Anybody buy bulk motor oil?

charlz · Jul 15, 2011

I noticed that retail motor oil never went down when oil and gas prices fell as the economy went in the crapper. Now it seems to be on the rise again. Anyone buying motor oil in bulk? How has the price tracked oil and gas prices versus retail motor oil prices?

(actually maybe I should have posted this in the lubricants forum...)

dmccarty · Jul 15, 2011

Define "bulk?"

I have been buying JD 0Wx40 oil in a five gallon bucket for $99 which is $20 a gallon. Shell 5Wx40 oil in a one gallon container I have seen for $25-30.

The five gallon "bulk" container is quite a bit cheaper.

Later,
Dan

Larry Caldwell · Jul 15, 2011

The cheapest place I have seen for motor oil is Wal-Mart, and have been buying the 5 quart jugs of synthetic for $17.50. However, the last time I was in there I noticed prices had taken a real jump, to $24.50 for a 5 qt. jug. I was buying diesel oil, and picked up two gallons of Delvac 15w-40 for $13.?? each.

charlz · Jul 15, 2011

dmccarty said:
Define "bulk?"

I have been buying JD 0Wx40 oil in a five gallon bucket for $99 which is $20 a gallon. Shell 5Wx40 oil in a one gallon container I have seen for $25-30.

The five gallon "bulk" container is quite a bit cheaper.

Later,
Dan

I was thinking 55gallon drum or more i guess... I don't think they sell it in the 35gallon drums anymore. 55 is probably too much for my needs but 35 would be perfect I think.

charlz · Jul 15, 2011

Larry Caldwell said:
The cheapest place I have seen for motor oil is Wal-Mart, and have been buying the 5 quart jugs of synthetic for $17.50. However, the last time I was in there I noticed prices had taken a real jump, to $24.50 for a 5 qt. jug. I was buying diesel oil, and picked up two gallons of Delvac 15w-40 for $13.?? each.

That is what got me wondering. Before gas went way up I was buying the 5 qt Valvoline 5w30 for about $10.50 and when gas/oil shot up it was like $13.00 and now I saw it is $15 or $15.50 I had been expecting to see it go back down when gas prices fell so much but it never did and now it is on the rise again.

dfkrug · Jul 15, 2011

charlz said:
Before gas went way up I was buying the 5 qt Valvoline 5w30 for about $10.50 and when gas/oil shot up it was like $13.00 and now I saw it is $15 or $15.50.

Yeah, it's expensive. I used to get motor oil from Walmart in the 5-qt
contains, like Larry does.

Now I buy 5W30 Conoco-76 oil in 5-gal buckets. I have them refill my
bucket, cuz it saves the container cost and they top it off (about 5.5 gal
I figure). I have been buying THF this way for a while, and it really saves.
You need to find a trucker- or AG-type dealer who sells 55-gal drums and
5-gal bkts. They also sell red Diesel at my store.

300UGUY · Jul 15, 2011

I needed some oil recently, generally buy a case or 2. Kinda got sticker shock, a case was $50 or more at Autozone. I ended up buying a 5 quart jug. They have inflation numbers published, I wonder what the rate is for those of us who have higher energy requirements?

smstonypoint · Jul 15, 2011

300UGUY said:
They have inflation numbers published, I wonder what the rate is for those of us who have higher energy requirements?

The USDA publishes prices paid indices for farmers -- scroll down to page 41 of this link: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/AgriPric/AgriPric-06-29-2011.pdf

Steve

RichZ · Jul 15, 2011

Periodically TSC has a really good sale on their house brand (Traveler) motor oil. When they do, I buy a case or two. I find that to be the cheapest price that I usually see.

Larry Caldwell · Jul 16, 2011

NAPA is having a sale on their synthetic 5w-30 for $3.50 a quart. That's the same old $17.50 for 5 quarts I used to pay at Wal-Mart before the price hike. I may go into town tomorrow and pick up a couple cases.