stupid people vs luxury cars

[fdcg27]

Right you are.
Maybe no engine should require adds, but many do.
Checking the oil level regularly on a car that's new to you just seems like simple common sense.
Too bad that some owners are too simple to have any common sense.
I'll bet that no former Saturn owner will ever run any car out of oil.
I'd bet the same for anybody who's ever had a Vega.
I had one way back in the day.

 

[Dave Sherman]

It's not just luxury cars. I got into a discussion with a guy who had a Honda Accord, griping because his J35 V6 ran out of oil, froze, and Honda wouldn't cover it. Asked him when he checked his oil, and of course, he didn't. Didn't know what the oil light meant, either. I point out that the owner's manual for my CR-V explicitly states to check the oil at every fuel stop. He gripes and asks if I check it every fuel stop. No, more like once every few weeks, but that's because I know it uses very little, and I don't think I've had to add any oil between oil changes, ever. Which just led to him griping that his is obviously defective because it used oil. Sorry dude, but I don't think you have a leg to stand on now.

 

[rjundi]

Nothing wrong with luxury vehicles. However I have a serious issue with making a payment for one. Plain stupid.

The reality is my wife has never pulled the oil stick in her cars ever. She has been lucky over 2 cars and 350k miles.

 

[artificialist]

My mom would never be able to check the oil on her cars. She is very fortunate that none of her cars used up any.

No modern car should be burning oil at noticeable amounts. For example, my mom had a 1985 Nissan Maxima, and the engine wasn't burning oil. There is zero excuse nowadays.

 

[andyd]

The 25 yr old 528e has a low oil level check lite as well as a low coolant and a few bad light lights in an over head display. The light check lights are obnoxious because they are mostly false alarms. But having a low oil and coolant levels lights is a great feature. The LOL light comes on when it is a qt low. My first 528e had a bad head gasket that leaked a qt every 1.5K miles. I drove it for 200K just adding a qt between between changes. That is when I bought cheap 20 w 50 and STP filters. or whatever was on sale. I carry a few qts and a jug of coolant. Being otherwise reliable as rock, it is no big deal. My co-driver just lets me know when stuff isnt right and I tend to it in the driveway in the fullness of time. I have 3 vehicles outside of the work van. I dont go anywhere. So the spousal unit has 2 others should hers be ailing at the moment.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: Inspecktor
Cars do come with an oil level monitor-it,s called a dip stick.


Not all cars come with one. My S600 has only the monitor which I call up every time I fill up (old habit). Should I wish to double check the level sensor, I can purchase a "special service tool" which looks remarkably similar to a dipstick, except that it's not calibrated to this engine's sump, so you have to convert the level in MM to the add/fill marks using a look up in the workshop information system.


For all your measuring needs, we use this for the trans in our car which is sealed. A great product, very versatile...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILLER-TOOL-9336A-DIPSTICK-SPECIAL-TOOL-R1-S11-B1-/121314666117


Thanks Steve, bought a quite similar one to service the NAG trans in my car (same trans as yours I believe). Also bought the ATRA book on the NAG so I could use the temp/level chart to get the fluid level correct after a D&F, filter and cannon plug change.

 

[79sunrunner]

The worst one I read on a review site was this guy from Cibolo Texas. He wrote to complaint for his wife who lost control of her car because the stability control showed a fault. http://www.arfc.org/complaints/1999/jaguar/xj8/

As you can tell, she reaaaalllllllyyyyyy needed stability control to kick in on the driveway.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: JC1
Sorry to hear that someone keeping up with the Jones' weren't keeping up with the BITOGERS.

Awesome.

 

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
My mom would never be able to check the oil on her cars. She is very fortunate that none of her cars used up any.

No modern car should be burning oil at noticeable amounts. For example, my mom had a 1985 Nissan Maxima, and the engine wasn't burning oil. There is zero excuse nowadays.


If someone is at the point where they're physically incapable of checking their oil, there's a [censored] good chance they shouldn't be driving.

Also, plenty of high performance engines burn a little oil, it's all a matter of engine design. Ask anyone who's owned an S4, they all burn a little oil. Different engine designs have different seal types, clearances, etc.

For example, my mom's Jeep has the 4.0 I6 and it has never burned a drop, dipstick is still right where it was after the last change when I change it at 5k miles. My Jeep however, burns a little (usually about a 1/2 quart in 6k between changes, but it varies based on driving style). Around town, it'll burn almost nothing. It'll burn about a quart in 6k of steady highway cruising. If I'm really beating on it (lots of high rpm engine braking, etc.), it'll burn more, probably close to a quart in 2k miles. Some of it ends up in the catch can (valve cover baffles under the PCV aren't great), some gets burned, mostly through the valve seals, I think. The seals aren't worn out, they're just not a super-tight, perfect seal to start with (it's burned exactly the same amount since the heads were re-done).

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: geeman789

I knew a girl who bought a brand new CIVIC back in the 90's, drove it for 2 years, then blew the engine... when asked about maintenance, she responded yes, I put gas in it every week... she had never changed the oil...!



Up here new toyotas come with 2 years or 25k in free maintenance-- probably just a few oil changes and a tire rotation.

But, one, it gets the cars out of warranty, saving the Toyota name. And two, it gets people in the habit of going in for (free) service.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Originally Posted By: artificialist
My mom would never be able to check the oil on her cars. She is very fortunate that none of her cars used up any.

No modern car should be burning oil at noticeable amounts. For example, my mom had a 1985 Nissan Maxima, and the engine wasn't burning oil. There is zero excuse nowadays.


