LOL, and I can clearly identify with THAT experience!
Many people simply don’t “get it”, others don’t care. I watched a neighbor, a good guy, destroy what should have been his kid’s Tercel unnecessarily. It kept overheating from a simple headgasket breech, a relatively easy repair on that car, and he kept dumping water into it and driving on. Over and over again. When t he engine got so bad that it could no longer survive a week without overheating, he just said “it was a piece of junk anyway” and scrapped it. The car was bought new with the intention of passing it on when his son turned 16, but his son ended up buying his own vehicle. The dad is now driving a MIni that requires high test, and using regular. I suggested that he reconsider, but he said “naw, gas is gas.”
He’s a good guy, he just doesn’t care… or doesn’t understand. Or both.
It’s a pretty normal thing with modern cars to have to add oil at least once before the next oil & filter change. Especially if you follow the manufacturer’s mileage maintenance intervals, which tend to be on the high side in order to get favorable reviews in car magazines that report total cost of ownership comparisons.
I think the explanation for his actions and inactions can be explained by this sentence: I have already made my decision, so please don’t try confusing me with facts.
Well, that’s the way it came across to me, based on what you wrote
you can’t always predict how somebody will interpret what you write or say
When you put something out there, you have to accept the possibility that somebody will interpret it in a way you hadn’t anticipated, or in a way that you don’t like or agree with
hmmm … Before knock sensors engine damage from pinging was a problem with using lower than recommended octane. But with knock sensors and computers, it seems like the only problem would be lower than expected engine power, longer 0-60 times in other words. Or are there other problems? The only one I can think of is maybe overheating due to the computer retarding the timing.
Knock sensors and the associated responses by modern ECUs have definitely gotten a lot better in preventing damage due to low octane, but the adjustments the ECU makes are probably eliminating any cost benefits he thinks he’s getting by using regular. And who knows what’s going on in those combustion chambers at 70mph. Especially if he carries three passengers to the mountains on tomorrow’s trip. He’d give y the shirt off his back, but he just doesn’t care about his cars. I’ve never been an advocate of operating at the margins when the risk is a potentially damaged engine. I’m risk-averse!
My late dad was a fantastic father and a truly decent man, but he was much like my neighbor in that he never cared about his cars. He’d neglect them and drive them until they died. If fairness, he had a local garage/gas station that looked after him, checking everything every time he filled up with gas, but were it not for that his cars would never had lasted at all. He knew nothing about cars and couldn’t care less about them.
I happen to like mechanical stuff, but not everyone shares my interest.
If the car maker says premium fuel is required there must be a good reason, since they tend to make their cars seem inexpensive to maintain, eg. “lifetime” fluids etc.
One non destructive reason might be that low octane fuel retards the timing so much that emissions become excessive (or damage the cat converter).
Some years ago I had a hi-tech co-worker buddie who had a keen interest in computers and electronics gizmos, he could program a computer to do most anything, but no interest at all in his car. It was pretty easy to tell, as he never washed it. He said he’d never once changed the oil or filter or done any other routine maintenance since he bought it used, 6 years prior. The only thing he did at all was top off the oil if he had the inclination when filling his tank. His car theory was to buy a 3 year old Toyota and don’t worry further, everything else will work out. When it eventually fails, continue not worrying, just send it off to the junkyard & buy another one … this scheme seemed to work out well for him, he’s living in a big house on a hill with a view of the valley now … lol …
man I hate new cars. they cost as much as a small house. last about 4 to 5 years. before you get expensive problems. even good mechanic can’t figure them out and if they do its some $500.00 dollar (BS)
You can buy a new car and with care it might last a lot longer than 5 years. So that statement is wrong. New car can be as low as 15000.00 and really expensive. Where can you buy a small house for 15000.00 ? A good mechanic can’t figure them out, again you are wrong
lol … Reminds me of a recent essay in Practical Classics magazine. The author is used to driving older cars, cars OBD I or prior. So one day he buys a newer model just to see what newer cars are like, presumably w/OBD II. Here’s some edited excerpts : ‘a car that offered all the time consuming hardship of an older car, but none of the driving pleasure’; ’ the over assisted and under engaging controls meant I had no desire to drive it’; ‘it broke within two days of ownership’; ‘coasted to side of road … dash screen reported ESP fault and fault in fuel injection’; ‘every square inch is packed with mysterious black boxes whose role seems to be to fabricate problems and report them to the ECU’; ‘even after it was fixed, I had no faith in it staying fixed’
Not at all. I expect someday I’ll purchase a new vehicle. On the other hand, it doesn’t sound like @familyguy will be following me to the new car dealership.
I like all those cars pretty much. If I buy a conventional gas engine car, I do require a manual transmission, so if any of those exclude manuals from the list of options, they’d be out of the contest. I expect however it is more likely that when I buy a new car it will be a hybrid or all electric. There’s lots of Teslas on the road in this area, they are manufactured nearby is one reason I expect, and I do very much admire how fast they can accelerate, effortlessly, and quietly. I’ve never had a Tesla driver pull out from a side street, or pull in front of me and cut me off. One may pull out from a side street like that, but by the time I’ve noticed they are already way ahead of me.
