Is pre-mixed anti-freeze a rip-off?
For those of you who do light maintenance on your own vehicles or you help friends out periodically, this one is for you.
Have you ever purchased anti-freeze? You have to mix it 50/50 with water in order for it to be most-efficient at cooling your engine. My guess is that some corporate big-wig had to change his anti-freeze one weekend (instead of his mechanic doing it) and that gave him the hair-brained idea to sell premixed anti-freeze.
Premixed anti-freeze is being toughted as the optimal mixture to keep your engine cool, but there is more to the story. The pre-dilluted anti-freeze is being sold at a cost which is only a few dollars below the cost of full strength anti-freeze. This means that those paying for the pre-dilluted stuff are really just paying for 1/2 gallon of water. It is true that you may not need a full gallon, however, if you purchase anti-freeze once, you will probably end up purchasing it more than once. How much does 1/2 gallon of water cost, anyway?
Don’t just take my word for it. Actually, I got the idea for this post from a guy at work, but in doing my research, I found that there are others who have done more research on the subject than I have. Over at Routing By Rumor, they have a pretty detailed post on the whole pre-dilluted anti-freeze subject.
The jist of the story is “don’t be fooled by pre-mixed anti-freeze“.
I can see if you have a coolant leak and need to add some, that it would be a convenience to be able to buy some premixed at a gas/convenience store, but not at an auto-parts store.
I almost forgot; Look at what people pay for bottled water! Which in many cases comes right out of the city water supply!
Buying pre-mixed antifreeze is not a bad idea. Since most people do not relaize if you get the mixture wrong your engine may not be as protected as it should be. Also if you choose to mix your anti freeze you should use distilled water. Which is what they use in pre mixed bottles. Distilled water will not hurt your engine, water from your faucet can carry harmful minerals that may harm your system.
OK. I went into my dad’s garage the other day and what do I find. 2 bottles of pre-mixed anti-freeze. I guess I need to teach my dad a thing or two. He said he paid $10.99 for each bottle.
So what about the quality and effectiveness? Is it just as good as mixing it yourself?? Or does it mess up your radiator?