$40 -- $28 oil filters?

[Dan DiBiase]

"Craig D. Niederst" <cdniederst at comcast.net> wrote:  I have heard the same about the Castrol Syntec and not being fully
synthetic. There are 2 grades of it that are manufactured in Europe that are
supposed to be pretty good (i.e. at least have a partial PAG oil base, not
all cracked dino oil). The 5W30 grade is made in Germany ("GC" in oil
circles), and the 5W40 is made in Belgium ("BC"). In terms of oils available
in the US that meet Audi/VW 502.00, 503.00 and 505.00 oil specs, the Syntec
5W40 is the only readily available product I can find in my area. The Mobil
1 5W40 available at Walmart, etc. is sold as "Truck and Suv formula," and
does not meet the Audi/VW specs (as per Mobil's website). My A6 is under an
extended warranty, so an approved oil is a must for me. Like I said in my
first post, there are other oils out there that are on the list (here's the
latest Audi
  Oil
List), so I don't want to start another "oil war" thread here.
I have used M1 0w-40 since new (based on recommendations here) - before  it was on the 'approved' oils list. I have no dificculty finding it in  my FLAPS - but it seems like the WalMarts and Pep Boys of the  world don't carry that viscosity, for some reason.
    
    I just had my 25k mile service at the dealer. I normally bring in the  M1 with me but forgot this time. They used Syntec. Not sure of the  viscosity - I picked up the car after the service department was closed  and they didn't have my paperwork.
  
  Dan D
  '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
  Central NJ USA