Ignorance is Scary

[Chuckanut]

I had a 1979 Honda Accord with the CVCC engine. One of the last passenger cards sold in the USA that would run on leaded regular. I also had a 1972 Toyota Corona.

The Honda had a small oil leak in the the third valve of the pre-combustion chamber. And both had a small leak somewhere down below. In reality both got a de-facto oil change every 6000 miles whether I did one or not.

I suspect many of these cars that went 80,000+ miles with no oil change probably got one at least every 10,000 miles or so by their 3rd or 4th year of operation just by virtue of the leaks.. Now the filter is another issue, of course.

Interestingly, my last two autos have owned never leaked anything. Cars really are getting better, IMHO.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MooreBonds That's what I can't stand about the whole "preventive maintenance" schedule. By the time you do all that, you could pretty much pay for any and all possible things to go wrong, and then some. Like a former co-worker who would pay for premium synthetic oil on his oil changes for his truck. Would run about $75/oil change. He did it to "make his truck last longer". At 3-4 oil changes per year, he could have paid for a rebuilt engine in the rare event it died by paying for regular oil changes. But logic like that was beyond his comprehension.

The 3000 mile oil change has to be one of the best marketing ads of all time. It stuck like glue in peoples minds and is still being used. As the last place anyone would ever look to find the truth is reading the owners manual.


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[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan The 3000 mile oil change has to be one of the best marketing ads of all time. It stuck like glue in peoples minds and is still being used. As the last place anyone would ever look to find the truth is reading the owners manual.

+1

[NW-Bound]

The vehicles I owned earlier in life used to burn quite a bit of oil, something like a quart/1000 miles. They were bought used and a bit old.

Then, when I started to make more money, I bought new cars or used but only 2-3 year old. These burned less than 1 quart between 6,000-mile oil change.

I often wonder if that is because new cars are built better or my earlier cars were abused.

[enginerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan The 3000 mile oil change has to be one of the best marketing ads of all time.

A quote from my ex-girlfriend in college:
"We can't take my car. It's been 2990 miles since the oil change. We won't have enough oil to make it back home and then to Jiffy Lube." She thought her engine would be ruined if she went 1 mile over 3000.

[Andre1969]

I have to admit, I was raised on 3000 mile oil changes, and it took awhile to break that habit. Actually, it took me awhile to even accept 3000 mile intervals, because my Granddad had raised me on 2000! But that's because he grew up on farms where it was dusty, and in the old days, most of the roads around here were dirt and gravel. Also lots of dust and dirt from the neighboring farms. And, he spent most of his working life was spent about a mile from home. Grandmom spent a good deal of her life working close to home as well, too. So, in those days, 2000 miles represented a lot more wear, I guess!

Oil quality has also come a long way since the old days, too. Granddad's answer was to put straight 30W oil in everything, as he didn't trust those newfangled multi-grade oils. And to be fair, they weren't so hot when they first came out. But, time marches on, and things improve. I guess if you put straight 30W in a modern engine, especially these ones that call for 0W30 and the like, you'd probably ruin the engine in short order.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enginerd A quote from my ex-girlfriend in college: "We can't take my car. It's been 2990 miles since the oil change. We won't have enough oil to make it back home and then to Jiffy Lube." She thought her engine would be ruined if she went 1 mile over 3000.

And this is why she is your ex-gf (and not your wife today)?

[Live Free]

I frequently find that people don't add up the monthly payments to what the total cost of an item would be. A recent example was a friend who decided to get a smartphone for her daughter. It was only $129/month she said if she signed up for 2 years. When I pointed out that was over $3K she would have to pay, not including taxes and those mystery fees on the phone bill, she seemed taken aback. It really is tied to monthly cash flow in many people's minds.

[Mr._Graybeard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 I have to admit, I was raised on 3000 mile oil changes, and it took awhile to break that habit. Actually, it took me awhile to even accept 3000 mile intervals, because my Granddad had raised me on 2000! But that's because he grew up on farms where it was dusty, and in the old days, most of the roads around here were dirt and gravel. Also lots of dust and dirt from the neighboring farms. And, he spent most of his working life was spent about a mile from home. Grandmom spent a good deal of her life working close to home as well, too. So, in those days, 2000 miles represented a lot more wear, I guess! Oil quality has also come a long way since the old days, too. Granddad's answer was to put straight 30W oil in everything, as he didn't trust those newfangled multi-grade oils. And to be fair, they weren't so hot when they first came out. But, time marches on, and things improve. I guess if you put straight 30W in a modern engine, especially these ones that call for 0W30 and the like, you'd probably ruin the engine in short order.

The greatest thing to come along to extend engine longevity (and oil change intervals) is computer-metered fuel injection. Old carbureted engines experienced lots of oil contamination, along with cylinder wall and ring wear, due to overfueling.

