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Changing the oil in my previous Mercedes C240 would require 8.5 quarts of synthetic oil (0w40 Mobil1) at about $7 per quart, and a filter about $10... about $70 in parts alone.
Mercedes requires a 0w40, as they had found signs of oil starvation at tight tolerance areas... that was the reason that my mercedes certified local mechanic who worked for dealership told me.
Many local shops and even dealerships themselves would put in 5w30 or 5w40 or even 10w40 in the summer time... I always went out of my way to find 0w40 and put that in... but even I started to buy 5w30 mobil1 from costco in the last few oil changes (80k miles +).
Usually if a manufacturer very specifically asks for a certain grade of oil or a certain brand (which has got say MB or BMW approval rating printed on the bottle of that grade/type of oil), there is an underlying reason for it that they don't necessarily care to share with the rest of the world, be it a design flaw or simply a certain characteristic of the engine.
Honda transmissions for example demanded Honda specific transmission fluid. I took my old Honda 94 accord back when I was in Canada in 1998 to a quick lube place and had them change the transmission fluid with a generic one (same kind)... and had to take the car to the dealer and have them do another one in a couple of weeks after I got tired of the rough gear changes that showed up after the change with the generic brand. Once they put in the Honda brand transmission fluid in it, it started to run smoothly again.
Pay the few extra bucks and get the exact thing that the manufacturer asks for. It 'can' save a lot of aggravation in the long run. That is how I look at it.
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02-11-2009, 03:50 AM
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