"Never had to do anything to it besides oil changes"

[Alan]

"So this would mean that he still has the original tires, shocks,air filters, fuel filters, spark plugs, hasn't ever flushed the cooling system, changed the belts, including the timing belt which was supposed to be changed every 60kmi., etc., etc. This is not an indication of a reliable car, just a negligent owner. And I'm sure the car drives just like new... NOT!"

I read this somewhere and it reminds me of my brother and others who have this "if it ain't broke don't fix it

" attitude when it comes to cars but goes

when he see's a repair bill that could of been avoided.

Man,it's hard to persuade these types to check simple things on a car!

 

[pitzel]

I would personally have absolutely no problem buying a car like that.

Most of the problems I have encountered on used cars, of my own, and of relatives, have been related to improper previous repairs or improperly performed/innappropriate maintenance.

For instance, I'd rather buy a car that was a little bit behind on coolant flushes, than have a car that was flushed and refilled with an innappropriate fluid, or with high-mineral water. I'd rather buy a car with bald tyres and select my own tyres, than pay a premium for half-used tyres. And spark plugs, they last at least 100k miles on most modern cars, and frequent replacement only increases the chance of damaging aluminum cylinder heads.

Old air filters and fuel filters aren't a problem either in the overall future reliability of a vehicle. There becomes a point where they impact performance, but an engine should actually be breathing cleaner air through a dirty filter, than through a clean one.

Likewise with oil changes -- frequent oil changes mean squat if the oil used was innappropriate. I would pick a car from an Amsoil or Mobil-1 25k-mile-drainer anyday over one with a shady history of 89-cent dino oil changes.

 

[labman]

Me too.

 

[Kestas]

It depends -- would the car have 60K or 120K? At 60K the car may still be rescued. At 120K the damage from neglect is probably done.

Good point on sloppy repairs. I've had to undo some bad repairs on used cars I bought.

 

[simple_gifts]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kestas:
I've had to undo some bad repairs on used cars I bought.

---

I once bought a 77 buick in which someone removed the distributor and just put it back "however", no timing at all, they fudged the distributor cap to get the car to work. When I tuned up the car and replaced the cap (installing it into the KEYWAYS) I noticed the plugs wires all pointed in different directions than previously. What a pain to fix that debacle.

 

[Audi Junkie]

"My car never needed nothin" is what I hear from Asian car owners. Thing is that it actually needs everything, but they did not bother to check, were not critical about loose steering, noises or whatever.

 

[simple_gifts]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
"My car never needed nothin" is what I hear from Asian car owners. Thing is that it actually needs everything, but they did not bother to check, were not critical about loose steering, noises or whatever.

---

Let it go....

 

[brianl703]

I may have already mentioned this, but:

A friend of mine and I were discussing changing the shocks and struts on my 160K mile 1988 Mustang GT, which had what was likely OE struts that were quite worn out.

One of my friend's friend's pipes up that he had a Camry for 150K and never had to change the struts on it.

You know, if your idea of aggressive driving is exceeding the speed limit to change lanes, you probably wouldn't care about the condition of your struts, or much else on your car that isn't critical to the function of going from point "A" to point "B", either.

With regards to loose steering, polyurethane steering rack bushings fixed that little problem on my Mustang. I did't even know they would; it was "let's put these in and see if they make any difference"...and they made QUITE the improvement.

 

[Pablo]

Amen. Then there's the: "I loved this car so much I wouldn't even put a bumper sticker on it"

What is THAT supposed to mean? (Turns out it was a real nightmare NOTHING was kept up)

Face it: MOST people just drive and fill the gas tank, barely remembering to change oil. Then when they sell they want top dollar. I spew my beverage at new car prices and the drive away depreciation - but I puke at the ridiculous used car pipe dream prices!

 

[Kestas]

It also bugs me from the other end when I am selling what is obviously a well-cared-for vehicle, and the only thing people seem to care about are the few dings in the body and don't even want to pay the going market rate! After talking a few minutes with me it's obvious that I'm a car guy that does everything specified in the manual, plus some more. You'd think people would jump at the rare vehicle that has seen impeccable maintenance.

Sometimes a friend shows up with their new acquisition (used car). I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling them that all they bought was a "paint job".

