70 per quart. I usually have a half or three-quarters of a quart left from each oil change, so I save it up in quart bottles and use it for make-up oil or changes.
Anyhow, they had a promotion (is over now) and you could keep receipts showing quarts purchased and Mobil-One would give you buying power to shop in a rather nice online store. Shipping was included with the Nike shirt. It works great, but hasn’t help my golf game, yet.
CSA
I liked the good old days of oil pricing. Back in the early 1980s, I bought Valvoline 10W-30 for 25¢ a quart with rebate. I did even better for the next oil change. I bought Citgo 10W-30 for 0¢ a quart with rebate. Free oil change with only the cost of a postage stamp. I don’t do my oil changes any more, but when I did, it was nice to know what was in the crankcase.
Darn. I would have liked a free shirt…
I remember when gas stations used to compete with one another, even giving out free drinking glasses. Those were the days when they were all “full service” and they’d give you a drinking glass, check your oil, clean your windshield, and check your wiper blades with every fill up. They’d even give your tires a quick look-see. I had a whole collection of those glasses.
Ah, how times change.
@ the same mountainbike
I still have some glasses from a Gulf Station where I purchased Good Gulf for my 64 Volkswagen Bug. I was always afraid to opt for the cheaper (lower octane) Gulftane. Good Gulf was running about $.30/gallon until a “gas war” sent the price down to as low as $.18. This must have been during the late 60s - early 70s because the station was way out on my commute to a Community College. I’ve still got some free promotional, gas station, 1976 Bicentennial glasses, too.
One of these days, I’ve got to pick out about 50 bucks worth of stuff with my Speedy Rewards from Speedway gas.
America, What A Country!
CSA
Synthethic is far cheaper now than when it first came out. I vaguely remember that Mobil 1 (one of if not the first) appeared in the very late 70s and was 21 bucks a quart at the time.
Imagine 21 dollars a quart in 1979 carried pver into today’s prices via inflation. Have to fill out a loan app before the oil is changed… 
Oil changes sure have gotten cheaper over the last 30 years, inflation or not.
I don’t know why I remember these numbers, but when I was 16 and had my first job at a Chevron Station in Torrance, CA, the price for an oil change was $8.95 for the filter, $8.95 for chassis lube, and $2.20/qt for the oil. So the cost for an oil change with 5 quarts was $28.90 plus tax.
Today, where I am, an oil change service with up to 6 quarts of oil is $32.95.
And people still complain about the price.
Locally, Amsoil “OEM” is $6.05/qt. I can often find Mobil-1 at $5.99/qt. on sale at the same “farm-and-fleet” type of store. (not “Quality Farm and Fleet”) The store in question is a local regional chain that has farm/auto/hardware/gourmet food/deli/butcher shop/bakery/clothing/microbrew beer/wine, and pretty much anything else you could want.
Have no fear. My son and I got nearly 300k out of a Corrolla which got 5k oil changes with VIP 5w-30 weight house brand oil. If I t meets the manufacturer’s specs on the label, go for it. If you change your oil every 5k, it matters less what the label says then it’s certification. Besides, if you are from one of those states that allows you to collect state retirement along with full social security, you have plenty of funds. My state makes me subject to a 60% reduction in my social security…thanks to WEP. Buy any oil you want; you can afford it. 
I Am From A State That Lets Me Keep My State Pension And Social Security (If I Ever Decide To Pull The Trigger On It.), Too. However, I Am Very Cheap Thrifty.
Where I live had the coldest temperatures (and most snow) this winter, than any other place in the country, all 50 states I believe.
My Bonneville Owner’s Manual specs 5w30 conventional oil, except in “extreme cold” weather, for which it qualifies by operating here. Then 0w30 is specified.
The manual states that 5w30 Synthetic is recommended for all weather conditions, from extreme heat to extreme cold.
Our weather constantly fluctuates. It was below zero this morning. It’s easier for me and better for the car to run Mobil-1 Extended Performance all year. I also think it could be more economical because I can just adhere to my 5,000 mile change intervals and not dump oil early because the weather is expected to turn cold or dump more oil early because it is going to turn hot.
I trust my manual to specify the proper lubricants. Besides, if the synthetic is necessary in extreme cold, I’m thinking it’s better in just plain cold, too. Synthetic flows better when chilled than conventional.
CSA