Selling an oil burner -- disclose or not?

[raffy]

Yes, 2000 miles per quart is somewhat unusual for a later model Honda Civic with only 70K miles. If you sell to a private party, I would let them know about it just as a courtesy to them since it is somewhat unusual for that make and model of car.

As you can see on my signature line, I own a Saturn SL. These cars are known oil consumers, and mine is no exception (like the OP's, it also uses about 1 quart per 2000 miles). I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to disclose that if I were selling it, since any buyer who does some research on Internet forums like Saturnfans or BITOG can find out that oil consumption is typical for those cars. Like the old saying goes, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).

One could make the argument that a private buyer should expect any used car to use some oil, but in your case (if you go the private sale route) since you are aware of it and know about, AND you have a make and model that is not known for using more than one quart between a 3000 to 5000 mile oil change, I think you should disclose it.

If you trade it in to a dealer, I'm not sure I would say anything since the dealer SHOULD give the car a good going over by their mechanic before agreeing on the amount of money to give you for it.

 

[LS2JSTS]

The answer is simple, all these situational ethics lessons aside...follow the law. If asked disclose truthfully.

With years of experience to back it up, I can tell you the dealer will almost never ask.

And the private seller should be asking this question. Regardless of whether it's a known burner or a known clock work engine. Regardless of make or model if a private buyer doesn't ask this question, then they are idiots.

The real question as far as ethics is concerned is, does your own personal moral code extend, beyond the law, to protecting the ignorant among us from themselves or not?

 

[BrianWC]

When I sold my wife's 94 Eclipse, I fudged about the amount of oil it used. But it still wasn't a drastic oil burner. I felt a little bad at first but the car was already almost 10 yrs old at the time and I figured the new owner should assume they aren't getting a perfect vehicle. I didn't feel the least bit bad after I discovered that the new owner drove the car to the Grand Canyon and Canada before reselling it for more than what I sold it to him.

 

[Cutehumor]

tell them you have to put a quart of 20w-50 every oil change, the potential buyers should get the hint

 

[Mr Nice]

I also have a 2007 Civic and it doesn't burn any oil, I have to add a tiny bit around 7K miles.

I would keep the Civic and just keep adding oil.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: hounddog
1 qt. in 2000 miles is nothing.
x2 many cars use more than that.

 

[expat]

Again what is the age and asking price of the car?
If it's a $1000 beater, it's 'Buyer Beware'
If it is a newer car, I might not feel comfortable selling (un-disclosed) privately.

 

[ls1mike]

Seems like alot to me. None of my vehicles come close to that. Not even the truck I use for towing.
So you guys are a saying 1 quart every 2000 miles? On the Equinox, Buick and Trans Am, I don't even see a quart at 4000 miles.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Seems like alot to me. None of my vehicles come close to that. Not even the truck I use for towing.
So you guys are a saying 1 quart every 2000 miles? On the Equinox, Buick and Trans Am, I don't even see a quart at 4000 miles.


Agreed, seems excessive to me as well. None of my vehicles, even those with high miles (300+K Km's) use any where NEAR that. The expie will go 7,500 miles without adding a quart.

 

[SteveTheisen]

My Crown Vic '05 has 130,000 and hasn't used a drop of oil during any OCI in the last 50,000 miles. The longest OCI has been 5,500miles and didn't move a hair on the dipstick. You guys must have low standards for what an oil consumer is. Even my Audi 200 turbo with 200,000+ didn't use any oil with 3,000 OCIs.

A quart per 5,000 miles is excessive, let alone 2+ quarts per 5,000.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

When I had my 88 5.0 Town Car with 300K miles,99 4.6 Grand Marquis with over 200K miles they did not use a drop of oil between the 5K miles OCI'S..The 4.6 Panthers we have now do not not use a drop of oil between the 5K miles OCI'S..My sister when she had her 94 Camry and 89 Corolla [both had over 200K miles] never had to add oil to those cars either between her 5K miles OCI'S.

BTW if you live in Miami and do not disclose you have a oil burner to a private party things are not going to be pleasant for you.

 

[Mr Nice]

Those 5.0 engines were one of the *best* engines ever made by Ford. My 1990 Mustang also never burned any oil even taking it to the 1/4 mile drag strip every week.

Off Topic: I just found out my nephew just bought a 2003 Altima and I did a Google search and found out these cars are a piece of [censored].

 

[R2d2]

I had the same car as the OP 07 Civic, I traded it with about 80k miles. It never used any discernible amount of oil between changes which were usually about 10-12k miles for me.

 

[garlicbreadman]

no disclose and i would sell it too if it consumed so much

 

[salesmantony]

As a sales professional, it amazes me how many people here suggest to keep it a secret. It's people that do those kind of things that give salespeople a bad name. You are honor bound to disclose anything you know about the car, whether asked directly or not. Just because someone may have done you wrongly in the past does not justify screwing someone else.

The "Do unto others" quote fits precisely.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: SteveTheisen
My Crown Vic '05 has 130,000 and hasn't used a drop of oil during any OCI in the last 50,000 miles. The longest OCI has been 5,500miles and didn't move a hair on the dipstick. You guys must have low standards for what an oil consumer is. Even my Audi 200 turbo with 200,000+ didn't use any oil with 3,000 OCIs.

A quart per 5,000 miles is excessive, let alone 2+ quarts per 5,000.



Some motors just burn a bit of oil, some do it for years and hundreds of thousands of miles without issues. Just the design.

The key is tracking it to see if it changes, and what the max specs are from the manufacture. A lot of the Europeans say as long as its less than a quart every 700 miles to forget about it.

 

[SteveTheisen]

I know it's not a big deal to manufacturers, but buying an extra quart per 700 miles ends up being a lot of money over the duration of the cars life. If it did it right away that's 285+ extra quarts of oil over a 200,000 mile lifespan which the majority of cars are seeing if they are not abused.

 

[addyguy]

For an '07 with 70k miles, a quart every 2k seems like a lot to me. I'd let a private buyer know about that. I've never had a car consume even close that amount of oil.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: salesmantony
As a sales professional, it amazes me how many people here suggest to keep it a secret. It's people that do those kind of things that give salespeople a bad name. You are honor bound to disclose anything you know about the car, whether asked directly or not. Just because someone may have done you wrongly in the past does not justify screwing someone else.

The "Do unto others" quote fits precisely.



How can you expect your vision of a good car to match the buyer's? What if the buyer is allergic to perfume? What if she's racist? What if you used Exxon gas and she's boycotting them over the Valdez?

How can one predict what will bug the next buyer? Be honest if asked. Let them control the Q & A session.

If you're selling a house with 15 year shingles, and you're on year ten, and there's no leaks, your shingles are within spec. The car manufacturer has a spec for acceptable oil consumption.

 

[2Fast4U]

If asked tell the truth. I sold what I considered to be an oil burner few years back. Told the guy outright it was normal that I added 1 qt of oil between changes.