If someone is at the point where they're physically incapable of checking their oil, there's a [censored] good chance they shouldn't be driving.

Also, plenty of high performance engines burn a little oil, it's all a matter of engine design. Ask anyone who's owned an S4, they all burn a little oil. Different engine designs have different seal types, clearances, etc.


My mom has been driving since the 70s, and got into one major crash in her entire life, back in 2002.

And I still believe no engine should be burning any oil. Oil burning to me is a sign of bad design.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
People at QLP mostly never check their oil. They say, "Why would a newer car burn any oil? You don't have to check oil anymore."


In many cases, they're right...my Magnum never burned a drop in 88,000 miles. Even my 200,000-mile Cherokee used less than a pint in 5000 miles.

 

[andyd]

That was my first 528e, the current pair throw off the top pint and then settle down to no further usage during the OCI, which has elongated to once a year whether needs it or not. I replaced the rear main seal on the Rat when I did the clutch. It doesn't use oil far as I can tell.
The 2.7 M20 I-6 is a very nice engine. Change the oil and the timing belt every 60 K . I put 170K miles on my first one before I removed the valve cover. I replaced injectors and the regular stuff and the car soldiered on until it got too rusty .

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I learned in skydiving class that you never relay totally on emergency automated equipment. If it's made by man it can break or not operate properly.

People that don't check their own oil are rolling the dice. I've never rolled dice on a $30,000 pot, have you?

 

[edwardh1]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: geeman789

I knew a girl who bought a brand new CIVIC back in the 90's, drove it for 2 years, then blew the engine... when asked about maintenance, she responded yes, I put gas in it every week... she had never changed the oil...!



Up here new toyotas come with 2 years or 25k in free maintenance-- probably just a few oil changes and a tire rotation.

in the 90s the local honda dealer always replaced the 4 cyl distributer rotor at 35k mile tune up, not needed but staved off electrical problems for a long time, sneaky but smart- rotor was inexpensive

But, one, it gets the cars out of warranty, saving the Toyota name. And two, it gets people in the habit of going in for (free) service.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I honestly believe the problem with these people is that they simply have no idea how to interact with machinery. They haven't got a feel for steel. They're good at something, just not moving parts.

You never hear about the people that understand the workings of a machine, how to check lubes, how to feel when something isn't right. They check the oil. They fix or change parts before they fail. They follow The Maintenenace Schedule.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
I honestly believe the problem with these people is that they simply have no idea how to interact with machinery. They haven't got a feel for steel. They're good at something, just not moving parts.

But, but... it's a Mercedes. It was expensive, so it should never require any maintenance, ever. Just gas up and go.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Originally Posted By: artificialist
My mom would never be able to check the oil on her cars. She is very fortunate that none of her cars used up any.

No modern car should be burning oil at noticeable amounts. For example, my mom had a 1985 Nissan Maxima, and the engine wasn't burning oil. There is zero excuse nowadays.


If someone is at the point where they're physically incapable of checking their oil, there's a [censored] good chance they shouldn't be driving.

Also, plenty of high performance engines burn a little oil, it's all a matter of engine design. Ask anyone who's owned an S4, they all burn a little oil. Different engine designs have different seal types, clearances, etc.

For example, my mom's Jeep has the 4.0 I6 and it has never burned a drop, dipstick is still right where it was after the last change when I change it at 5k miles. My Jeep however, burns a little (usually about a 1/2 quart in 6k between changes, but it varies based on driving style). Around town, it'll burn almost nothing. It'll burn about a quart in 6k of steady highway cruising. If I'm really beating on it (lots of high rpm engine braking, etc.), it'll burn more, probably close to a quart in 2k miles. Some of it ends up in the catch can (valve cover baffles under the PCV aren't great), some gets burned, mostly through the valve seals, I think. The seals aren't worn out, they're just not a super-tight, perfect seal to start with (it's burned exactly the same amount since the heads were re-done).


After 25 years of driving an AMC I6, my mother forgot about checking oil Their 4.2 and 3 4.0s never used a drop of oil. My father, a truck driver, checks the oil every time he drivers ... anything.

Their 2008 Wrangler started drinking oil. He never drove it, so he never thought to check it. She never checked it because she was used to the AMC I6s for the last 25 years that never used any oil.

They were surprised when I checked the oil and it only had 3 quarts in it! After that, they started checking every week. Though, towards the end, they didn't bother checking and just dumped a quart in every other week.

What's funny now is, they both check the oil in the Focuscape (2013 Escape) twice a week. Luckily, the Focuscape isn't using any oil.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
I honestly believe the problem with these people is that they simply have no idea how to interact with machinery. They haven't got a feel for steel. They're good at something, just not moving parts.

But, but... it's a Mercedes. It was expensive, so it should never require any maintenance, ever. Just gas up and go.


And these are the people who should be buying Tesla's.

No oil to change, no gas to purchase.
Just plug it into the wall outlet when you get home, just like your stove or refrigerator.

You know, just like any other appliance in their life.

In fact, that should be Tesla's advertising campaign when they make the smaller, less expensive sedan in a couple of years.

BC.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
And these are the people who should be buying Tesla's.

No oil to change, no gas to purchase.
Just plug it into the wall outlet when you get home, just like your stove or refrigerator.

You know, just like any other appliance in their life.

In fact, that should be Tesla's advertising campaign when they make the smaller, less expensive sedan in a couple of years.

BC.

Those people should only buy an electric car with wireless charger so they don't even have to plug it in anywhere.