You know what makes me mad?

[NavyVet88]

Have you ever knew someone whether it be family or friend that had a vehicle that they neglected so horribly and they still got an insane amount of reliability from it?

For example, my best friend when he was 17, got a 2000 Ford Explorer sport for his birthday and it had I think 117,000 miles on it. He only remembered to change the oil when I reminded him to do so. This vehicle got maybe 3 oil changes a year on dollar general Dino oil and he drove it like it was stolen daily.

Well fast forward 11 years up to 2 months ago when it finally recieved it's death certificate for a worn out tranny. It had 442,581 miles on the odometer the day it was towed.
Somebody please explain to me how somebody who refuses to spend money on the mechanical upkeep of a vehicle and will not especially buy any oil other than dollar general special manages to keep a vehicle running that long.

Do you have a story of a vehicle that refused to go to heaven throughout a life of purposeful neglect?

 

[packerlover]

Yes, my sister. Never changed the oil on her jeep. I think her boyfriend did a couple times but that's it. I bought it from her with 150k and it runs perfect and doesn't burn any oil. So I'm miffed too. It was garaged, and driven gently, but still.... Maybe modern oils are even better than we think

 

[xshoex]

When i was 16 my dad bought me a 94 mercury cougar with the 4.6 for $500 had 300k on it when i got it, had the car until i was 18, never once changed the oil, drove like a bat out of [censored] cuz i was in hs and thought that was cool to do, my parents would give me $30 to go get oil changed and i would blow it at the mall or something. Its still in my family, 7 years later. My little cousin drives it, i dont know if she maintains it good but i know it hasnt had anything major done no idea on the mileage either

 

[robshelton]

My stepdad bought a Subaru in the early 70's. He lovingly called it the "Little brown t*rd" and used to brag that he had it for something like 70k and he never changed the oil. Mom finally got him to stop "Displaying his ignorance," as one of my high school teachers would say.

 

[CT8]

Many people change oil too early the rest don't care.

 

[dave123]

Why would I care it's not mine and careless what others do or how they treat their vehicles.

 

[Bluestream]

Oil is overrated

 

[cat843]

People who tell you what makes them mad?

 

[clinebarger]

Droopy Dog

 

[NavyVet88]

Originally Posted By: rickmeseke
When i was 16 my dad bought me a 94 mercury cougar with the 4.6 for $500 had 300k on it when i got it, had the car until i was 18, never once changed the oil, drove like a bat out of [censored] cuz i was in hs and thought that was cool to do, my parents would give me $30 to go get oil changed and i would blow it at the mall or something. Its still in my family, 7 years later. My little cousin drives it, i dont know if she maintains it good but i know it hasnt had anything major done no idea on the mileage either


I got a 93 jeep Cherokee and I guess those things were built to last. I got mine the week I turned 16 with 139k on it and I kept a solid 3k oci the whole four years I drove it and I left for the navy it was parked with 272k miles on it. My dad sold it while I was gone to boot camp and I bought another vehicle when I got back from overseas.

 

[901Memphis]

3 changes per year sounds well taken care of... As long as it was legitimate API SJ+ detergent oil

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
3 changes per year sounds well taken care of... As long as it was legitimate API SJ+ detergent oil


+1

 

[gathermewool]

To be fair, I've only known of a few truly neglected vehicles in my time, one experienced a seized engine and another had low compression and no power. So, his vehicle may have started and run, but I'd bet it didn't run as well as a BITOG engine.

 

[philipp10]

how do you get horribly maintained when he changes the oil 3x a year? That's plenty often for most cars. As far as cheap dino oil, just goes to show that most of us are probably wasting our money on all this fancy synthetic oils. I feel the engine design is far more important than the type of oil used. Some motors are [censored], some are good.

 

[justalubetech]

It seems like some cars just like to be abused lol. Back when I had my Neon, I did all the regular maintenance and drove it gently, and it still developed a knock before 100K. All the Neons that got beat on and hardly ever even got an oil change seemed to live forever.

 

[OneEyeJack]

You might express yourself as getting "angry" instead of something making you "mad". Depending on the situation there is a big difference.

There is a salesman here that gets a new vehicle every 2 years. He never does any service beyond adding a quart of oil if needed and tap water for the radiator. He has an annual pass to the local car wash to take care of the more important maintenance but that's the end of it. He's never been caught out by his auto care system. In fact a couple of cars ago another employee took care of the maintenance for him with the promise of purchasing the vehicle for a prearranged price at the end of the two years. He's driving that vehicle today and the deal worked out for both parties.

 

[Nick1994]

Yup, my mom's 2003 Buick Rendezvous 3.4L.

In 145k miles, all it has had done to it is brakes, tires, harmonic balancer, water pump, thermostat.

That's it.

She overheated the engine 5,000-6,000 miles ago in April and blew the head gasket. Still daily drives it, and no it hasn't been fixed.

Exhaust gas is getting into the coolant, and it's also losing 2-3 gallons of coolant a month somewhere, not the oil though. Probably out the tail-pipe.

It overheats almost everyday, not totally maxed out but it can't sit at red lights without overheating.

Even though it has been completely neglected throughout its life, the oil has always been changed on time.

It's a pile on wheels that keeps on going.

 

[01Intrepid]

Still waiting for one of these stories with an intrepid...

 

[Fasttimez]

My aunt had a Chevy Chevette, NEVER changed the oil. At 69,000 miles with the original factory fill it finally gave up. It actually caught on fire in the crankcase because of all the heat generated & burned to the ground. Biggest FAIL I've ever seen....lol

 

[camrydriver111]

Originally Posted By: Fasttimez
My aunt had a Chevy Chevette, NEVER changed the oil. At 69,000 miles with the original factory fill it finally gave up. It actually caught on fire in the crankcase because of all the heat generated & burned to the ground. Biggest FAIL I've ever seen....lol


LOL 69k miles on factory fill before failure, but BITOGers are worried about going extra 3-5k on synthetic.