Just wondering, what is it that everyone wants from their vehicle? With all these discussions and opinions on motor oil, what is the general expectation for their car? I'll tell you mine. I want my car (or truck) engine to last 200,000 miles. I do not want the vehicle to end up as a oil burner, or have any strange ticks or knocks. If the vehicle makes it to 200,000 miles, it's time to get another one. I don't bother trying to go beyond 200,000 miles. Since getting 200,000 miles varies with the amount of driving, I'm thinking for most people this would take around 8 to 10 years. How many of us are willing to keep a vehicle that long?
I'm finding you can run virtually any brand of oil, conventional or synthetic, and virtually any weight and still get 100,000 miles from a modern engine. So, if someone is leasing a car and trading in, every 3 to 6 years, they might not see 100,000 miles, yet they will argue vehemently about which brand xxW-xx they run. I get a kick out of that!
However, this forum is one of the more interesting ones around and I like seeing all the opinions and heated discussions.
One thing for sure. When I hear of a car getting 3 or 400,000 miles, you get my total respect!
SF
What is it you want?
- Thread starter Snagglefoot
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Our shop truck has 425k on it. It gets whatever oil is on sale. Usually proline from pep boys. I change it when I remember too.
I expect my stuff to run forever without any major mechanical issues.
At least 300k without major repairs. So far so good, just regular maintenance. If you do the regular maintenance, the items that tend to cost big money to repair, are far less likely to break.
173k I’ve changed oil, transmission fluid, coolant, air filters, brakes, 4 sets of tires and a PCV valve. Oh and spark plugs around 120k. All regular maintenance items, car starts right up and takes me where I need to go comfortably.
Edit: also a few light bulbs and cabin air filters, wipers etc
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Something fairly reliable, fun to drive, somewhat practical, and I can maintain myself.
I "want" my Jeep to last forever. It's at 181k right now. I hope it goes 300k. Some do.
200,000 to 250,000 miles works for me. Most important to keep it from rotting away. So far no rot. Not used in Winter if I can help it. 2010 Mountaineer 4.0 68,350 miles. QSUD 5W30 Fram ultra. Wife's 02 jeep 165,000 miles 4.0. Every day is a gift. 3 season vehicle. Summer used for Maintenance. Still runs great.
I want a car that's nice to drive. The only things that kill my cars are boredom or collisions.
I want 300K for sure. Given we drive mostly highway, I think thats reasonable.
Not all vehicles age the same of course. The amount of work I've had to do on my BMW to get it to where it is today is easily more than the other three combined, but it is also the oldest one on a calendar basis. The interior of the BMW engine though is by far the cleanest, it has no visible varnish or sludge in the valve train whereas my old Sienna looked worse at the equivalent mileage. Climate has been far less kind to the BMW, it has well-known rust issues in the doors which I partially mitigated this year with four rust free doors I painted myself and installed. There still isn't any visible exterior rust on the Accord nor the Sienna, there's some clearcoat breakdown but that's about it.
What I've always wanted from any of my vehicles is to be able to get into any of them at any time and drive anywhere I want to go. That's what I shoot for.
I expect to never sell my Capri, it currently has 306k miles and going strong, the engine has 100-120k and it's absolutely ok and after a valve stem seal change burns no oil.
I keep my cars 10+ years at which point I usually have just over 100,000 miles. Last one I got rid of was a Saturn L-300 I had for 13 years with 132.000 miles on it. By then, I am bored with the vehicle and replace it.
Something my wife and I will enjoy driving for 2-3 years before trading it in on another new one.
I tend to keep vehicles until the OEM and aftermarket parts suppliers don't really support the vehicle any more. We drove my wife's last car, a '98 Isuzu Oasis minivan (really a re-badged 1st-gen Honda Odyssey) until, at 13 years 265K miles, and it needed a transmission rebuild, it leaked rainwater through the tailgate door seal, and at least one of the spark plugs seemed firmly rooted/seized in the aluminum cylinder head. Isuzu had gotten out of the U.S. car business, and I had to use a phony Odyssey VIN to get any parts out of my local Honda dealer for it. I still have its nice OEM Enkei-made alloy wheels (refinished once, about 11 years ago) on the '02 Camry (266K on it) that my college student son drives. I've owned my '95 Dodge Dakota truck since it rolled off the truck at the dealer 221K miles ago.
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I plan to see how long mine will last! Sadly, it will likely go to rust before any major issues sideline it.
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
I want a car that's nice to drive. The only things that kill my cars are boredom or collisions.
Highest mileage I've had on a car is 160,000 and I was pretty sick of it by then.
I'm happy if I get 8 years at 20kmiles a year without any major engine or tranny repairs and the vehicle still has some trade in value...as long as it is fun to drive and carries the things I need to carry.
7 or 8 years seems to be all I can get out of a daily driver up here before the rust sets in. The Focus got multiple waxes a year, oil spray underneath and still turned into pile of dust before it was 7 years old.
I really like my Subaru. It's getting Krown sprayed this year. And getting frequent waxes as well.
I'm hoping for 150K out of it. I really like this one, so if the clutch starts giving me problems at 75K like on the Focus, I'll actually spend the money to get it fixed.
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