Engine oil prices - how low does it go?

Engine oil prices - how low does it go?

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Discussion

Toaster Pilot

Original Poster:

14,619 posts

158 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
For old cars I'm doing oil changes on I normally buy Euro Car Parts own brand TripleQX 10w40 oil - it's about £13 for 5L which is about as cheap as it gets at retail prices

They rang me this morning offering me 20L for £23+VAT - that's pretty much half the price per litre!

Got me wondering, how much do garages pay for those massive drums they use? Pretty sure I've been invoiced some silly £/L amount by a garage as part of a service before

Gixer

4,463 posts

248 months

Friday 1st August 2014
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I used to use the mobile 1 oil that Halfrauds sold at over £50 a jug and used to buy it at Costco for £20something a jug. Think the question is, how much do some companies mark the price up? Large dealer networks would be buying those drums in at an extremely good price I would think.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

126 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Toaster Pilot said:
For old cars I'm doing oil changes on I normally buy Euro Car Parts own brand TripleQX 10w40 oil - it's about £13 for 5L which is about as cheap as it gets at retail prices

They rang me this morning offering me 20L for £23+VAT - that's pretty much half the price per litre!
They're sick of tripping over an overstock in the back room, and want to make some space.

Toaster Pilot said:
Got me wondering, how much do garages pay for those massive drums they use? Pretty sure I've been invoiced some silly £/L amount by a garage as part of a service before
It's called "profit", and it's why the owner of the garage unlocks the door in the morning. So he has a house to go home to that night, with food on the table.

TLandCruiser

2,788 posts

198 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
It's called "profit", and it's why the owner of the garage unlocks the door in the morning. So he has a house to go home to that night, with food on the table.
No you got it wrong, companies are not allowed to make a profit and everyone else is overpaid! o and also its because of the immigrants!

0llie

3,008 posts

196 months

Friday 1st August 2014
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In 2009 I bought 5l of Morrisons 20w50 oil for my Ninety, I can't remember the exact price, but I got change from £5. Still got some in the garage which I used in my S3.

Toaster Pilot

Original Poster:

14,619 posts

158 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
It's called "profit", and it's why the owner of the garage unlocks the door in the morning. So he has a house to go home to that night, with food on the table.
Well aware of how business works thanks - do you need to post such hostile comments on every thread that mentions the motor trade?

Not interested in how much profit who's making.

AngryPartsBloke

1,436 posts

151 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
TLandCruiser said:
No you got it wrong, companies are not allowed to make a profit and everyone else is overpaid! o and also its because of the immigrants!
When i worked for a main delaer We used to sell 205L drums to trade customers for £195, which was below cost. We'd get a rebate from hitting a target for selling a certin Value of parts from the Franchise we were part of.

Somebody once got in trouble for selling a drum at £205 and making profit on it.

Treating a rebate as your profit margin, No surprise we went down the pan tbh.

Toaster Pilot

Original Poster:

14,619 posts

158 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
AngryPartsBloke said:
When i worked for a main delaer We used to sell 205L drums to trade customers for £195, which was below cost. We'd get a rebate from hitting a target for selling a certin Value of parts from the Franchise we were part of.

Somebody once got in trouble for selling a drum at £205 and making profit on it.

Treating a rebate as your profit margin, No surprise we went down the pan tbh.
So that's probably about as cheap as it gets yikes

Isn't treating rebates as profit margin quite common in new car sales too?

Steviesam

1,244 posts

134 months

Friday 1st August 2014
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A friend of mine run a 3 franchise garage.

He sells me Mobil 1 for £1.57 a litre, thats what it costs hi.


Jimmyarm

1,962 posts

178 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Toaster Pilot said:
For old cars I'm doing oil changes on I normally buy Euro Car Parts own brand TripleQX 10w40 oil - it's about £13 for 5L which is about as cheap as it gets at retail prices

They rang me this morning offering me 20L for £23+VAT - that's pretty much half the price per litre!

Got me wondering, how much do garages pay for those massive drums they use? Pretty sure I've been invoiced some silly £/L amount by a garage as part of a service before
The barrel price is variable depending on your disount level etc but, it's usually about £1 plus vat a litre for ECP stuff, maybe a bit more.

