only 1/2 quart of oil left in the sump.... 2002

[tomcat27]

a family friend stopped by for an oil change tonight: 2002 Saturn. I drained out 1/2 quart of oil. sad. very sad. her dad noticed two days ago that there was no oil showing on the dipstick but he did not add oil. she commented that "I only drove it two days since".... sad. very sad. the same family ruined a 318 by driving it daily for 2.5 years without changing the oil. some people never learn. at least their son knows how to add oil: he stopped over last summer when his Subie was running poorly. He said the problem started after he added oil. I drained out over 8 quarts. unfortunately that exceeded the capacity of my drain pan. what a mess that was! he admitted that he knew how to add oil, but did not know how to check the level.

 

[spasm3]

With that kind of inattention to maintenance, i'd not touch their cars. When it blows up, spins a bearing, throws a rod, they might blame you.

 

[John_K]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
her dad noticed two days ago that there was no oil showing on the dipstick but he did not add oil. she commented that "I only drove it two days since".... sad. very sad.


What is the point of checking but not adding?

 

[dlundblad]

Was the car okay?

 

[Ethan1]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I drained out over 8 quarts. unfortunately that exceeded the capacity of my drain pan. what a mess that was! he admitted that he knew how to add oil, but did not know how to check the level.


Yeah, but what's the point of ADDING without CHECKING?!?

 

[Run]

That motor won't live very long.

 

[barkingspider]

Looks like an opportunity to take them under your wing and give them the knowledge they need to help their vehicles last

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Run
That motor won't live very long.


I've seen them run fine on less...

My beater F150 came to me with no more than a quart in the pan, like the OP not much more than a good splash in the drain pan... Now three years later it runs fine, uses approx a qt in 3K mi...

 

[tomcat27]

The Saturn sounds OK. I told her to return with the car within two weeks. none of them have any interest in learning - apparently. I know that theoretically I could get blamed for something going wrong on their cars - but it hasn't happened yet. I don't have time to maintain their fleet of 6 cars - 4 of which are almost junk. Their 2001 Buick makes so much noise at a mere 110k miles that the engine is sure to croak soon - and they just lost a 2000 Gran prix to a fire - that happened 1 week after a shop replaced some gasoline-related gasket under the hood. I have no further details. they only have two decent cars - one of which is my Echo that I just sold them. the boy seems very interested in keeping the echo in good shape - I told him that if he does not return once every 3 months for an oil check and a change every 5k, I will repo the car. I kept keys...

 

[Merkava_4]

Perfectly normal behavior for normal people.

If you want something done correctly, have a mentally ill person do it.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Perfectly normal behavior for normal people.

If you want something done correctly, have a mentally ill person do it.


Thats funny!

 

[Ethan1]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Perfectly normal behavior for normal people.

If you want something done correctly, have a mentally ill person do it.


I think that crazy would be taking a large investment like a car, then beating on it with no maintenance. But then again... don't the crazy people always think they're the only ones that aren't crazy?

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Ethan1
I think that crazy would be taking a large investment like a car, then beating on it with no maintenance.


No, normal people do it all the time. How many times has an affluent normal person gone to a BMW dealer to have their oil changed every 10,000 miles because BMW says it's OK to ?

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
a family friend stopped by for an oil change tonight: 2002 Saturn. I drained out 1/2 quart of oil. sad. very sad. her dad noticed two days ago that there was no oil showing on the dipstick but he did not add oil. she commented that "I only drove it two days since".... sad. very sad. the same family ruined a 318 by driving it daily for 2.5 years without changing the oil. some people never learn. at least their son knows how to add oil: he stopped over last summer when his Subie was running poorly. He said the problem started after he added oil. I drained out over 8 quarts. unfortunately that exceeded the capacity of my drain pan. what a mess that was! he admitted that he knew how to add oil, but did not know how to check the level.


Sounds like an excellent educational opportunity!

 

[Chris142]

You cant educate this type of person.they wont listen

 

[CT8]

My dad used to tell me that in some instances it is best to butt out.

 

[daves87rs]

Wow...at least that saturn is still going....

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
I think that crazy would be taking a large investment like a car, then beating on it with no maintenance.


No, normal people do it all the time. How many times has an affluent normal person gone to a BMW dealer to have their oil changed every 10,000 miles because BMW says it's OK to ?


I dont see the correlation to "normal" and/or "affluent". Maybe just me but I believe idiot is idiot...."normal" or abnormal and "affluent" or not so much! If I had 10mil in the bank waste is waste and ruin is ruin.

OP how do you deal! I don't care if it's a XXX Box or a new car. If it's worth owning it's worth taking care of.

 

[Gasbuggy]

I've always suspected the Amityville Horror event might have occurred because the wife and kids wouldn't check or add oil the car or boat engine.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
You cant educate this type of person.they wont listen


If they choose to ignore something that will help them it is their own fault.