10K OCI...help or hurt resale value ?

[texasproud]

I am a 53 yr old recent "convert" from 3000 mile/dino to 10,000/syn OCIs using Mobil 1 oil & filters. Based on your experiences, would maintenance records reflecting these extended OCIs help or hurt the resale value ? In other words...does the mainstream used car buyer still expect a well-maintained car/truck to have had 3000 mi OCIs ??

 

[wavinwayne]

In my experience, most folks who buy a used car from a private party don't pay too much attention to prior maintenace.

With that said, most used car buyers aren't BITOGers, either.

 

[Drew]

Texas,
I hate to be hard on my fellow Americans but after watching many Jaywalking episodes I have concluded that the average "JO" is uninformed. I wanted to say moron but that would not be nice.

So, don't worry about it. I drive a lot and go through a lot of cars and typically sell them with high miles. Of the 26 previous cars I sold, NOT one buyer asked for my maintenance records. All asked about oil changes and I told them that my oil changes were done regularly and that I used 5 dollar a quart synthetic oil. They didn't bother asking how regularly. Of course, all of my cars ran like new and that was good enough for the buyer.

 

[radiometer]

About 1 1/2 years ago I sold my well maintained 87 Mitsubishi pickup truck. To each prostpective buyer I presented the maintenance log of all lubrication changes including engine, transmission and rear end. I also had a log of all repair work I had done on it.

I modified a spreadsheet from my WORD program, which made an easy to view record of all the information.

Somewhat to my surprise not one of them had any interest in that information. None would even take a close look at it. Even the guy who bought it had absolutely no interest in my maintenance records.

I could hardly imagine such.

 

[ruking77]

Per se, NO. I have been doing 15k OCIs for a few miles (694,000) and after looking at those cars for sale, folks have given asking price or more. The thing that has not ceased to amaze me, is ALL of them have called back wanting to be in line for any car I may sell in the future.

 

[Curious Kid]

Well, I will admit to not having asked to look at maintenance records when I bought my last vehicle, being my first purchase and yes it was used - It did seem a bit overwhelming now that I look back on it). I'm not sure I'll ever throw my money at a new one that seems to be much in the way of old technology with a new look...but it works (nothing wrong with anything "old" unless you feel there's something being held back). Aside from a given vehicle's layout and capacity being better directly fitting to one's needs even if wholey hypothetical, I'm not sure it does much else for the owner (other than A-B and continued out-of-pocket expenses). Perhaps I'm suffering form a moment of ignorance. The used car with it's minor issues, still is something I'm satisfied with as having delt with a rather old hand-me-down prior. Again, it's relative.

As for you're response ruking77, you should feel good about such occurrances as it silently says much about your efficiency in maintenance efforts and attention to details as a whole, even though you don't think much about it perhaps because it's just the way you tend to deal with things. Great job.

Off to question my discontent.

 

[pbm]

I've bought a few used cars in my life and I always ask about the maintenance history. I have to be honest that I would buy a car with dino changes every 3K before I would buy one with M1
changes every 10K. The only thing that would change my mind on this would be if the 10K changes were every 6 months (a lot of highway driving).

 

[MIAMI-DADE]

quote:

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Originally posted by pbm:
I've bought a few used cars in my life and I always ask about the maintenance history. I have to be honest that I would buy a car with dino changes every 3K before I would buy one with M1
changes every 10K. The only thing that would change my mind on this would be if the 10K changes were every 6 months (a lot of highway driving).

---

When i buy any car its usally 1 to 2 years old and always ask for a maint.history.I wouldn't go near a car that went 10k OCI even with Mobil 1.In this heat and idling with the a/c on as everybody does down here are you nuts?

I can't believe how stupid people are when it comes to oil.Most people haven't a clue what the different grades mean.Most don't know the difference between syntheic or dino.They say whats the difference.

 

[PandaBear]

I personally won't care much about the maint history because it can be fake. I understand most people are honest but you cannot tell unless you know the guy prior to him wanting to sell the car.

One time I help a friend looking for a 70k miles used corolla (7 years old), everything looks ok except there are sludge in the engine. I ask him his OCI, and he say 3k. I then show him and older car which I drove with 5k OCI and twice the milage with no sludge, he is speechless.

Needlessly said he didn't replace anything else (coolant, ATF, etc). But the interesting thing is, he has a maint record from Excel.

The only true way to tell is to bring it in to a mechanic that the buyer pay for and inspect the heck out of it.

 

[WI70W31]

Doesn't really surprise me the buyers wouldn't review maintenance records. Either they are not really "into" cars and maintenance and don't care or wouldn't understand (probably the majority) or they are and realize that anyone who would take to the time and effort to log and compile all of those records most likely did a very good job of maintaining the vehicle.

In response to the question. I don't see how you'd hurt the value much if any. As long as you have good records and sound reasoning (like periodic oil analysis) for the interval, most people would recognize that the car had been well cared for. And most don't care as long as it looks and runs good.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

If this is of any help, we looked at lots of used cars recently.

The one that stood out was the 'maintained with synthetic oil since new'. And it had a clean Carfax.com report.

Not many people will care, but to me it gave me notice that this may have been a good owner and worth a serious look.

I think most of us here feel an engine with the right oil and OCI is likely to be in good shape..whether it is a good dino and 3K or a good synthetic blend or 'true synthetic' and a longer interval.

 

[Vspec]

Would it matter? We are BITOGERS, so that means the cars engine would be completely clean within a few weeks of work from guys like us. haha

 

[Curious Kid]

True! So it then come's down to the ever "first impressions" and driving experience. It is in that very space of time when one is judging the vehicle that their knowledge, desire, previous experiences and vision come into play as for whether a one-on-one relationship developes...and be within budget for maintenance, insurance, fuel, parts and labor, safety, etc.

So having said all that, 10k oci being truth or not, this being a positive or a negative will depend upon the potential buyer's take on the whole oil change theory...and did I say how everything runs great and all?...

 

[Slick 55]

I've only ever sold 1 car privately and the first question the buyer asked me was if the oil was changed every 3,000. Luckily I had records and receipts of 3,500 mile changes with Pennzoil and he was satisfied. I received my asking price.

 

[Spector]

Other then a private party sale no one else cares. Dealers, Car MAx just don't care, they go by mileage, year and condition and that is it. Private party, I have sold 2 where the OCI was 10-12,000 miles and they never asked. I simply told them I ran synthetic, they could switch if they wished but never asked what the interval was.

 

[bobo]

Anybody who doesn't ask about the availability of a maintenance record for a used car is a mental midget, IMHO! I wouldn't run out in the night to buy a car with 10K OCIs using Mobil 1 unless the vehicle was driven a lot of highway miles and everything else on the vehicle seemed to be in order.

The absence of a maintenance history tells me that the seller is trying to hide something or doesn't care about the vehicle.

A maintenance history provides a plethora of useful information as well as peace of mind in knowing that a starter, alternator, battery, fuel pump, exhaust components etc has been replaced in the last year or two or whatever.

 

[MIAMI-DADE]

quote:

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Originally posted by Vspec:
Would it matter? We are BITOGERS, so that means the cars engine would be completely clean within a few weeks of work from guys like us. haha

---

That part is true.But i want it clean from the get-go.

 

[theguru]

It seems that for some prestige cars (eg MB) a service history does matter.

 

[TheTanSedan]

Keep it clean, keep records, do a trend of used oil analysis and any changes to confirm correct practice.

Record spreadsheets are available online. So long as book maintenance is adhered to, the rest is pretty well gravy with the used oil analysis.