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AVS Oil vs "Normal Oil"

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 3:08 pm
by bjacks
At the 40k they filled the car with the AVS stuff which cost well over £100 just for the oil alone. I've done 5k since and would like to make sure the oil is changed frequently as it has been previously.
My question is, should I go a bit longer as it is longlife oil, or just change it now for some "normal" non-AVS stuff and sack the AVS plan off?
The car reckons it's in standard 10k service mode anyway.

What oil is the other alternative?

Cheers

Ben

RE: AVS Oil vs "Normal Oil"

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 3:33 pm
by Vortex
You guys obviously have warranty to consider, but we have found that the Silkolene & Motul oils ( the synthetics) appear far superior to the likes of Castrol RS. There is a guy called Simon at Opie oils who is a bit of an oil tech god, and will happily talk you through your options.

sales@opieoils.co.uk

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:16 pm
by bjacks
You're right, warranty is a consideration at the moment, thanks for the info and address, if I end up with a choice then I'll certainly give your contact a mail.

Cheers

Ben

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:15 pm
by DuncS3
Ben - its my S3 but same spec oil as RS4 - I have regular oil changes but still use the AVS stuff (Castrol SLX) - I mean how can it make a difference in comparison to 'normal' oil?

Dunc

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:29 pm
by bjacks
I was concerned about a couple of things - have they comprimised the job that the oil does to make it last longer and do I need to fork out so much for the AVS stuff if i only plan on keeping it in for 5k miles?

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:36 pm
by FrankC
Ben,sounds like you have been robbed regarding the price of the oil.

zgb115qlb00405= 1 litre synthetic oil £4.20 +vat
zgb115qlb00406=5 litres synthetic oil £19.95+vat

Making a grand total of £28.38 inc vat.

Next time you get a service carried out buy the stuff yourself and hand it to them at the service desk :lol:
Cheers fc

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:40 pm
by bjacks
ZFSLX1 FORMULA SLX 0W/30 QTY 8 £103.92+VAT

Wrong?

Cheers

Ben

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:47 pm
by FrankC
bjacks wrote:ZFSLX1 FORMULA SLX 0W/30 QTY 8 £103.92+VAT

Wrong?

Cheers

Ben
Thats Audi part numbers i provided you with Ben and the reason i included the prices is because thats how they appear on my estimate for my next service in 1000 miles.
I will check tomorrow and report back......somethings not quite right??

ps Most dealers wont have a problem if you turn up with your own oil...honest!!!
Cheers fc

pps according to the owners handbook page 177 you only require 6 litres of oil,why are they charging you for 8? :roll:

Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:07 pm
by bjacks
FrankC wrote:
bjacks wrote:ZFSLX1 FORMULA SLX 0W/30 QTY 8 £103.92+VAT

Wrong?

Cheers

Ben
Thats Audi part numbers i provided you with Ben and the reason i included the prices is because thats how they appear on my estimate for my next service in 1000 miles.
I will check tomorrow and report back......somethings not quite right??

ps Most dealers wont have a problem if you turn up with your own oil...honest!!!
Cheers fc

pps according to the owners handbook page 177 you only require 6 litres of oil,why are they charging you for 8? :roll:
Frank, that's the part number straight off my invoice.

I guess 6 + the 1l in the boot which I didn't ask for + 1 for luck =8 :D

Report back.

Cheers

Ben

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 12:21 am
by JAMES
i was deffinately not charged that much at my service,and when i bought an additional littre it was about £10.
if you change the oil at 5,000 miles i dont see the point of forking out for avs if it is actually dearer.
i am due a service soon so if yours is only £4.20 a littre let us know.

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 10:51 am
by FrankC
I phoned my local Audi service department this morning to check on the price of the AVS oil.

The oil they recommend is Castrol SLX 0W-30.....so far so good :)

When i asked for a price for a litre,the girl informed me it is £11.16 inc vat.
I then drew her attention to the estimate which clearly states £4.20 + vat?

After about ten minutes she phoned back up and said the £4.20 + vat price was a mistake and the price for 6 litres required for the service would be £68.60 + vat.
It should really come as no surprise given the problems i have had in the past with this dealership,that they cant even price f@cking oil correctly :evil:

Ben please accept my appologies regarding this sorry tale,i am at present heating up a large portion of humble pie :lol:
Cheers fc

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:29 am
by bjacks
Appologies not accepted, £68+VAT is still loads different to £103+VAT :shock:

Bet you're glad you checked now, not.

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 1:29 pm
by Dippy
Based on the service book I have (which I believe is probably different from ones supplied by Audi UK), the RS4 must use 503.1 oil, regardless of if it is on AVS or not. So your dealer should always use the Castrol formula SLX (their preferred 503.1 oil) and never offer a 'normal' oil.

I have generally found that Audi dealers charge you at the rate per litre as if you were just buying 1l of 'top-up' oil, even though for a service they buy in bulk. £68+vat for the 6 litres for a service sounds typical.

Anyway, to the original question I would advise changing oil (plus filter and plug) every 5-10K for a performance engine, especially an expensive and stressed one such as the RS4. I would also advise doing it yourself. It really does not take long and you can save a fair bit of money.

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:00 pm
by kennyboy
bjacks wrote:Appologies not accepted, £68+VAT is still loads different to £103+VAT :shock:

Bet you're glad you checked now, not.
Ben, do you remeber I told you that my oil cost (eact same oil spec) was half as yours, I think it was £5 something a litre.

This is from a 40k mile service with an Audi dealership, labour cost was higher though.

Wonder if they let you buy oil at the price on its own?

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:22 pm
by wazza
Didn't DavidT post a link to someone selling the litre bottles cheapr than dealers?