Black box tale from used car salesman, whaa???

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Girlfriend is looking for a newer car. Was along for the ride. Mentioned that I'd recently bought a used car from Hertz and that although it had probably had its share of abusive renters, at least they regularly did oil changes. Told him I was suspicious of lease returns where the driver probably went two years without even checking the dipstick.

He told me I didn't understand modern cars, that technology was so advanced they could flash oil change dates on any car. That's right, oil change dates are permanently stored and retrievable.

I put that right up there with various used car salesman stories from sixty years of driving, including the offering of 100% warranties-- 50% on parts and 50% on labor, and this car is made of special hardened steel which can never dent.

BTW-- she was driving a Kia Optima at a Chevy dealer, so we're not talking Mercedes here, but thought I'd throw this out in case this technology does exist somewhere.
 
I have not heard about flashing service dates but I have heard of black box recording that records speed and things like that.
 
This will be fun.

How many will repeat "that's not true" ?

Did you ask him to show you the "service history" of the car she was considering, you know, for peace of mind ?
 
It might record when the oil change indicator was reset.

But you can do that without actually changing anything.
 
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He's a Frecking salesman. He just spit out something hoping you'd believe it, drop the subject and proceed on towards buying the car.
 
Sure, you can probably get dates added to CarFax or whatever, listing dates, and MAYBE the dates when the OLM was reset.. but I can reset the OLM by hand every day if I want.. doesn't mean the oil was changed.

As far as "flashing a record of an oil change" into a car.. I call massive B.S.
 
One of my cars is insured stating that it does not go over 7500 miles a year. (Wife's car) they never check my odometer. I think they must go into the manufacturer service record site to see what the odo read at my dealer visits.
 
Originally Posted By: ctrcbob
One of my cars is insured stating that it does not go over 7500 miles a year. (Wife's car) they never check my odometer. I think they must go into the manufacturer service record site to see what the odo read at my dealer visits.


Insurance companies use state inspection data if available.
 
You might be able to pull the dates on a car that has an OLM. Those cars probably store those so they can seer when you were supposed to service the car.
 
Be careful! If you unscrew the oil drain plug, or oil filter, it automatically alerts the Pentagon via. Qualcomm Satellite Technology. Then you go on a list. And everyone should be smart enough to know, once you get on the Pentagon's list, you NEVER get off of it.
 
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Tell him you have a smart watch that can tell when a used car salesman is lying....


Best answer so far!

I work for a MAJOR car rental company....here is how its done. At check in, mileage is verified and if an oil change is needed per manufacturers schedule, it pops up automatically. The key is tagged immediately and it goes to the maintenance garage for its oil change. Only the garage can sign it off.

Now think about this: if the counter clerk fails to tag it she will be disciplined and could be fired.
If the lot help fails to put it in the garage line, they will be disciplined. The Mechanics work by the hour, and oil filters and oil are logged in and out.

Everybody benefits by doing it properly. Nobody benefits by cheating. And, yes every car you look at everywhere could have a scoundrel somewhere in its history. A rental car constantly goes from area to area, to skip more than one oil change would require a massive Conspiracy!!

And yes, all of us employees look to our companies fleet first when we need a new car!
 
Typical car salesman, doesn't understand what he is saying. Just using words he has heard others use. Flash means to write data to the car's ecms not retrieve data.
 
You will likely also be provided with a printout from the rental company. This will include all service items including recall service, safety checks, etc. Oil changes are also recorded. Be aware that they will likely often not match the ECM. Many cars do not allow the oil change required to be reset until after the reminder pops up.....and the oil change was done previous to it popping on. Then, it gets rented and goes to California, the light comes on in 100 miles.....California checks the oil change info and resets the light.....wow, 2,000 mile error in the ecm. Now, in 2,000 more miles the Desk computers shows the oil needs changed....from here on out the ecm will be wrong!!!
 
The last time I rented a car, I watched as a lady came back wanting a different car because the oil change light was on. When I got my car, the oil change light was on (not the same car)! But I didn't ask for another car.

I wonder how long these places let the car go before they actually change the oil?
 
Originally Posted By: fsskier
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Tell him you have a smart watch that can tell when a used car salesman is lying....


Best answer so far!

I work for a MAJOR car rental company....here is how its done. At check in, mileage is verified and if an oil change is needed per manufacturers schedule, it pops up automatically. The key is tagged immediately and it goes to the maintenance garage for its oil change. Only the garage can sign it off.

Now think about this: if the counter clerk fails to tag it she will be disciplined and could be fired.
If the lot help fails to put it in the garage line, they will be disciplined. The Mechanics work by the hour, and oil filters and oil are logged in and out.

Everybody benefits by doing it properly. Nobody benefits by cheating. And, yes every car you look at everywhere could have a scoundrel somewhere in its history. A rental car constantly goes from area to area, to skip more than one oil change would require a massive Conspiracy!!

And yes, all of us employees look to our companies fleet first when we need a new car!


And that's why I'm still happy that I bought a rental instead of a lease return.
 
Wouldn't call this story a complete fabrication without knowing if the ECM knows when the OLM is reset.

For large fleets-I don't believe that there is a coverup to reset the OLM without changing the oil.

Having been in outside all my life-oil changes were done consistently on company cars-I had no money to outlay-it was taken care of by some fleet service. If the car wasn't serviced on time-it would look like you were slacking off on part of your (job) responsibilities. If you were slacking off there-was there something else you were NOT DOING? No body wants to be under their boss' microscope.

Many company cars-tho high millage were purchased for teenagers and spouses by the outside sales force when the company decided to dispose of them.
 
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My wife used to work at Hertz in one of the offices a The cars get minimal maintenance.
 
Originally Posted By: csandste
Originally Posted By: fsskier
Best answer so far!

I work for a MAJOR car rental company....here is how its done. At check in, mileage is verified and if an oil change is needed per manufacturers schedule, it pops up automatically. The key is tagged immediately and it goes to the maintenance garage for its oil change. Only the garage can sign it off.

Now think about this: if the counter clerk fails to tag it she will be disciplined and could be fired.
If the lot help fails to put it in the garage line, they will be disciplined. The Mechanics work by the hour, and oil filters and oil are logged in and out.

Everybody benefits by doing it properly. Nobody benefits by cheating. And, yes every car you look at everywhere could have a scoundrel somewhere in its history. A rental car constantly goes from area to area, to skip more than one oil change would require a massive Conspiracy!!

And yes, all of us employees look to our companies fleet first when we need a new car!


And that's why I'm still happy that I bought a rental instead of a lease return.

It doesn’t matter. People don’t care when the car is not theirs.
 
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