OCI when looking at history of a used car

[OilStainedNapkin]

If you stick to those parameters you will likely never find a car unless you buy from a bitog user. The vast majority of people don’t over maintain their cars. If a manufacturer says to change oil at 10k, then 99% of owners will be changing at 10k (and likely longer).

Check out the car, look at the oil level and if there’s signs of heavy varnish on the dipstick or from what you can see through the oil fill cap. Most importantly, see how it drives and if there’s any stored codes in the computer.

There’s no guarantees when buying a used car but at least those corollas have a reputation for reliability even when abused.

 

[burbguy82]

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.

Your fuel, evidently is of better quality as well. I think this is very important to the interval

 

[Burt]

Your fuel, evidently is of better quality as well. I think this is very important to the interval

I don’t see the evidence of bad UOAs or worn out engines with 10,000-12,000 mile intervals.

 

[TheOilWizard]

I don’t see the evidence of bad UOAs or worn out engines with 10,000-12,000 mile intervals.

There's an Explorer on the front page of the UOA section: 5k miles, viscosity down from 30w to 20w, and TBN of 1.7. Catastrophic on its own, no, but not even Blackstone recommended to push it further.

 

[ATex7239]

You cannot be that picky with used vehicles. As long it was reasonably maintained then it should be fine.

 

[thetricky]

You cannot be that picky with used vehicles. As long it was reasonably maintained then it should be fine.

Bought my Outback off the dealer used lot. They had a whole folder of maintenance the gal had done at that dealership since mile 1. Now, I deeply despise dealers and their mediocre maintenance, however, the consistency of care was plenty for me to buy it. Been babying it ever since!

 

[SimpleSyrup]

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.

That would exclude basically 95% of the well maintained cars on BITOG where people DIY the oil changes to a magnitude 10x the average used car. If you purchased a car solely based on the carfax, you probably wouldn't find it from a user here. I have a 20 year old one-owner Honda that's been meticulously maintained, and has exactly one documented Carfax oil change. I also bought a used car with a pristene CarFax that, when we got it you checked the gas and filled the oil. On paper alone, that used car looks like the better buy. In reality, my Honda with all the DIY maintenance is the gem.

Other than VIN fraud, salvage title fraud or odo rollback, just get a proper pre purchase inspection done and skip the CarFax until the very end.

 

[SiRDOHC]

That would exclude basically 95% of the well maintained cars on BITOG where people DIY the oil changes to a magnitude 10x the average used car. If you purchased a car solely based on the carfax, you probably wouldn't find it from a user here. I have a 20 year old one-owner Honda that's been meticulously maintained, and has exactly one documented Carfax oil change. I also bought a used car with a pristene CarFax that, when we got it you checked the gas and filled the oil. On paper alone, that used car looks like the better buy. In reality, my Honda with all the DIY maintenance is the gem.

Other than VIN fraud, salvage title fraud or odo rollback, just get a proper pre purchase inspection done and skip the CarFax until the very end.

This is why I bite the bullet and buy new. For the vehicles I want, it could be argued that it costs more to buy them slightly used than new. There are so many things I do (not just oil and fluid changes) that enhance the serviceability and longevity of the vehicle by about 2x. It becomes even more important when you are in the rust belt because theres a handful of things you can do to make the salt far less destructive, and they are best done on day one.

 

[Bill7]

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.

I usually run a Carfax, which often shows you oil change date and miles if it's done at a dealership or lube chain.
I would rather buy used cars that have had frequent oil changes.

I've had good luck buying cars from retired couples who got too old to drive who changed oil every 3k to 5k miles.
Cream puff cars with low miles are the way to go, even if it takes a long time to find one.

 

[Burt]

There's an Explorer on the front page of the UOA section: 5k miles, viscosity down from 30w to 20w, and TBN of 1.7. Catastrophic on its own, no, but not even Blackstone recommended to push it further.

That is interesting as the TBN is 1/4 that of other tests with similar miles and this in a relatively new vehicle. Certainly is an outlier.

 

[TheOilWizard]

That is interesting as the TBN is 1/4 that of other tests with similar miles and this in a relatively new vehicle. Certainly is an outlier.

May not be that unusual actually. I posted some UOA's here years ago on a 2013 Rogue, and TBN was around 2.1 after 5k miles in both tests.

T

Thread '2013 Nissan Rogue, MC 5w-30, 4,400 mi'

May 9, 2017

2013 Nissan Rogue with Motorcraft semi-synthetic and Motorcraft filter. 4,400 miles over 4 month period, with many short trips.

Nissan QR25DE 2.5L engine.

I was concerned that I was significantly under utilizing my oil, but that does not appear to the be case.

• TheOilWizard
• Replies: 37
• Forum: Used Oil Analysis - Gasoline

 

[cammyfive79]

I'm on the other end of the spectrum it seems in that I look for certain used cars and am very specific in color/mileage/option packages/what part of the country it lived in/if it was dealer serviced or long intervals at a random quick lube/etc. I understand that I'm an outlier, but if I pull a Carfax and the car has gone 20K miles between OCIs and is at random quick lubes, I just dismiss it entirely.

The car that I bought recently is 10 years old with only 25K miles and I went back and forth even with dealer servicing since it went long periods with the low mileage. Likewise, I'm not buying a used car with badly curbed wheels or a scraped up bumper. That's just me and because of that I have to search high and low and pay a premium for what I want.