We had a few of those Toyotas
We DID go above and beyond
We used full synthetic, kept the fluid levels topped up and changed the oil often . . from day one, they were maintained religiously
It made ZERO difference in the engine oil consumption
2 Likes
+1
Although the original oil specification for my friendâs 2008 Rav was conventional oil, we switched it over to full synthetic at ~30k miles, and continued to use full synthetic for its 5k mile oil changes thereafter. Despite the switch to full synthetic, it began consuming oil by 90k, and by ~110k its oil consumption became very excessive.
Yeah, although considering Yugos were known to break on the way home from being bought new, the appropriate maintenance schedule was something on the order of âevery 10 minutes.â 
3 Likes
Our Toyotas with the 1.8 liter 4-cylinder . . . maybe 7A-FE . . . all had engine oil consumption of about 600miles/qt from day one, in spite of the fact that we went well above and beyond what Toyota recommended
Those cars always passed the tailpipe smog inspections . . . but BARELY
From the very beginning, the hydrocarbons were always at the upper limit
Compression was always perfectly fine . . . around 190psi, maybe even a little higher . . . so I suspect the oil control rings were stuck. Nothing I did improved the situation, so I just checked and topped off engine oil every single weekend
Donât you mean the REPAIR schedule? 
Yugo drivers should always carry baling wire, duct tape, WD40 and a hammer for road-side repairs⊠
2 Likes
If you own a cellphone, any cellphone⊠you are always being tracked, all the time, everywhere. The only way to avoid it is to remove the battery⊠which is impossible on many phones.
4 Likes
I always liked Joe Don Baker, particularly in âCharlie Varrickâ 
1 Like
Isnât it the same thing every time you log into your computer?
3 Likes
It costs quite a bit more renting by the day. Next time suggest ask what the rate is for the full week for comparison. The last time I rented a car, a few months before Covid struck, $350 for an entire week w/unlimited miles. Two years prior I rented a car for an entire month, $800. Another tip, I consistently get better rates from rental sites located in suburban business districts, rather than the airportâŠ
Not saying that renting is the best & only way to do road trips. I realize many prefer to drive their own cars. But I find renting is a pretty good option to consider.
Re Yugoâs. Iâm seeing reports there may be a new all-electric Yugo on the way. If true, the rumor of the Yugoâs demise is greatly exaggerated.
Simple question, complicated answer. Every or nearly every part in a car is engineered for a particular life expectancy. Sometimes the get it right and sometimes they donât. Other times the cost cutters want to reduce the cost of the part and skimp a little. Some engineers are good and others incompetent. You will never know who actually designed the part and what the specs are and what quality control methods were used. So its more than just maintenance and all you can go on is what the general experience of customers, mechanics, and others that see the weak and strong points of a particular car.
My diesel for example was weak from the start with a re-design of a basic gas engine to a diesel. Plus the pump that was used was chosen as less robust that other diesel models. Pump failures were common at $500 each. Plus head gasket failures were common at $1000 plus. And on and on.
Other cars have had weak water pumps, electronics, steering racks, and so on. One model had frame rust so bad they were replacing frames under warranty. Nothing to do with maintenance. The longer a product is on the market, the more the issues are resolved. Some cars though are engineered for the lowest cost market and are junk but look pretty. Others are high cost with many flaws that elitist owners put up with.
No good answer but maintenance will kill a good car but will not save a bad car. Best you can do is identify the weak points and do pre-emptive replacement.
Car manufacturerâs profits are based on selling new cars. If the customers buy their cars and keep them 50 years b/c the cars are so reliable, never buying another, stock holders are gonna say âno good, youâre firedâ to the corporate execs. Iâve never had the opportunity to sit in on one of their board of directors meeting, but I expect the execâs philosophy is to keep their good paying jobs by selling cars designed to be reliable a certain number miles, at which point many parts of the car are expected to begin failing, incentivizing the owners to buy new cars again.
You might be surprised how high it is now.
They might be profiting more from replacement part sales for repairs and collision parts.
Not really a factor, very few people keep a car for life, also people have families and buy more cars.
+1
I have fairly new neighbors a few houses down from my home, and their driveway looks like a car lot, with anywhere from 5 to 7 vehicles parked there at a time. Of course, if they could get their sh*t together sufficiently to actually use their garages, there would be 2 fewer cars in the driveway.
1 Like
That ratio (profits from car sales/profits from parts sales) would be an interesting number.
Sounds like they got it togetherâŠand stuck it in the garage
The neighborâs Iâve had over the years that had way too many cars, even if their property came with a 2-car garage, they used the garage for something other than than their cars. One of them had 6 cars, 5 on the street, 1 in the driveway. That same neighbor was complaining to me one day about other neighbors not removing their garbage cans from the curb immediately after pickup, saying the garbage cans made the neighborhood look âjunkyâ. I said âyes, those garbage cans strewn along the street do detract from the neighborhood appearance, and the city should do something about it, and whatâs more all the parked cars on the street make the street look even worse & the city should ban on-street parking!!â ⊠neighbor immediately switches subject ⊠lol ⊠.
1 Like
When I think about imported cars of the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, I am not sure regular maintenance would have done much to help the Renault Dauphine, the Vauxhall, the Fiat, the Hillman-minx, the Morris Minor, and Morris 850 to name a few cars. From the people I knew who owned these makes, the cars were disasters.
I also remember some features on U.S. makes that were not all they were cracked up to be. When Chevrolet moved the gear shift from the floor to the steering column in 1939, the column shifter had a vacuum assist through the 1948 model year. There were inexpensive kits available even at Sears Roebuck to bypass the vacuum assist. Chevrolet abandoned the vacuum assist in 1949 and motorists didnât find shifting gears any more difficult. My 1950 Chevrolet pickup had a choke that was operated by a knob one pulled out on the dashboard. I didnât have any problem working the choke. In fact, I had so much trouble with the automatic choke on my 1955 Pontiac that I bought a kit at Western Auto and converted it to a manual choke.
Last summer the rate at the Minneapolis airport was over $1000 for a week.
By design. Our developer required at least a two car garage to meet the covenants. He said even if it isnât to put the cars in, it will keep the bikes and junk inside. True. Lots of cars in the driveway but not many bikes.
1 Like