33k miles and never changed oil?

I bet this is a lot more common than we think. There's a lot of people who lease cars, make the payment every month and turn it in at the end of the lease without doing anything.

Our recent experience returning a leaseon certainly makes that easy. They didn't ask for any maintenance receipts and didn't even care that it was in a pretty substantial accident. Knowing that, the current one is going to get the correct oil, but it's getting changed once a year and that's it! Not doing every 6 months.
If you want to go a whole 3 yr 36k lease without an oil change and roll the dice on engine failure, you are dumb. If that engine blows for any reason and its due to lack of maintenance, the leasor is on the hook for that damage. They sure as hell won't cover it. They won't have to drop the pan to figure that out either...People are mind blowing dumb. Now if u managed to make it in sure they won't usually check, but that's a scary ride for a few 29.99 quick lubes.
 
We know of a '88 Ford Festiva ( Mazda 121, 1.3 ltr. ) that the factory oil wasn't changed until 33,000+ miles after I checked it for them . It was a quart or more low . They used it for food delivery . The car went well over 150,000+ miles . Could of went further , but the car was totaled . The oil was msot likely conventional , just think if it was a factory fill of synthtetic for a longer interval .
 
Last edited:
I bet this is a lot more common than we think. There's a lot of people who lease cars, make the payment every month and turn it in at the end of the lease without doing anything.

Our recent experience returning a leaseon certainly makes that easy. They didn't ask for any maintenance receipts and didn't even care that it was in a pretty substantial accident. Knowing that, the current one is going to get the correct oil, but it's getting changed once a year and that's it! Not doing every 6 months.
Oh, you’re absolutely correct. I’ve seen some real horror when it comes to lack of maintenance, when talking about lease vehicles. Some people clearly think, hey it’s not mine and they’re getting my money every month...I’m not doing anything to this thing. In two years I turn it in with 30,000 miles. They got my money, but they didn’t get any maintenance out of me. I’ve seen that. A guy doing one oil change in that time, or none. Or brakes that were almost gone. Or someone putting used tires on before they turn it in.
 
I've never leased a car nor do I know anyone that has so I have to ask, is there any mention of maintenance in the lease, I would think it would be in the best interest of the dealership knowing they will eventually get the car back.

The lease requires you to do the minimum.required in the owner's manual. (However unless they see some sign of neglect they don't ask for.proof at return).

Usually the tires are required to have a certain minimum tread at turn in.

You can only have customary damage (ie certain number and size of door dings).although you can usually add an insurance policy to cover any additional wear and tear.

I routinely lease a vehicle for my Mom every 36 months. It's just easier not having to negotiate the trade and only the purchase price. She got a 2018 Lincoln MKX Select 3.7 for $399 a month with no money down last time. I won't go into what that equates to in money factor (interest rate) and cap price (purchase price). Basically she got a cap reduction equal to the down payment and.the cost of the higher trim level in addition to the advertised subsidized deal.
 
Last edited:
Sometimes they charge for mismatched tires or worn tires or parts. My parents lease cars because they are too old to maintain them and there are tax incentives. The computer keeps record of when the oil minder was reset, etc. My friend tried delaying the oil change on his Chevy precisely to be cheap and the dealer said the computer keeps record if you go past the threshold of 600 miles or whatever is the required time frame to change the oil is after the light comes on. But i don't get people- its not all about money, with worn oil the cars going to drive like crap and get worse gas mileage.
 
Oh, you’re absolutely correct. I’ve seen some real horror when it comes to lack of maintenance, when talking about lease vehicles. Some people clearly think, hey it’s not mine and they’re getting my money every month...I’m not doing anything to this thing. In two years I turn it in with 30,000 miles. They got my money, but they didn’t get any maintenance out of me. I’ve seen that. A guy doing one oil change in that time, or none. Or brakes that were almost gone. Or someone putting used tires on before they turn it in.
That's why I'm less scared about my Hertz rental than I would be about a lease return.
 
We know of a '88 Ford Festiva ( Mazda 121, 1.3 ltr. ) that the factory oil wasn't changed until 33,000+ miles after I checked it for them . It was a quart or more low . They used it for food delivery . The car went well over 150,000+ miles . Could of went further , but the car was totaled . The oil was msot likely conventional , just think if it was a factory fill of synthtetic for a longer interval .
Had the same car that I paid very little for. Looked like the original owner hadn't changed the oil for 29,000 miles. Got it out to 115K and found a wreck engine and transmission for a few hundred installed. Mazda 121 by Kia, first of five HyunKias, great luck with all of 'em.
 
The lease requires you to do the minimum.required in the owner's manual. (However unless they see some sign of neglect they don't ask for.proof at return).

Usually the tires are required to have a certain minimum tread at turn in.

You can only have customary damage (ie certain number and size of door dings).although you can usually add an insurance policy to cover any additional wear and tear.

