Okay, this is the problem. I went to the dealership about four days ago to get my oil changed. I normally don't go to this dealership, but my regular one could not get me in. So I tell the service lady twice that I only use synthetic oil, she said okay. About an hour later, my car is done and I get the bill for the oil change. Well it was like half of what I normally pay, so I ask the service lady, "why so cheap?". I ask again," are you positive they used synthetic oil?" She said yes. She said that the dealership had some kind of special going on and all oil changes were the same price. Now the bill only states that the oil was changed, it does not say what type of oil they used. I did not dive the car over the weekend, but Monday, on my way to work, I start to smell something burning. I figured maybe they spilled a little oil on the engine. Now, two days later, i'm still smelling it!! So, is there anyway I can tell if the oil is actually synthetic or not? If it turns out to be regular oil, how bad will this muck up my engine?

 

why would dino ("regular") oil muck up your engine?

It doesn't affect anything to switch back and forth between dino and synthetic.

In fact they can even be blended...

 

When I had my bmw, techs told me that once you go synthetic, you cannot go back to regular oil. Was I misinformed?

 

I thought the same thing..

 

IMO, You cannot go back to regular oil just because it doesn't feel as good as synthetic oil.

 

yes. Simply another case of where Tech's don't know wtf they're talking about.

I hate it when tech's give advice. It's usually wrong.

 

They probably spilled some oil and wern't careful when adding. I wouldn't worry.

Next time, DIY and you know what goes in,

 

besides the fact that you can use a good filter too. Half the time I had dealer oil changes they didn't even use OEM filters! If I saw a shop use a Fram filter I'd go out there and strangle the effer.

 

???
You can switch back there is no issue

 

ok, while we are on the topic of oil and all. i have heard that you are not supposed to use fully synthetic oil untill at least 30k miles. true/false? The reason was because crappy oil helps your car "break in" a little better...???

 

oh boy...here comes another oil discussion.

 

All I can tell you is that dino oil will not HURT your car. And at 11.5k miles my engine is still showing signs of breakin.

 

As far as the burning smell is concerned, check your dipstick. I have my car in the shop a while back and they ended up changing my oil too because it was time, and the mechanic didn't put my dipstick back in all the way. I smelled burning too and when I lifted the hood I saw oil sprayed up on my intake tube, pushed the dipstick all the way in and it stopped.