OCI when looking at history of a used car

[mtlangst]

I am “needing” s third car my wife tells me so have been looking at a corolla 2016-2018 with the 1.8L engine. It is difficult to find a car that has had the oil changed every 5,000 miles. The trans oil is supposed to be drained at 60,000 miles so I am looking st getting a used car under those miles so I can drain the trans fluid. I will keep looking for a car that has had the oil changed every 5,000 miles but is it ok to get one that has only had the oil changed every 10,000 up to 60,000 miles then start every 5,000 after that? Toyotas are notorious for burning oil and leaks if you don’tchange the oil often on an engine. I want to keep this car a long time and don’t want to have issues later due to someone not changing the oil.

 

[Bailes1992]

We've had 15-20k oil change intervals here in Europe for 20+ years now with no real issues as such. Make of that what you will.

 

[dishdude]

I thought Toyota went to a 10k oci by 2016.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Toyota says 10k with synthetic, 5k with dino

Most cars never get an ATF change and arrive at the junkyard on the factory fill

The Yaris hatch is also worth considering.

 

[mtlangst]

I thought Toyota went to a 10k oci by 2016.

They did but just because marketing says to do it plus never change transmission oil so they can claim lower cost of maintaining a car. Any legit tech I listen says that is BS and to change fluids in your vehicle like you always were supposed to unless you want to replace your transmission and other hard parts in your car later.

 

[barkingspider]

Have a good mechanic give it a good once over before pulling the trigger.

 

[eljefino]

There are other things when looking at a used car that will give you more grief than a slightly long confirmed oil change schedule. Rust, front end, flood damage, collision damage.

You strike me as someone who's buying a car based on the carfax and paperwork instead of by getting dirty and looking underneath. Beware.

 

[Patman]

I have honestly never once looked at the oil change history of a used car before buying it. The overall condition of the car usually gives you a good idea of how well it was taken care of anyway.

 

[supton]

I prefer 5k OCI's but this is the 1.8L port fuel injected motor. In an application that is rarely driven in anger. 10k is fine (even if I don't follow it). Make sure it had some changes and I think you are all set. The 1.8's haven't been known for oil burning for quite some time (you have to go back to the last century for that problem).

As for the CVT... maybe aim for one with less than 100k on the clock, then change the fluid. No worries. I'm not going to say it's made of anvils but Toyota doesn't seem to be in the same league as Subaru or Nissan when it comes to CVT's. No I don't think it's lifetime fluid.

If you go a little bit older you can get the 4AT if that makes you feel better... but now you can wring hands over if the coolant was changed on schedule, along with brake fluid... in the end, buy the one that looks best maintained and best underneath (no rust etc), hope for the best, and keep a repair fund on hand (absolutely nothing is 100% without the occasional repair).

 

[tig1]

Matbe you need to look for a different car. Just sayin.

 

[mtlangst]

Toyota says 10k with synthetic, 5k with dino

Most cars never get an ATF change and arrive at the junkyard on the factory fill

The Yaris hatch is also worth considering.

There are other things when looking at a used car that will give you more grief than a slightly long confirmed oil change schedule. Rust, front end, flood damage, collision damage.

You strike me as someone who's buying a car based on the carfax and paperwork instead of by getting dirty and looking underneath. Beware.

I live in the rust belt so the go to move is to buy a car not from the rust belt. There are soo many used cars now in the South. Gives me great pause doing that due to all the flooding that happened last year.

 

[IndyIan]

Look in the fill hole of any used car, if it looks too varnished for the miles especially for something supposed to be running synthetic, be cautious.
Also check the glovebox for receipts, as not every shop reports doing maintenance, and it shows how much work and where it was being done. A low mileage, one owner newer car, is usually pretty good, unless they skipped 3 oil changes in a row, which should be obvious by looking in the fill hole.

