Motor Oil Could Be the Next Thing Drivers Start Panic-Buying
Posted by mark000@reddit | PrepperIntel | View on Reddit | 87 comments
Posted by mark000@reddit | PrepperIntel | View on Reddit | 87 comments
jimmib234@reddit
I work in oil sales. Motor oil is OK for now, but gear oil and ATF are taking a hit.
IPorkNBeanzI@reddit
I’m in the industry too (gas and oil). We just had a call yesterday about a major hike coming next week on motor oil.
Kudgar@reddit
Can confirm, our prices are going up 25% on most products
joeg26reddit@reddit
Who is “our”
PuppyPebbles@reddit
It’s them!
jimmib234@reddit
Im sure its coming. We just haven't gotten that email from up above yet. I forgot, plastic bottles, methanol (windshield wash for us) and brake parts cleaner are all screwed too
n55_6mt@reddit
We got a quote at work on a few hundred gallons of vacuum pump oil the other day and it was up by 75% from a year prior.
Im glad that I only have one car that still has an internal combustion engine left in my personal fleet. I survived the price surge in 2022 but it was rough. Going out and getting electric commuter vehicles in response in 2023 has been a fantastic move.
DieselPunkPiranha@reddit
What make and model EVs did you go with? How well have they handled the workload? Run into any problems?
n55_6mt@reddit
I bought a 23 Bolt EUV and the only issue I’ve had was with the surround view camera system. Dealer had to change out a control module and it’s been fine since. I’m at just over 45k miles and other than needing tires soon I’ve had literally no maintenance outside of tire rotations.
I was apprehensive about range / charging at first especially as one of the big strikes against the Bolt was its lackluster fast charging speed but honestly it hasn’t been an issue. Normal use I charge at home every 3-4 days to 80% and that handles my 50 mile commute no problem. Longer trips have been fine as well, I regularly go visit family ~2hrs away and come back on the same charge no problem.
It worked out well enough that we leased my wife a Honda Prologue. It’s had a few more issues with things like forward emergency braking and the front CV axles but the lease was incredibly cheap and the gas/ maintenance savings has made it worth it.
We still have our V8 4Runner but we almost never drive it anymore. We put like 3000 miles total on it last year.
AirborneGeek@reddit
ATTN: Freeze dryer owners (we overstocked on this last spring while I was flipping out about tariffs)
Hesitation-Marx@reddit
There goes my plans to invest in a neighborhood freeze dryer, ig
RhinoPillMan@reddit
Been seeing a ton of Fram ATF on sale at every auto parts store because they’re going out of business. Marked down 75%. Might be a good idea for folks to grab at least a few quarts if they see it at that price.
Salty-Passenger-4801@reddit
Great
JohnnyGrinder@reddit
My local parts shop told me that these new vehicles that can run on like 0w-8 are gonna have a really hard time even finding oil! Apparently the plant that produces it was bombed.
So all these fancy new shitty cars won’t even be able to the serviced. I’ll forever keep my older trucks and cars and make them run till I die.
slow_connection@reddit
Other than emissions, is there any reason why you can't run 5w20 in these engines?
theoriginalwuji@reddit
5w20 and others are thicker i believe. Harder on internal compression maybe?
CatoChateau@reddit
I bet it would blow up the piston rings and then you burn oil.
Maybe too thick to get into rod bearings, so your piston knocks? Not sure.
LebaneseRaiden@reddit
“Blow up the piston rings”….I’ll take your bet, how much are you putting down?
If you’re betting on the oil not getting into the rod bearings, I’ll take that too.
Appropriate_Lime_234@reddit
lol. No. Jesus yall just talk out your asses here.
livestrong2109@reddit
Id probably go 0w10 or 0w15 if I could find it before 0w20
radioloudly@reddit
At the risk of asking a stupid question, my 2013 Toyota’s manual recommends 0w20 but should I be getting something else?
Atomsq@reddit
Get what your manual recommends
AlbanianRozzers@reddit
I believe Toyota now is recommending switching between 0w-8 and 0w-20 at alternating oil changes to try and preserve the 0w-8 supply. Can't be good for the engines with oil pumps designed for the watery stuff.
AYetiAteMyBalls@reddit
0w8 and 0w20 will be the same viscosity at cold startup when pumping is the hardest. It won't hurt anything.
Spicy_Ejaculate@reddit
I know on my 2026 toyota it calls for 0w-8, but alternating 0w-16 if the 8 is unavailable. The Australian owners manual for the exact same car and engine says you can pretty much put whatever the fuck you want in it. The 0w-8 recommendations is driven by fuel economy laws and them trying to get their fleet efficiency numbers up
Mad_Gouki@reddit
Yes, there is a publication you can find on twitter
rmannyconda78@reddit
I’m actually going to build me a small dual sport motorcycle soon due to oil prices, things gonna be about 100cc
hidefinitionpissjugs@reddit
these new cars are awful
UserZero541@reddit
Hell I paniced about 5 years ago.
