Why is motor oil more expensive than gosoline?

Last week I changed the oil in my truck, that`s the first time in many years that I`ve changed the oil myself, I usully take it to one of those quickie oil change places.
The last time I changed it myself oil was about $1.29 a quart, so I go to the auto parts store to get some oil and I couldn`t believe how much it costs now. The cheapest oil was $4 a quart and most of the oil on the shelf was between $7 and $9 a quart.
so, on the way home I started thinking, why is oil so much more expensive than gasoline?
Gasoline requires a lot more refining than motor oil does and yet they sell gas for $2 a gallon but sell motor oil for $20 - $40 a gallon?
why?
why?
why?

and while I`m on the subject, why does diesel fuel cost more than gasoline? diesel fuel requires less refining than gasoline, but it cost more?

a reply to: Tardacus

Additives and other ingredients I am guessing? Especially in synthetics. Not sure though, good question.

Pcg

Why is milk,and juice, more expensive than gasoline and motor oil?

Because you don't use as much of it. People usually change their oil every three months but how many times do you fill your gas tank in that amount of time?

a reply to: buster2010

If people change their oil every three months then they are not too bright

Diesel is cheaper here in Spain than gas, most vehicles are diesel here.

I would say than gas is cheaper than lets say kerosene, because companies make huge bulk of it, so selling tons at low profit level is viable, there is competition selling too so you cannot ask what you want for it, or customers are going to go elsewhere.

Then oil, kerosene, and other products don't have mass markets for it, you cannot send a tanker full of motor oil, you need to put it in small packets, storage them for more time until someone buys them, all this adds to the price, all this not having in mind the complexity of the product.

The crude oil prices are being artificially depressed, much like gold, in an attempt to make the energy prices during a Democratic term look like a peachy golden age of affordability.

Milk and juice both followed the price of gasoline as they went through the roof. Yet now that gasoline prices have come down, the main excuse for rising food costs, none of the food prices have followed suit. Strange, or conspiracy?

a reply to: Tardacus

Another reason might be its shipped in smaller containers.

Tanker truck of gas vs. 1 quart bottle of oil. That should only account for some of the price increase, though.

Why is bottled water more expensive than Gasoline?

a reply to: Tardacus

Your complaining. You say your gas is $2 per gallon. Come to the UK and enjoy plus $4.50 a gallon.
I think there are several reasons for the price difference of gas and oil. Apart from from ripping people off.
It would depend at what the crude oil price per barrel was at the time of making it a product.
Also, i think gas is probably a dilute version of oil. i.e you could produce gallons of gas from 1 gallon of oil.
Also, there is bio fuel in gas. Again, diluting it and making it go further.

You're screwed without it, hence its expensive.

In the uk diesel used to be about one third the price of petrol, then the motor companies learnt how to make diesel engines perform almost as well as petrol engines, so they conned everyone, they said "Switch to cheap diesel, its cheap and more environmentally friendly" So millions of people switched to diesel, meaning a huge drop in wonga for the gas companies, so to "Be fair" they brought diesel prices in line with petrol.

There's another very important reason they upped the price of diesel. Had it remained so much cheaper than gas we could have generated our own electricity very cheap with a little generator!
It all artificially priced!

originally posted by: Toolman18
a reply to: buster2010

If people change their oil every three months then they are not too bright

It all depends on your driving habits.

originally posted by: ecapsretuo
Why is milk,and juice, more expensive than gasoline and motor oil?

Why is bottled drinking water more expensive than gasoline or oil?

The additive package cost more than the base oil. We now live in an era of base oil production through hydrocracking / isomerization.

So, the "cheap" grade of oil you get now for $12/5q far exceeds the quality of product from not too long ago. Look up the API specs over time, the old stuff isn't even close to what you get in modern oil. Engines are tough on oil, but the newest engine control systems make for clean burning....no clogged filters. Filters are smaller now too, Hondas like a lemon sized. I use cartridge filters on my current Audis, so I can see after a year/12k miles there's literally nothing trapped in the media....at all. If you use a canister filter, cut one open and see yourself. 3000 miles is a bit of a joke. I don't even go by miles, time is a better and easier marker. A good plan is every 6 months for the oil, leave the filter in place, drain the oil for another 6 months run. I use a thin oil for winter because my engine normally takes 5w-40....which I reserve for summer....it's quite thick in cold.

I'm a Pennzoil guy, more or less. Their Quaker State product is a real sleeper, lots of moly. I use a lot of PZ Platinum and Rotella.

originally posted by: Toolman18
a reply to: buster2010

If people change their oil every three months then they are not too bright

My girlfriend changes her oil about every three months because she would drive more than 5000 miles in said three months.

So you're saying she's not too bright when she's a CFO for a company in San Francisco?

to you!

a reply to: Tardacus
My guess would be that it takes longer to go threw the motor oil supply verses the gasoline supply. The supply chains don't match up to the prices per barrels. That and detergents and refining. When motor oil does go down I'm going to go nuts on buying about 4 to 5 cases.

Hi Guys,

The cost of crude oil is a small percentage of costs of goods that a company has to pay in order to develop market competitive motor oils.

We take years to develop a motor oil. Paying very clever chemists to develop new oils. We have just launched a very high end motor oil system but it took years to create.

We have to create additives, then pay a company to produce them, as well as buy the basic additives off them. We contract out plants to create all our products, we don't own any of them. Then you have import and export taxes, shipping costs, warehousing, HGV vehicle transportation all contracted out to companies. Pallets, packaging, the production of labels, translating these across all languages.

Just because it is oil, and SAE are over producing although Brent is doing marginally better. Doesn't mean Oil companies don't have the same costs as producing orange juice, or any other commodity.

Of course you have competitors that under cut you, but as a consumer you have a choice to but bargain oil in or go slightly higher. The joys of a free market.

What we should be moaning about is the cost of Milk and the shocking prices supermarkets pay per litre to farmers as they run it as a loss leader.


Just FYI I work for Castrol, I understand, a premium motor oil. A Gallon of Magnatec 5W-30 Fully Synthetic costs £30, but I personally wouldn't put anything else in my car.

a reply to: Toolman18

if people change thier oil every 3 months - may be they are clocking up the mileage between service intervals

my last works van had an " a " service every 10000km - i did that in 2 months

what is " not to bright " is unevidenced assumption

Buster said most people. Most people don't put 5000 to 10000 miles on their vehicles in three months. Wasn't trying to offend anyone.

I have been drinking tap water all my life. Its the best price of all clean water . Anyone who is worried about paying too much for bottled water needs to just stop. It is consumer brainwashing. Unless there is some kind of sudden bacteria warning or low pressure, it is just as safe and probably cleaner than bottled water when measured ppm.

Most bottled water is bottled locally or regionally bottled anyways, so technically one is still getting clean tap water, but was probably just run one more time through an industrial size filter similar to a Brita pitcher. Dont fall for the scams guys. Unless its nursery water that states it is Fluoride free, it usually still has fluoride because it was sourced from a municipal tap. It can still say glacier or spring derived though by law because many municipalities source their water from such places anyways.