5W50 synthetic oil ok? - 2004 Saab 9-5 auto

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George Ayer - 11 Apr 2006 20:37 GMT

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

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Johannes Andersen - 11 Apr 2006 21:10 GMT

> 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
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> Thanks for your input
> George

This seems very risky to me. Apart from the unusual high warm oil grade, it
is odd that the large multi-grade span is sold cheaper? You have to ask
yourself what can be the reason for that? Go for the API and ACEA accreditation
as specified by Saab. Oil change isn't costly per mile anyway. Tip to UK
owners: Halfords often have 5W-40 fully synt on BOGOF before public holidays.

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Walt Kienzle - 11 Apr 2006 22:59 GMT

> 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
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> 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.]

Because of the reference to Costco, I assume that you are in North America,
but you don't mention a specific location. 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.

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.

Walt Kienzle
1991 9000T

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George Ayer - 12 Apr 2006 03:00 GMT

>> 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.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> 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
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> 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

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Bob - 13 Apr 2006 03:41 GMT

>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.

Couple notes: The dealer is expensive because they screw you over. It
has little to do with the alleged extra "checks" which take all off 60
seconds and are only done to try to sell you more overpriced services
and material. They just screw you out of way more money that the
services are worth.

As an example, my local dealer charges more than $20 more for a
synthetic oil change vs. a standard oil change. Let's examine that:
It's the exact same labor. Mobil-1 costs $2 more per quart *retail*
than dino oil. Saabs take 4 quarts. So, that comes to $8 and the
dealer charges $20. Dare I mention, they buy their oil in drums and
pay less per quart than you and me. Explanation? They screw you over.

That all said, filters do vary in quality. Wix is good and/or their
OEM products. Likewise Mann (old Saab) filters are good. Others vary,
check to see what they use.

Also, Costco is likely to employ monkeys who don't understand the
copper washer on your pan or the fact that it is aluminum and requires
less torque. Every story I see posted about a stuck or stripped oil
plug begins with "I went to the el-cheapo oil change". Likewise, those
places are famous for putting in the wrong product (e.g. tranny fluid
instead of oil) and overfilling the crankcase (often destroying
motors). Use them at your own risk.

Also, Castrol is a dino base (core) blended back to synthetic. Mobil-1
is fully synthetic. Since they cost the same, I use M1. I don't think
I would be too concerned about using Castrol as long as you use
reasonable intervals for the change.

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