Hey-buuuddy@reddit
There was an AutoZone corporate internal letter posted somewhere on Reddit today that basically said massive product shortages incoming and they are going to train their staff on how to sell slightly different viscosities. Ex: customer wants 0w, sell them the 5w.
attachedtothreads@reddit
Thank you for this. Do you think I should buy brake pads? My pads are towards the end of green, heading into yellow, but still in the green region.
crumblednewman@reddit
I just changed my front pads and rotors this week. I always buy from RockAuto. A dealer was going out of business and I found rotors for $17 each. Blue ceramic pads for $35. Shipping is a different monster of course, rotors are heavy, $21 through FedEx.
humanredditor45@reddit
If you can afford them now do it. It will only get more expensive in the coming weeks, definitely not cheaper and probably not staying at current prices.
attachedtothreads@reddit
Sighs. Deep down I knew the answer to that, but I've just done a massive haul and don't want to do another one. But thanks, anyway.
DocMoochal@reddit
So you'll be abl me to oil your car but not gas it up, completing negating the purpose of buying the oil....
TheBirdBytheWindow@reddit
Wr own two V8 cars that are over 20 years old and have been paid off as long.
If you think we're not going to stockpile this and replacement parts knowing they're heading to bankrupt late model car part companies think again.
You're a fool if you don't get your car up to date on repairs and maintenance and aren't prepping for what they're forcing.
You can't have thousands of brand new 2023 cars still sitting on lots. Government won't allow it.
Prep your wallets and your garages or you'll be sitting.
PopePiusVII@reddit
Wish we could have decent public transit in cities. Wouldn’t have to worry so much about cars if we had viable alternatives to get around.
Mystyc-Cheez@reddit
Unfortunately, even public transit would be affected by oil shortages if it got bad enough...
Loud-Engineer-5702@reddit
Not rail, and not increasingly electric buses
TheBirdBytheWindow@reddit
I would anticipate more public transit shortages in the future.
So if you use it to get to work and important appointments and aren't near major shopping hubs or airports that benefit from the local stops, watch out, and start making alternate plans to get to your necessary places regularly.
PreparationBrave7710@reddit
I'm in the process of buying 3 parts cars for my truck cant even finds roters that don't cost 100 to 300 each
Unique-Sock3366@reddit
Absolutely. We generally keep enough oil and filters for our vehicles for two years each in our preps.
Gonna recheck our stores today and top them up.
Practical_Hippo6289@reddit
From what I'm hearing if your car uses one of the weird new oils like 0W-8 then you will have a hard time finding it. People may have to run what is not the officially recommended weight of oil. I mean my car uses 5W-20 but it's a Kia which burns oil by design apparently so I run 5W-30 in it instead to try to slow that down. So it's doable.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cartalk/comments/1tdnq51/dropping_this_from_a_throwaway_account/
Doc891@reddit
well i wasnt thinking about it before lmao. Honestly think this was caused by this one guy pointing out that gas prices went up while motor oil prices have stayed the same on some podcast. He was trying to cry conspiracy but i think a lot of people would walk away thinking motor oil was gonna go up now.
lavapig_love@reddit
A mechanic once told me that if you like a car, buy two of them as alike as possible. Free spare parts always surpasses buying them.
vintagerust@reddit
I've gone down the parts car route, it's not really great. Do you want to spend twice as long trying to get a worn part off the other car. If you absolutely can't get it, but odds are if one car needs it the one on the other car won't be in great shape.
Crown Vics for example I've replaced intake manifolds (the aftermarket won't crack and leak antifreeze) brakes, ball joints, entire front end steering systems, very few items are worth moving over when you're replacing them due to wear. Really the only thing I salvaged was a door code key pad and it went bad shortly after.
offhandaxe@reddit
Im looking at parts for a more modern jeep Cherokee and if I got a parts car it would just be trash. All of the parts are plastic and ive been replacing with aluminum and steel aftermarket for a while now.
BlacktankFrank77@reddit
Not terlit paper, good ole’ fashioned Earl this thyme
einzweitres@reddit
From my oil change place yesterday.
emilymh2018@reddit
It might depend on where they live. In most apartments in my state, you cannot keep flammable materials like oil and gas stocked up in storage. Too risky. They also do inspections in some suburbs looking for things like hoarders.
AnonymousAutonomous@reddit
Just get proper containers you can burry in the woods and draw yourself an ol' timey pirate map. You know, "20 paces north of Raven Rock" kind of map. Easy peasy...
I'd include a "/s" but I also know that's how some of ya'll are thinking..
MrD3a7h@reddit
You're joking but the prepper sub has had a few very active threads discussing how to bury caches of food and ammo like they were Lewis and Clark.
If shit gets bad enough that you are retrieving your gear from prestaged caches, just give it up
zerosumratio@reddit
Yeah but what do you do when the Dunmer Reavers get to that spot first? You go to it and immediately hear a sword drawn, chest thumping and “Never should have come here!”
agent_flounder@reddit
Keep yer scurvy hands off me oily booty, ya scaliwag!