I routinely lease a vehicle for my Mom every 36 months. It's just easier not having to negotiate the trade and only the purchase price. She got a 2018 Lincoln MKX Select 3.7 for $399 a month with no money down last time. I won't go into what that equates to in money factor (interest rate) and cap price (purchase price). Basically she got a cap reduction equal to the down payment and.the cost of the higher trim level in addition to the advertised subsidized deal.
Yes, they’ll do a walk around inspection before you trade it in. They’ll check the paint, thread depth on the tires, brake pads. But as far as the oil, like you said, unless there’s signs of damage/abuse, all they can really do is ask for receipts. That’s about it. And let’s face it, that doesn’t happen often and if it does? A lot of people can generate receipts of some kind - whether it be oil purchased (or not purchased from somewhere), or they just change the oil before they turn it in and say...I forgot my receipt, what are you going to do about it? And if they’re turning it in and buying another Honda or whatever at the same dealer?? There’s no way they’re going to hold up the sale over oil changes. Heck, they may not even hold up the sale if two of the tires are junk.

So, I think if I’m buying a former lease I’d need to see maintenance through a carfax. Documented oil changes. That’s all I’m looking for.
 
" Mazda 121 by Kia, first of five HyunKias, great luck with all of 'em "

The '88 > '93 Ford Festivas were the Mazda 1.3 ltr. engine of the 121 . I think '94 on was KIA ( Daewoo ) for the ASPIRE . Still see those on occasion . We had an '89 ( or '90 ?) with the 3 speed auto , '91 with a 5 speed manual and an '93 with same manual . The '93 was totaled because of driver colliding with the rear while waiting at a red light . Miss them . They were very good in snow with the "12 wheels .
 
I'd be curious to know what part of the country CarLuver lives in. I've seen something like this go south well before 33,000 miles, because the cruddy old oil gelled in the cold (Wyoming), and ruined the engine at 25,000 ('89 Grand Am Quad4). The pan and bottom end of that engine was a disaster area. Who knows how long she could've gone if she lived in south Texas.
 
I'd be curious to know what part of the country CarLuver lives in. I've seen something like this go south well before 33,000 miles, because the cruddy old oil gelled in the cold (Wyoming), and ruined the engine at 25,000 ('89 Grand Am Quad4). The pan and bottom end of that engine was a disaster area. Who knows how long she could've gone if she lived in south Texas.

I think that depends a lot on the quality of the oil. The engine involved and the climate.

You are comparing a SG 5W-30 Group I to a likely SN 0W-20 Synthetic (?) - I know it's 0W-20 so at least a high percentage. The normally aspirated Subaru engine is generally pretty easy on oil. Can't say what climate conditions it saw but it may have spent each night in a heated garage.

I suspect if the car had at least 2 quarts added during that 33,000 mi it would have looked a lot better.
 
" Mazda 121 by Kia, first of five HyunKias, great luck with all of 'em "

The '88 > '93 Ford Festivas were the Mazda 1.3 ltr. engine of the 121 . I think '94 on was KIA ( Daewoo ) for the ASPIRE . Still see those on occasion . We had an '89 ( or '90 ?) with the 3 speed auto , '91 with a 5 speed manual and an '93 with same manual . The '93 was totaled because of driver colliding with the rear while waiting at a red light . Miss them . They were very good in snow with the "12 wheels .
They were both Kia's. The LeMans was the Daewoo. Kia continued to sell both in Korea long after Ford (and probably Mazda) gave up on them.
 
Heh, I had a similar encounter at work a few months back.

'13 or so Altima with the 2.5L and 64k on the clock came in for an oil change; nothing special, though they wanted the cheapo 5W-20 oil change instead of something better with 0W-20 (which is what the car calls for, but I digress). Anyway, I pulled the oil cap off and was greeted by the site of sludge. Looked inside the engine, and aside from the sludge where the cap sat, it didn't look terrible. After talking with our lead tech and service manager, I went ahead with the oil change, though I made sure to document the sludge. Very little oil came out, though, like a quart and a half.

The filter, though...the paint was coming off of it, and it looked like an OE Nissan filter; I believe that's sludge on the baseplate (I don't have a filter cutter, sadly; this would've been interesting to take apart). I'll let you all do the math here.

I put one of our filters on, filled it with the cheap stuff (again, this is what the customer asked for), and crossed my fingers. It fired up without issue and idled like any other QR25 I've encountered. I programmed the oil change monitor for 3k, wrote the sticker out for same, made sure I documented everything I did on the electronic RO, and sent it on it's way. Haven't seen it since.
20200507_130143.jpg
20200507_130132.jpg
20200507_125156.jpg
 
Maybe his wife is Japanese. Don't they retire engines at 50 000k? Smart. Save the planet from all that used dino juice.
 
Back
Top