Technical Oil

markhoose · Jan 20, 2016

Hello all,

I have a Fiat Grande Punto 2008 8v 1.4 petrol, semi-automatic.
I't has had a service today and the garage has given me 4 advisories which are:
Pollen Filter change (quoted £35)
Brake Fluid change (quoted £35)
Fair enough.

Then the other 2 were Oil change (£35) and engine flush (£20) because he told me it only takes a specialist low ash oil and the oil I'm using (a 0w40 from Halfords, in the guide book in Halfords it said the car takes this oil) will be damaging the engine.

The original quote just for the service (supposedly a full service) was £77, so with all the advisories (plus VAT) it would have come to around £215!
I told him I wanted to get a second opinion on the advisories (particularly it only taking a specialist oil seen as it's one of the most common cars on the road) and to just go ahead with the full service as originally planned.

What do you think? Does it only take a specialist oil?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Regards
Mark

nikrox · Jan 20, 2016

advisories on a full service?...tbh I think your being stiffed.

g8rpi · Jan 20, 2016

Hi,
The recomended oil for that engine is 5-40W C3 which is a mid SAPs oil, not low SAPs. Would need to know the exact Halfords oil used, not just the viscosity (0-40W which is OK) to tell if it was OK. I would not bother with a flush in any case, just a new filter and fil with the correct oil. £35 for a pollen filter sounds a bit steep too. If it was a Fiat dealer then a "full service" quote should have included everthing applicable to the mileage / age of the car. Most advertesied "full" services are just an oil and oil filter change, which makes you wonder what "minimum" service would be

. My 06 Croma had a full set of Fiat service stamps, but when I looked at the pollen filter (10 minute diy job) it was blocked and had a 2006 date code so I don't think it had ever been changed.

Robert G8RPI.

markhoose · Jan 20, 2016

g8rpi said:
Hi,
The recomended oil for that engine is 5-40W C3 which is a mid SAPs oil, not low SAPs. Would need to know the exact Halfords oil used, not just the viscosity (0-40W which is OK) to tell if it was OK. I would not bother with a flush in any case, just a new filter and fil with the correct oil. £35 for a pollen filter sounds a bit steep too. If it was a Fiat dealer then a "full service" quote should have included everthing applicable to the mileage / age of the car. Most advertesied "full" services are just an oil and oil filter change, which makes you wonder what "minimum" service would be

. My 06 Croma had a full set of Fiat service stamps, but when I looked at the pollen filter (10 minute diy job) it was blocked and had a 2006 date code so I don't think it had ever been changed.

Robert G8RPI.

Thanks guys, I didn't think it sounded right.

I've got the car back now and he told me they topped the oil up with their "expensive" oil (I notice he didn't use the word "correct" or anything that would imply the original oil was damaging) and as a result of the Half Price Full Service offer they run in January and my choosing not to have any of the "advisories" done they've made a loss on the job of £11.
I've still got the bottle of the Castrol Oil from Halfords in the boot that I'd been using so I'll post an update as soon as I've had a look and know which it is in-case I've somehow ended up with the wrong one.

markhoose · Jan 20, 2016

markhoose said:
Thanks guys, I didn't think it sounded right.

I've got the car back now and he told me they topped the oil up with their "expensive" oil (I notice he didn't use the word "correct" or anything that would imply the original oil was damaging) and as a result of the Half Price Full Service offer they run in January and my choosing not to have any of the "advisories" done they've made a loss on the job of £11.
I've still got the bottle of the Castrol Oil from Halfords in the boot that I'd been using so I'll post an update as soon as I've had a look and know which it is in-case I've somehow ended up with the wrong one.

Oooooo... somehow turns out the engine oil I've got from Halfords was a Castrol Magnatec 10-40w, I'm not sure how I've managed this as two of us checked the guide book in Halfords before I bought it. I'd imagine it wouldn't be wise to use this again?

g8rpi · Jan 20, 2016

markhoose said:
Oooooo... somehow turns out the engine oil I've got from Halfords was a Castrol Magnatec 10-40w, I'm not sure how I've managed this as two of us checked the guide book in Halfords before I bought it. I'd imagine it wouldn't be wise to use this again?

Hi,
You should really drain that and replace with the correct oil when you can. It's an older spec oil and could reduce the life of your catalytic converter due to sulphur and ash content. The 10 (rather than 5) rating will also make cold staring harder on the electrics and may increase fuel consumption. Not an immediate threat but I would not leave it in there. This assumes you actually filled the engine with this oil, not just topped it up.

Robert G8RPI.

Andy Monty · Jan 20, 2016

markhoose said:
Hello all,

I have a Fiat Grande Punto 2008 8v 1.4 petrol, semi-automatic.
I't has had a service today and the garage has given me 4 advisories which are:
Pollen Filter change (quoted £35)
Brake Fluid change (quoted £35)
Fair enough.

Then the other 2 were Oil change (£35) and engine flush (£20) because he told me it only takes a specialist low ash oil and the oil I'm using (a 0w40 from Halfords, in the guide book in Halfords it said the car takes this oil) will be damaging the engine.

The original quote just for the service (supposedly a full service) was £77, so with all the advisories (plus VAT) it would have come to around £215!
I told him I wanted to get a second opinion on the advisories (particularly it only taking a specialist oil seen as it's one of the most common cars on the road) and to just go ahead with the full service as originally planned.

What do you think? Does it only take a specialist oil?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Regards
Mark

well i got a new pollen filter (cabin) for £5 from Wilco motorsave last weekend.... and fitted it myself

if its the engine Air filter they only cost about £8 and take 5 mins to fit using a 7mm socket / spanner...

the oil nothing special by todays standards you should be using

SAE 5W-40 ACEA C3 synthetic oil to FIAT 9.55535-S2

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=272980373

your looking at about 3.2 litres to max on the dipstick

Castrol EDGE Engine Oil 5W-40 4L: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

And i always thought a service included a full oil and filter change :/ it should also have spark plugs every 18k miles

markhoose · Jan 20, 2016

Thanks all. They did actually change the oil filter and oil anyway included in the price . Just seems they were trying to get me to pay an extra £55 (+vat) to do it.

Avocet · Jan 20, 2016

The other problem with the 10W40 oil (especially in this cold weather) is that it will put extra load on your oil pump drive (because it's thicker than the stuff the engine is supposed to use) and it will take longer to reach the cam bearings in the top of the engine (again, because it's thicker). I wouldn't go so far as to say "damage" your engine, but it certainly won't be doing it any good!

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