JohnnyBoy11@reddit
You can keep a few five quart jugs in your trunk... you should probably keep one in there anyways just to be prepared. Say you get the good stuff like synthetic and a typical oil change uses 5 quarts, then three of those should last you a year
emilymh2018@reddit
I don't know how to change my own oil, though. I'm Gen X. They made us take home ec in school instead of shop class. I do save money for things like random car repairs.
knxdude1@reddit
I’m GenX as well, my dad always had POS cars and we did a lot of work on them. I can do oil and change and set the points in a distributor. That last one is real handy now that all cars are fuel injected lol
Traditional-Handle83@reddit
Oil change is generally the easiest thing you can do. Once you do it a few times, its goes from taking 30 minutes to can be done in under 10 minutes.
jking13@reddit
Caveat there. Some engines take a looooong time for all of the oil to drain, so you might be waiting for a while. It was a problem a while back for some Fords because oil change places weren’t waiting long enough and ended up seriously overfilling the engine.
agent_flounder@reddit
Steel ammo boxes work for storing fluids when I go four wheeling.
Less-Dragonfruit-294@reddit
Never knew people banging on doors asking if you hiding the oil.
emilymh2018@reddit
Other problem is space. A storage unit costs extra in most buildings. I keep a couple of big plastic bins in my closet with extra cans of food in them. There’s towels over them in case an apartment inspector gets curious.
shiningdickhalloran@reddit
I doubt the inspectors are savvy enough to sniff out motor oil stored in olive oil containers.
Awkward_Ostrich_4275@reddit
Hopefully most of the preppers here switched over to EVs and solar panels already. Fuel independence and much lower maintenance.
Interesting-Log-9627@reddit
Just saw you said exactly the same thing as I did!
No_Possible_7108@reddit
Rich people flexing that they can afford motor oil in this economy smh
WillBlat@reddit
For real this dude says buy extra car parts and store them.. dog i barely got enough to keep the truck running now.... pfft buy extra? In this economy?
vintagerust@reddit
I think we need to update the phrase "in this economy", the economy is going great for large businesses and billionaires, it's what news outlets consider a great economy. It's just not good for working people.
I guess "in late stage capitalism" doesn't roll off the tongue but the economy is working exactly as designed and intended.
MrD3a7h@reddit
Perhaps we could say "in a bourgeoisie economy?"
Far_Chocolate_8534@reddit
The Mobil 1 I just bought was $5 less than it was Feb 3.
IPorkNBeanzI@reddit
There’s a major price hike coming on motor oil next week. I work in the industry. Buy what you need now.
Interesting-Log-9627@reddit
Yet another thing EV drivers don’t have to worry about - no oil changes
2600sysop@reddit
My local Walmart had been out of a lot of different size oil filters for months now.
AwakePlatypus@reddit
That's because the parent company of Fram suddenly went bankrupt and shut down. A division of them also made the Walmart brand filters. Now another company acquired that division but will probably be a while until production starts again.
2600sysop@reddit
Really? Dang I had no idea. Thanks for the info
AwakePlatypus@reddit
Yeah it really has fucked up the whole industry as they (First Brands) had so many brands that produced so many things. For instance, Costco had to quickly find a new wiper blade supplier as the 'Michelin' blades they sold were produced by them.
pixie6870@reddit
So, the oil change I will need for my 2019 Chevy Trax will cost me more?
Should I buy my own motor oil and find a local place to change it?
download13@reddit
All those people riding ebikes on the highway shoulder looking less stupid now
Axon14@reddit
Grabbed some oil and filters just in case. No reason not to have it. Was still $25 for 5 quarts. Thanks all.
AwakePlatypus@reddit
Yep. I have a bunch of Advance points to burn so grabbed a few jugs (and free filter when you buy 5qt.) the other day. Usually it works out that I only have to change my oil once a year so i'm set for a while.
Diaza_Kinutz@reddit
Guess I'm going to panic buy motor oil after work 🤷
Stunning_Ordinary548@reddit
Yea I bought six 5 quart bottles from Costco when they went on sale last month. Don’t want to deal with this over the next two years
AdultContemporaneous@reddit
I legit ordered the differential and transmission fluids for my car about two weeks ago. I probably won't even change them out for a year, but I did it because of exactly this.
heckin_anxiety@reddit
It’s so nice some people have the luxury of panic buying in bulk. My version is panicking about which food I could buy this week that I can still pay rent at the end of the month. Good ol USA.
supapumped@reddit
Many of the 5qt oil containers I sell at work all just price jumped by about 4-5 dollars and this is after they jumped a couple bucks just 2-3 weeks ago
jalfredthe1st@reddit
I had this thought as I was changing the oil in my mower last night. Then thought, nah, if SHTF, my lawn will not be a high priority. Hell, it’s not now.
Bastilleinstructor@reddit
Don't just shop the retail stores. They have a tremendous mark-up. Some of the autoparts wholesalers will sell to individuals, some wont. But its worth looking into. My dad ran a wholesale auto parts dealer for 50 years. Many of these places are local and not national, its another way to get parts when big box stores dont have what you need.