National - Oil Change

madtoady

madtoady

madtoady

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Anyone had this done and should I consider them to do it for me?

They have quoted £53 for an oil change and filter which seems a cracking price considering they use Castrol.

"Quality 5W30 Fully Synthetic (includes oil filter) Premium oil suitable for most petrol and diesel cars including BMW and Mercedes (excludes Volvo petrol turbo after 2004)"


I'd struggle to get the right oil and filter for that price but does it seem too good to be true?

http://www.national.co.uk/oil-vehicle-search.aspx
 
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madtoady said:
Anyone had this done and should I consider them to do it for me?

They have quoted £53 for an oil change and filter which seems a cracking price considering they use Castrol.

"Quality 5W30 Fully Synthetic (includes oil filter) Premium oil suitable for most petrol and diesel cars including BMW and Mercedes (excludes Volvo petrol turbo after 2004)"


I'd struggle to get the right oil and filter for that price but does it seem too good to be true?

http://www.national.co.uk/oil-vehicle-search.aspx
Click to expand...


Ivw heard of similar deals before, they get cheap oil buying in bulk but still they must be only just breaking even... Couldn't comment on how legit it is unless its a loss leade to try and upsell other services.

That said last time i got 2 tyres fitted through an Internet company and the guy at th. Nomi nated fitting place kinda muttered that they can't be making anything..
 
That's a very good price considering the parts would cost half if not more of the total cost. Still I would do the job myself and save some cash as its a very simple job.
 
For my Octy vRS the online quote says £40.46 - that's for "up to 5l of oil" - so 5w30 fully synthetic plus filters.
What would put me off is for me there is no indication that the oil would conform to the "VW 50x.x" standards.
5w30 fully synth is correct - but I'd want to be sure it was to "VW standard".
 
stoofa said:
For my Octy vRS the online quote says £40.46 - that's for "up to 5l of oil" - so 5w30 fully synthetic plus filters.
What would put me off is for me there is no indication that the oil would conform to the "VW 50x.x" standards.
5w30 fully synth is correct - but I'd want to be sure it was to "VW standard".
Click to expand...

It used to advertise quite clearly that it was Castrol Edge they were using - now it doesn't, they've even blanked the logo off the bottles. Surely this can only be because they've stopped using Castrol Edge..
 
Personally, I wouldn't trust those National monkeys to do anything. The engine in my car ordinarily hardly uses any oil. The last time I got it done at National, after 8k, the dipstick level was below 'min' and I had to add almost 2l to bring it back to the midpoint. They have loads of barrels of stuff in the garage - who knows whether they're putting in the right oil?

If you're able to, it would be better to do it yourself. GM DEXOS2 for example which meets the BMW LL04 standard is anything from £20-£30:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5w-30-GEN...le_Oils_Lubricants_Fluids&hash=item256b6fbc9f

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5w-30-GEN...le_Oils_Lubricants_Fluids&hash=item257fdc1403

GM with their bulk buying supply tons of this stuff to dealers at a very low price. Everything above that is just a profit mark up. Just make sure that there is a hologram on the top right corner of the label as all genuine GM oils have these otherwise you could be getting one where the seller has stuck a home produced label onto a carton of mineral oil to try and pass it off as something else. The hologram will have small 'Opel' branding on it and is a genuine hologram. Even if you peel it off, small squares of it remain on the carton. The back of the carton should also have a fold out booklet with different languages.

Missing hologram: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-G...-DEXOS-2-/310718899670?_trksid=p2054897.l4276
 
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TBH this used to be an absolute bargain 3 or 4 years ago before the rise of people like ECP. As a bog standard retail customer I can now get 6.5 litres of LL04 Castrol Edge for £45 and a decent aftermarket oil filter for £8. They will be getting it for even less than this as they A) buy it in bulk and B) are trade customers.

And now they don't even appear to be using Castrol Edge, and will be probably using something like Shell Helix which is only £20 for 5l for a retail customer.

It's still not bad value for money, but nowhere near as good as it used to be. This offer only really makes sense if you need a quick oil change on the cheap and have a small 4 pot engine which you don't really care about.

I mean i only paid £31 for an oil change from a BMW Dealer with me supplying the oil (£45) bringing the total to £76. Considering National want £60 to use unnamed oil and with an aftermarket filter - i'd rather pay the extra £15 and get it done properly.
 
Just had a closer look at that Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 oil from ECP - £21 for 5 litres and it's got pretty much every manufacturer approval! That's something of a bargain?? LL01 approved too so might use it in mine!

Ferrari - the only engine oil recommended by Ferrari
API SM/CF
ACEA A3/B3
ACEA A3/B4
VW 502.00 / VW 505.00 / VW 503.01
Mercedes Benz MB 229.5
BMW LL-01 / BMW Longlife-01
Fiat - Meets the requirements of Fiat 9.55535 Z2
Renault RN 0700 & Renault RN 0710
Porsche A40
 
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Gaygle said:
Just had a closer look at that Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 oil from ECP - £21 for 5 litres and it's got pretty much every manufacturer approval! That's something of a bargain?? LL01 approved too so might use it in mine!

Ferrari - the only engine oil recommended by Ferrari
API SM/CF
ACEA A3/B3
ACEA A3/B4
VW 502.00 / VW 505.00 / VW 503.01
Mercedes Benz MB 229.5
BMW LL-01 / BMW Longlife-01
Fiat - Meets the requirements of Fiat 9.55535 Z2
Renault RN 0700 & Renault RN 0710
Porsche A40
Click to expand...

Is there a voucher code for this as it shows £29.99 for me?
 
Well I left my car with them today on my way to work and just picked it up. The invoice does say Edge and I did ask them this morning just to double check it was Castrol Edge they are using. I checked the oil level and it seems to be a little bit over max which I'm not sure if it's a problem or not.
 
Gaygle said:
Just had a closer look at that Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 oil from ECP - £21 for 5 litres and it's got pretty much every manufacturer approval! That's something of a bargain?? LL01 approved too so might use it in mine!

Ferrari - the only engine oil recommended by Ferrari
API SM/CF
ACEA A3/B3
ACEA A3/B4
VW 502.00 / VW 505.00 / VW 503.01
Mercedes Benz MB 229.5
BMW LL-01 / BMW Longlife-01
Fiat - Meets the requirements of Fiat 9.55535 Z2
Renault RN 0700 & Renault RN 0710
Porsche A40
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with Shell Helix at all.

Got a 200 litre barrel of the stuff sat in our shed as well.
 
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