[timo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live Free It really is tied to monthly cash flow in many people's minds.

If everyone was an astute consumer, companies would definitely have a smaller cash flow. Even LBYM'ers can waste money. But as everyone here knows, the issue is to divert some of that cash flow to pay yourself. Which results in having less money in your cash flow for consumer items, so when we do not-smart things with our consumer dollars, it is after we have paid ourselves.

[2B]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 I just have a problem believing that an engine could go 100,000 miles without needed an oil change. Unless they start leaking it to the point where you're adding oil...which technically, isn't "changing" it I guess.

When I was with a research dept of a large oil company, I saw a report where no difference in maintenance history was recorded between two groups of NY taxi cabs. One group changed their oil and filter at the recommended intervals. The second group only changed their filter and added oil as necessary to maintain the proper level.

This study used 1970 vehicles. I never tried it.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live Free I frequently find that people don't add up the monthly payments to what the total cost of an item would be. A recent example was a friend who decided to get a smartphone for her daughter. It was only $129/month she said if she signed up for 2 years. When I pointed out that was over $3K she would have to pay, not including taxes and those mystery fees on the phone bill, she seemed taken aback. It really is tied to monthly cash flow in many people's minds.

I agree- I'm paranoid as heck about monthly payments for anything because they add up. I bought my iPhone outright and it was interesting that even the salesman tried to talk me out of it. I also noticed that the fine print in Sprint's "Cut Your Monthly Bill in Half" promotion for new customers required that you hand over your current phone and sign a 2-year contract. I'm paying $51/month for the lowest data plan and, through judicious use of W-Fi, stay well under the max.

They REALLY want to get people on the hook with a contract so they can continue to extend it with "free" phone upgrades.

[enginerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay_Gatsby And this is why she is your ex-gf (and not your wife today)?

That is exactly why.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 I agree- I'm paranoid as heck about monthly payments for anything because they add up. I bought my iPhone outright and it was interesting that even the salesman tried to talk me out of it. I also noticed that the fine print in Sprint's "Cut Your Monthly Bill in Half" promotion for new customers required that you hand over your current phone and sign a 2-year contract. I'm paying $51/month for the lowest data plan and, through judicious use of W-Fi, stay well under the max. They REALLY want to get people on the hook with a contract so they can continue to extend it with "free" phone upgrades.

The funny thing with Sprint is that you never actually own the phone. You're leasing it like a car, with a buyout at the end (or rollover into the latest model).

Like many LBYM'rs, I actually prefer to use 1-generation old technology. True, it's not as "cool" or advanced as the latest and greatest, but it's lower cost and still does 95% of the latest model. Shopping for a smart phone using one of the used phone resellers is a great way to save money.

[2B]

DW and I broke down and got the WalMart plan that runs about $78/mo with all the extra taxes and fees. We bought two $150 LG phones. I'm trying to figure out what my kids get out of the late model Apple phones that I don't get with the LG phones. My web access says its 4G and it seems just as fast as theirs. We get good coverage almost everywhere and when we don't they frequently also have trouble. Sometimes we get better service than they do.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 I've heard a few other stories like this, but have trouble believing them. I just have a problem believing that an engine could go 100,000 miles without needed an oil change. Unless they start leaking it to the point where you're adding oil...which technically, isn't "changing" it I guess.

Wholly possible that the lady in question had someone doing the car's maintenance for her, like a grandson or something, and was completely oblivious to it.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre1969 Oil quality has also come a long way since the old days, too.

Truth. I use semi-synths for the most part, and I check the level but also the quality before I get it changed. You can usually tell the difference between new oil and broken down oil to the point where you need to change it. I'd say I go around 5500 to 6000 miles driving mostly city stuff, but I eyeball the oil quality before taking it in at some arbitrary mileage. No issues yet.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live Free I frequently find that people don't add up the monthly payments to what the total cost of an item would be.

The insurance industry relies on this principle.

[Winemaker]

I had a 1984 Chevy Blazer that I junked in 2003 with over 451,000 miles on the odometer. I changed the engine oil approx. every 6000 miles myself , never changed transmission fluid or rear end oil. The speedometer cable broke in late 2002, and the miles aren't included in the above total. My local Chevy dealer offered me free oil changes for life, 3 months before I junked it.


In 1991, the only time I let anyone change my oil resulted in a blown head gasket on my 1983 Caddy, 1 week after the service. It was a "free" oil change that the realtor gave my wife and I when we moved after a job transfer. The Caddy is the only car that I owned that never made it to over 200,000 miles.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound The vehicles I owned earlier in life used to burn quite a bit of oil, something like a quart/1000 miles. They were bought used and a bit old.

I think it's just a matter of how the engine was engineered and built.
Long ago, I knew a guy with a one year old Jaguar XKE. Most beautiful car I've ever seen, but he said he burned a quart of oil every 100 miles.