I have to concur with ds190. As a long time BMW and MB hoople, once a year or 7500 is on par. And no... oil doesn't have anything that will "spoil"... so I don't know where your mech is getting that.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but 20W50 etc is NOT what I would use in a 'gasser'. 10W40 is what I use for SEUS weather.

As far as higher mileage engines, don't fall for "its so old use anything". The older an engine is its even MORE critical what oil you use. I'm a big believer in High Mileage oils like MobileSuper and Castrol GTX High Mileage - (syn blends) and for metal filters use good ones like Wix or dealer. I've personally seen significant oil pressure increases in my own and friends cars/trucks with those when compared to generic oil and cheap filters. Right now MobileSuper is only $1 more for a 5 gallon jug than big box store jugs.

Not trying to start another oil thread war, so be nice shipmates ;-)

__________________
"Well, once again, we find that clowns and anarchy don't mix..." - The Tick
'94 E320 ~ Wikel
'87 300SDL ~ Frieda
'87 190E ~ Thurmond III
'84 944 ~ Schrickelgruber
'86 535i ~ Joerg