 

[1999nick]

I've never had to do anything to my 1999 Nissan Maxima. Absolutely nothing has ever broken or worn out. Oil changes have always been performed every 6 months, as I am a retired low mileage driver.

However, I replaced the tires at 35000 miles because of age. I have had the cooling system flushed twice. I had the serpentine belt replaced at 5 years because I did not want to chance an unexpected failure because of age. I replaced the battery at 6 years old because I did not trust it to last one more winter. I replace the windshield wipers on a regular basis with a premium brand. I had the automatic transmission flushed at 40,000 miles. My son and I replaced the brake pads with a premium brand and flushed the fluid; the original pads looked about 70% worn but I wanted to flush the old fluid and it wasn't a lot of trouble to go ahead and change the pads. The discs were smooth and did not need turning.

One thing that I've never done is have the A/C gas checked. It still cools just like new, so I see no need to do that.

Still, nothing has ever broken or worn out in almost 7 years.

 

[Tosh]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
"My car never needed nothin" is what I hear from Asian car owners. Thing is that it actually needs everything, but they did not bother to check, were not critical about loose steering, noises or whatever.

---

Aren't you at 210k miles on the original timing belt?

 

[Audi Junkie]

Yeppers, 210k...non-interference engine. The only point in replacement would be to avoid a breakdown. Shocks were replaced asap after we got the car. Boge hydrolic shocks and Ur-Q "Blue" Rallye mounts. New (improved) TREs and ball joints. The TB might tank, but the steering and suspension is tight as a rock. Now, let's talk about all those dumpy cars with 210k on the original shocks...that's a sweet ride.

 

[Alan]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
Yeppers, 210k...non-interference engine. The only point in replacement would be to avoid a breakdown. Shocks were replaced asap after we got the car. Boge hydrolic shocks and Ur-Q "Blue" Rallye mounts. New (improved) TREs and ball joints. The TB might tank, but the steering and suspension is tight as a rock. Now, let's talk about all those dumpy cars with 210k on the original shocks...that's a sweet ride.

---

Does this timing belt assembly use some sort of tensioner guide pulley for the belt.I 've seen TB's get shredded when the tensioner seizes!

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by Alan:
I 've seen TB's get shredded when the tensioner seizes!

---

I made a post about that happening to my brother-in-law's 1993 Ford Escort.

Tensioner was an Autozone part.

 

[jsharp]

quote:

---

Originally posted by brianl703:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alan:
I 've seen TB's get shredded when the tensioner seizes!

---

I made a post about that happening to my brother-in-law's 1993 Ford Escort.

Tensioner was an Autozone part.

---

I had a factory Nissan part seize and destroy the belt. There's no listed change interval for that part but it looks like it's at most, every other belt change. Every belt change might be smarter if you intend to keep the vehicle until the next change...

 

[brianl703]

On the Escort the tensioner is part of the waterpump. It's generally considered a good idea to change the waterpump (and therefore the tensioner) when doing the timing belt, as the additional labor amounts to maybe 10 minutes.

 

[eljefino]

Having sold $1000 cars to whatever wierdo shows up, I can vest that they don't want to hear about what work's been done. They just want to know "it's been real good to me". When I mention work done their eyes usually glaze over then they flee...

A new inspection sticker helps immensely though. I bet these people drive cars until they die or are presented a $1500 bill to make their car safe and legal again. I usually unload my cars with fresh oil changes to delay the inevitable...

 

[Audi Junkie]

Does anybody else do elective suspension work? I know guys who buy brand-new Audis and take them in for a complete coil-over kit and custom alignment. I'm tame by comparison, just replace stuff when it looks or feels a bit beat. I just put some almost-new shocks on that I got from one of those guys, lol...works for me. Being on BitOG and AudiWorld, I literally live in two worlds. One where it's normal to spend $3000+ for a set of rims and tires and another where guys want every mile out of a set of 80,000 mile generic tires. I can tell you, no matter what car I drive, and I'm looking at a Porsche Boxter, I will not pay $200 for a tire that just wears away eventually. I'm not stupid.

 

[T-Keith]

Someone I work with who is fairly knowledgable about cars couldn't believe I change the coolant in my cars. He says he's never heard of such a thing.