 

[Urshurak776]

I keep a record book in car, plus I fill out the owners manual warranty section for each maintenance interval. If they're relying on Carfax, I am still running on factory fill, no oil changes.

 

[supton]

I keep a record book in car, plus I fill out the owners manual warranty section for each maintenance interval. If they're relying on Carfax, I am still running on factory fill, no oil changes.

I keep a book in the car but typically trade cars in. Next owner won't get the book--used to be, dealers tossed all that stuff, although these days I think they are doing less and less cleaning of cars--especially well used ones that will go straight to auction, then get snapped up by a BHPH. [But then, those buyers don't care about records, just how big the payment is.]

 

[mtlangst]

I keep a record book in car, plus I fill out the owners manual warranty section for each maintenance interval. If they're relying on Carfax, I am still running on factory fill, no oil changes.

Lol. That is a good point. I have noticed that on some histories. I am the same with my vehicles.

 

[mtlangst]

There are other things when looking at a used car that will give you more grief than a slightly long confirmed oil change schedule. Rust, front end, flood damage, collision damage.

You strike me as someone who's buying a car based on the carfax and paperwork instead of by getting dirty and looking underneath. Beware.

Carfax is an initial screen to narrow down options. I will do my due diligence once on scene with a car and preferably have a ppi done by a mechanic.

 

[mtlangst]

I prefer 5k OCI's but this is the 1.8L port fuel injected motor. In an application that is rarely driven in anger. 10k is fine (even if I don't follow it). Make sure it had some changes and I think you are all set. The 1.8's haven't been known for oil burning for quite some time (you have to go back to the last century for that problem).

As for the CVT... maybe aim for one with less than 100k on the clock, then change the fluid. No worries. I'm not going to say it's made of anvils but Toyota doesn't seem to be in the same league as Subaru or Nissan when it comes to CVT's. No I don't think it's lifetime fluid.

If you go a little bit older you can get the 4AT if that makes you feel better... but now you can wring hands over if the coolant was changed on schedule, along with brake fluid... in the end, buy the one that looks best maintained and best underneath (no rust etc), hope for the best, and keep a repair fund on hand (absolutely nothing is 100% without the occasional repair).

Good advice. Thanks.

 

[thetricky]

I have honestly never once looked at the oil change history of a used car before buying it. The overall condition of the car usually gives you a good idea of how well it was taken care of anyway.

This. If the car looks dirty, beat up and just unkept walking up to it, chances are good it isn’t well taken care of in any aspect. Then either walk away or dig further. Two of my neighbors have corollas like this, look like crap, oil changes are few and far between, and forget about any other fluid changes.

 

[4wheeldog]

I have learned to look at the brake fluid reservoir first. If it is clearly not been serviced, things have been skipped. If it has, and the fluid is clear it is an indication that someone was servicing things by the book.

 

[SiRDOHC]

I have learned to look at the brake fluid reservoir first. If it is clearly not been serviced, things have been skipped. If it has, and the fluid is clear it is an indication that someone was servicing things by the book.

This is a pretty good indicator, yes. Brake flushes are not performed by quick-lube places, at least where I live because they are not allowed to service any parts of the braking system. If I see indication of Quick Lube places I run.

I have shopped for used cars on many occasions and I find that the ones that normal people have access through typically are not very well maintained and being sold by cheapskate owners that want to get a few more dollars than trade in. I will see things like pairs of tires replaced due to improper rotations, quick lube stickers or bare minimum dealership oil changes, no other fluid changes, and crappy pad slap brake jobs.

When working in the car business I noticed the best used cars were trade ins that would ultimately end up on the used car section of the new car dealership. This is not to say that they are all cream puffs, but this is where they are hiding. There is a type of consumer that bends over and does everything required and then a couple of expensive maintenence items stack up and they just trade it in for something shiny. The dealer is happy to low ball on trade, and then throw on 4 rotors/pad and a set of tires and other odds and ends, and then marking up 3-5K.