Better quality stuff is not much more expensive (as above with Mobil 1) but a lot of it depends on how much you are buying/the deal you set up.

We have a massive 1000l tank with pump thing in the workshop from when it used to be a main dealer, I imagine they were paying less than 75p a litre to fill that but we have never looked into it.

And no, none of this means you should be paying a packet of crips and some loose change for a Service smile

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

126 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Toaster Pilot said:
Well aware of how business works thanks
You show little sign of it.

Toaster Pilot said:
do you need to post such hostile comments on every thread that mentions the motor trade?
Don't tell me - you think I work in the motor trade? You're wrong.

Toaster Pilot said:
Not interested in how much profit who's making.
So why complain about "silly" price per litre? And, if you're going to do that, have a look at the prices for litre bottles in petrol stations and Halfrauds first... then buy a 205 litre drum and some empty plastic bottles, and retire on the proceeds.

Toaster Pilot

Original Poster:

14,619 posts

158 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
I don't care where you work - your constant hostility towards anyone that mentions anything related to garages/the trade is tiresome to read.

Accounting practices of main dealers who choose to invoice ridiculous amounts for fluids as part of a service in order to spread the labour charge the customer sees on the bill is what I am referring to - at no point did I mention that I expect a garage to service a car for £1/litre and a packet of crisps - I can do that myself in my own workshop using the oil I bought this morning!

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

126 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Toaster Pilot said:
I don't care where you work - your constant hostility towards anyone that mentions anything related to garages/the trade is tiresome to read.
I'm sure it would be, if it existed. Which it doesn't.

Sammo123

2,105 posts

181 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Jimmyarm said:
The barrel price is variable depending on your disount level etc but, it's usually about £1 plus vat a litre for ECP stuff, maybe a bit more.
Blimey if you can get oil at that price we will have some! We buy barrels of 5W30 Low Ash oil from ECP and pay £339 +VAT for 205L. We are on the highest discount level available (I know this because I used to work at ECP and I set the account up for this garage).

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

126 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
TooMany2cvs said:
Toaster Pilot said:
I don't care where you work - your constant hostility towards anyone that mentions anything related to garages/the trade is tiresome to read.
I'm sure it would be, if it existed. Which it doesn't.
<slaps forehead>
Of course... This is because I lost interest in the overpriced shed of a Landy that you were asking about yesterday. Nothing to do with you being trade, that. Apart from it being the wrong length for what I'm after, it's an overpriced shed with the world's worst photos in the ad. Don't take it personally... just halve the price and take some better pics.

Edited by TooMany2cvs on Friday 1st August 13:35

AngryPartsBloke

1,436 posts

151 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Toaster Pilot said:
AngryPartsBloke said:
When i worked for a main delaer We used to sell 205L drums to trade customers for £195, which was below cost. We'd get a rebate from hitting a target for selling a certin Value of parts from the Franchise we were part of.

Somebody once got in trouble for selling a drum at £205 and making profit on it.

Treating a rebate as your profit margin, No surprise we went down the pan tbh.
So that's probably about as cheap as it gets yikes

Isn't treating rebates as profit margin quite common in new car sales too?
Yes, that was the second clue that helped me solve the mystery of why the company failed hehe


AngryPartsBloke

1,436 posts

151 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Jimmyarm said:
The barrel price is variable depending on your disount level etc but, it's usually about £1 plus vat a litre for ECP stuff, maybe a bit more.

Better quality stuff is not much more expensive (as above with Mobil 1) but a lot of it depends on how much you are buying/the deal you set up.

We have a massive 1000l tank with pump thing in the workshop from when it used to be a main dealer, I imagine they were paying less than 75p a litre to fill that but we have never looked into it.

And no, none of this means you should be paying a packet of crips and some loose change for a Service smile
We had one of these, the best thing about it was you booked it to a job per litre. If an engine took 4.3 litres you booked and charged for 5 etc.

Meant you were always "Gaiaing oil" when you check the tank.

addz86

1,439 posts

186 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
If its dirt cheap its sometimes reclaimed oil, won't last very long before its knackered again! Some of the bigger parts suppliers own brand 205ltrs are always reclaimed