Where To Buy Discount Motor Oil

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I prefer to buy motor oil, and things like brake fluid, when I go to supermarkets, like Tesco, Big C or Carrefour. Only a few 7-11's carry motor oil, but sometimes they are very far from where I am when I need to add fluids to my car. So, into a filling station I drive, where I am at the mercy of a greasemonkey, praying he doesn't rip off the falang in need of motor oil. I much prefer to be able to comparison shop at stores which are aware of their competitor's prices, and not just trying to squeeze as much money as they can out of their desperate customer.

Sure, the supermarkets have aisles and aisles of car accessories, car washing supplies, air fresheners, etc., but no motor oil, and nothing like coolant, brake fluid or transmission fluid. Are they protecting the repair shops and filling stations? Is there some law or regulation which limits the retailing of these car necessities to filling stations and repair shops?

[MoonRiverOasis]

I think you'll find the reason why there's not a lot of oil & fluid vendors is simply because it's not normally considered a DIY job here in Thailand.

Why DIY when it's so cheap? As an example, I had the Mitsu dealership change the oil in my car recently - I supplied the oil, they supplied a genuine filter and labor - their total bill was 170 Baht.

There are quite a few vendors selling the more upmarket oils online, though this is primarily through (Thai-language only) owners clubs/forums. If you have a specific brand in mind and can communicate in Thai, I'll find you some names & phone numbers. If you can read/write Thai, just Google for your type of car and you'll pretty qucikly hit one or three owners clubs.

Failing that, all of the major gas station brands have their own range of lubricants and fluids. Pricing is not normally negotiable, but labor is normally included in the price..

[aussiebebe]

I agree with Moonriveroasis that labour is so cheap, it's advisable to get oil changes at your dealership. For cars and pick-ups the most commonly-sold motor oil is PTT, sold online and also sold in Carrefour and service stations, where the pricing is clear and transparent. Carrefour sells other brands of motor oil too.

There aren't any laws or regulations which limit the sale of oil, it's just a question of branding and dealer networks. Toyota, for example, sells Toyota-branded oil, brake fluid and the like from display cabinets in it's service centers. Obviously Shell service stations are just shops where you can choose which Shell oil to buy and there is a low labour charge for filling (around 150b). Why would anywhere sell a rival brand's oil?

[MoonRiverOasis]

On this topic, I found an online Thai vendor for various motor oils and fluids today:

http://www.allsiamyont.com/

Unfortunately they don't sell the Shell Helix Ultra Synthetic Diesel oil I use, but it still may be useful to others...