I bought a 2004 Chevy Cavalier back on February 1st. It has a 2.2L engine and auto trans. Aside from some dings and dents, it runs great, and only has 82,000 miles.
I did some basic maintenance when I got it: oil change, air filter, tire rotation, and spark plugs.
This is kind of a "beater" car, to rack the miles up on and save some gas money rather than driving my Dodge Ram every day.
The owner's manual recommends a 7500 mile OCI for "normal driving", and 3000 miles for "severe" driving (stop & go, lots of idling, dusty conditions, ect).
Most of my driving is "suburban" (up to 40 mph then a red light, things like that) and highway driving. I might sit through a traffic light 2 or 3 times due to lots of traffic a few times a week during rush hour.
I was thinking a 7000 mile OCI with Walmart Supertech full synthetic 5w30 and whatever decent name brand filter happens to be on sale.
Does this sound ok? I usually don't go past 5000 mile OCIs, but this is sort of a beater and I am not looking to get fanatical with maintenance. On the other hand,I don't want to neglect it, and I want it to last as long as possible, so I'm looking for a happy medium. Is 7000 miles too long, maybe I should cut it down to 5000? I put about 12,000 miles per year on my car, and drive in all kinds of weather conditions (0 to 100 degrees F).
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
I did some basic maintenance when I got it: oil change, air filter, tire rotation, and spark plugs.
This is kind of a "beater" car, to rack the miles up on and save some gas money rather than driving my Dodge Ram every day.
The owner's manual recommends a 7500 mile OCI for "normal driving", and 3000 miles for "severe" driving (stop & go, lots of idling, dusty conditions, ect).
Most of my driving is "suburban" (up to 40 mph then a red light, things like that) and highway driving. I might sit through a traffic light 2 or 3 times due to lots of traffic a few times a week during rush hour.
I was thinking a 7000 mile OCI with Walmart Supertech full synthetic 5w30 and whatever decent name brand filter happens to be on sale.
Does this sound ok? I usually don't go past 5000 mile OCIs, but this is sort of a beater and I am not looking to get fanatical with maintenance. On the other hand,I don't want to neglect it, and I want it to last as long as possible, so I'm looking for a happy medium. Is 7000 miles too long, maybe I should cut it down to 5000? I put about 12,000 miles per year on my car, and drive in all kinds of weather conditions (0 to 100 degrees F).
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!