Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

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Madbuffalo
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Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Madbuffalo »

OK, before I ruffle any feathers I want to mention this is for my vehicle, not my bike. So my question is, does anyone know of a way to buy motor oil other than by the quart? I've been going to the local Meijer store for years but recently they stopped stocking it. Lately I've had to drive to the next town over and now even that store is stocking less. Tonight I stocked up and took all but one bottle! I have always enjoyed doing my own oil changes but now just finding the oil is becoming a big hastle. The other issue is the cost of buying by the bottle. 5 quarts of oil plus filter costs $17.43 but some lube shops will do the dirty work for you for as little as $19.99 so my savings is becoming less and less. I know the shops buy in bulk which is probably how they can charge so little but am just wondering if that's an option for me.

Are any of you doing your own oil changes and what do you do???
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geck0
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by geck0 »

Yes it is possible. The Auto supply stores in New York sell it by the 5 liter container. The place I work @ receives oils by the 55gal drum and 300gal totes.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Madbuffalo »

Thanks geck0. Haven't seen any 5-liter bottles around here but will have to look around. I was thinking about trying to buy a 55 gallon drum which would last me about 6 years but being just under 400 Lbs the weight is probably just a little more than I can lift on my own. :roll: Wasn't there a 30 gallon drum made at one time? Must be nice working at a place that stocks oil, I'd definately be taking advantage of that!
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tz375
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by tz375 »

It's easy to find in 1 Gallon (4-5Liter) size containers but more than that you are looking at bulk delivery. How does Jiffy lube get their bulk oil? Our local auto mechanic buys Valvoline in cases of Quart containers.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Suzukidave »

The local Auto Zone carries a good selection of oils now in 5 liter (5.28qt) jugs and those are real handy .
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Madbuffalo »

Thanks Dave. I checked out the local AutoZone following comments here and, yes, they seem to offer that large 5L jug in almost every brand they sell. Problem was even their cheapest "AutoZone" brand oil was almost twice as much as I've been paying for Meijer brand. Sounds like I'm already getting oil about as cheaply as possible aside from buying a drum. Still wondering what others do...
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Suzsmokeyallan »

What I do is to find the oil I like and buy it. If I can get it by the gallon thats great, if not I just get it by the next smaller size available at the time I'm in the store.
Its pointless driving around to save five dollars and end burning up that or more in gasoline to get it cheaper.

Good thing you don't own a dump truck Josh, my Isuzu diesel six wheeler takes four gallons of oil and the oil filter takes almost two pints for itself, outside of the four gallons in the engine.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by wvc »

I recently priced Castrol 10w40 from a distributor for a 55 gal. drum. Turned out it was actually cheaper to buy the 5 qt. containers from Wal-Mart rather than the 55 gals from the distributor. Makes no sense to me.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Madbuffalo »

Suzsmokeyallan wrote:Good thing you don't own a dump truck Josh
Wouldn't a dump truck be the ultimate bike hauler though? :roll: That is a lot of oil.

At wvc, Yeah that's surprising. That answers my original question, sounds like it's available in bulk but not necessarily at a savings. I'm paying about $17.50 an oil change now (5 quarts Meijer conventional + filter) so I'm guessing that's about as good as it's gonna get.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Suzukidave »

Buy some up now as with the price heading back up again :(
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Seafarer12 »

Bypass all the stores and go straight to a supplier. I buy my oil by the case from a local supplier. I also buy coolant, tranny fluid, and hydraulic fluid from them. It comes out a lot cheaper than buying it in the store. I get 6 quarts of full synthetic for 22 bucks, get diesel oil for 7 a gallon. As far as buying a drum I wouldn't unless you used it a lot faster than 6 years. It doesn't do oil any good to sit open to air that long. Thats why I usually stick with one gallon jugs or 5 gallon pails.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Madbuffalo »

Seafarer12 wrote:Bypass all the stores and go straight to a supplier. I buy my oil by the case from a local supplier. I also buy coolant, tranny fluid, and hydraulic fluid from them. It comes out a lot cheaper than buying it in the store. I get 6 quarts of full synthetic for 22 bucks, get diesel oil for 7 a gallon. As far as buying a drum I wouldn't unless you used it a lot faster than 6 years. It doesn't do oil any good to sit open to air that long. Thats why I usually stick with one gallon jugs or 5 gallon pails.
Yeah man, just tell me where to get it and I'm golden. Just buying at my local Meijer now for about $12 per gallon but I haven't found anything cheaper. Been running that brand of oil since I bought the truck and it's treated me pretty good so far. I've put 134K on the little 4 banger ranger now for a total of 200K and it's still going strong. The chasis is literally rusting off the motor at this point so I couldn't ask for more than that. So anyway, yeah, where are you finding it cheaper?
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Seafarer12 »

Not sure about up there. The company I deal with is a local supplier. I buy their house brand of oil. I would contact the home office of brand of oil you like and ask for their local distributors are. Then contact the distributor. Its even better if you know someone who has a commercial account with that distributor, you would get a better price. I am not sure what you do for work but if you work for a big company or city they might already have an account. Just tell them it is a cash ticket and don't offer any extra information and it might just slide through.
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Re: Can 10w30 be bought in bulk?

Post by Madbuffalo »

That's sound advice. Thanks.
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