Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 22:00:05 -0400 From: "George Ayer" <someonenospamatico.ca> Subject: Re: 5W50 synthetic oil ok? - 2004 Saab 9-5 auto
"Walt Kienzle" <wkienzlenospam.com> wrote in message news:yFV_f.67734$Jd.43144nospamsvr25.news.prodigy.net... > > "George Ayer" <someonenospamatico.ca> wrote in message > news:1AT_f.3075$fo1.128313nospam20.bellglobal.com... >> My Saab dealer charges $89 for an oil & filter change (they also check >> the belts, hoses, lube hinges, etc.) and use 0W-40 Mobil synthetic. >> Costco will do an oil and filter change for $39 but use 5W-50 Castrol GTX >> synthetic. The owner's manual recommends Saab Genuine or Mobil synthetic >> 0W-30, 5W-30 or 0W-40. >> >> Think it's ok to go with Costco for my oil changes? Obviously, I'd like >> to save $50 per oil change. >> >> Thanks for your input >> George >> > > I would say "yes", Costco is fine. Personally, I prefer Mobil 1 over > Castrol, but they are both high quality oil products. Costco isn't likely > to do much more than top off some fluids as part of their oil & filter > change, and may use a lower quality filter than the Saab dealer, so check > the filter brand at Costco too. [I now refrain from digressing into a > discussion on why I don't like Fram oil filters.] Good point about the oil filter; I will check to see what brand they use. > > Because of the reference to Costco, I assume that you are in North > America, but you don't mention a specific location. You're right about North America - I live in Toronto, Ontario - Canada. >0W-40 is very light weight oil for the summer months. My opinion is that >the 5W-50 has the edge if you live in a region with a warm summer. Often in the 30C's July & August. > > The explanation of the price difference between Costco and the Saab dealer > is simple. Costco is for members only and they keep their prices low by > eliminating all the checking that the Saab dealer promises. The Saab > dealer doesn't need to reduce prices, oil changes are just a sideline of > their main repair business and a service for their regular customers that > want their cars worked on by the same technicians. That is an advantage > that might be worth the extra cost the dealer charges: They know where to > look for faults and can get a better "feel" for your car's needs if they > see it in their shop for all its service requirements. Well, I certainly intend to take my Saab back to the dealer for anything other than maybe tires and oil changes (actually their prices for winter tires matched Costco's). Mainly I was curious about the different oil specifications and you've answered that question. Thanks for your comments. > > Walt Kienzle > 1991 9000T >
