“We have no idea what the condition of the car is.”
It may look good from the outside, but the engine is surely filled with an incredible amount of sludge. If the OP did not bother to change the oil for 4 years, it is highly doubtful that he ever changed the air filter, the fuel filter, or the transmission fluid. With that type of NON-maintenance, what kind of condition do you think it would be in?
As TwinTurbo stated, a middle-aged man may feel just great, right up until the massive coronary that takes place because of his bad diet and lack of exercise. This car is likely not far from the automotive equivalent of a massive coronary.
So does this mean if you were looking for a car and went onto a dealer lot or had dealings with a private seller who stated what the OP did about the oil never being changed (and one can safely assume everything else is equally neglected) that you would smile and do the deal or walk away in a nano-second?
And the analogy about a coronary is dead on. I can remember off the top of my head 3 vehicles (2 Subarus and a VW) that never saw an oil change and they ran great right up to the split second the engine seized or scattered. (and not one of those 3 cars had over 30k miles on it)
None us would know for sure about what lies inside that engine unless it was torn down for inspection, but I think that it is entirely reasonable to assume that an engine that has not had its oil or oil filter changed in 4 yrs/40k miles has accumulated a huge amount of sludge.
If you don’t think that this type of ignored maintenance is problematic, then I would be interested in knowing about your oil change schedule for your own car(s). If you change your oil more often than the OP, then that must be because you believe that changing oil as per the manufacturer’s schedule has some validity. If you don’t think that ignoring oil changes for 4 years/40k miles is harmful, then why do you change your oil more often than that?
If you are so confident about the condition of the engine, why don’t you offer the OP a generous amount of money to purchase this time bomb from him?
My wife’s close friend age 22 bought a used 94 Camry with oil not changed for 20k miles found out after the fact. She drives it to this day with over 200k miles and no mechanical issues.
Maybe this one should be a poll.
KBB shows a 4 year old like this one with 40k miles in “FAIR” condition is worth about 20 grand.
Knowing what you know about this car’s maintenance history, or lack thereof, who would step forward and give 15 grand cash for this car as it sits? (To gain monetarily on a resale while keeping quiet is not part of the equation.)
My vote is not just no, but no to the nth power.
So what. You got lucky. Odds don’t favor every car. I had a friend with a new 280ZX. She never change the oil in the 3 years she had the car. Engine threw a rod after 25K.
If it was a horse and you were proud of neglecting it would you be proud of yourself? Sorry but it boils down to you need to take care of things if you want them to take care of you, If you do not have the ability to care for things in the manner intended I wish there was a law you would not be allowed to own one.
The car is owned by Mr. DallasDave and he is free to do what he wants with his car. It is not the property of anyone else and to get all pious and presumptious about it is not appropriate and can discourage others from posting. Who would want to post on Car Talk to get a personal tongue lashing for their efforts?
Meanwhile Mr DD has advanced the state of knowledge here for which he should be thanked. Now you know that a car can go 40,000 miles without an oil and oil filter change and without the oil level going down. Who can know that it is sludged up if they have not seen it.
If the engine does not burn oil and does not make strange noises, it is safe to say that it is in good running condition. If it lasts 150,000 miles and not 300,000 miles, then who cares? I, for one, can live better than that, am not compelled to keep a car for 300,000 miles.
Post over on bobistheoilguy.com for a people really into this. They likely will want you to send a sample in to a lab out of curiosity to see if any lubricating properties are left.
I was thinking my dad when a road sales manager in New England put about 40-50k on a late 1980’s Buick Century(pea green). His OCI was about 20k-25k for that car. The engine failed finally at around 150k miles.
It failed when my dad’s coworker/friend took it over. He drove it another 10 years as I never could forget that pea green. His company owner had his entire fleet of cars/trucks pea green including a BMW.
I concur to your post. Berating people on lack of service and opening owner’s manual is not a good vibe for the board. Helping people along with a given circumstance self inflicted, previous owner or bad luck is what should happen.
Lately I have started to lax about everything including car maintenance (last oil change 2k miles over) and find my outlook less stressful. Kids and finding a full time job are my focus.
Lastly, I am not compelled either to hang onto a car for 300k miles. 8yrs/150k is when I get a severe itch to let it go.
but the engine is surely filled with an incredible amount of sludge.
How do you know?
Past Experience.
Will any of us know for sure…NO…But based on past experience I’ll bet this engine does have a lot of sludge. Oil companies and car manufacturers have done this type of test on cars for years…just to see what the limits are. Oil companies test their oil to see how far it will go before it’s no longer useful…car manufacturers test their cars to determine oil change intervals. What the OP did is well beyond Oil companies specs and car manufacturers specs…Based on peoples experiences and oil company testing and car manufacturers testing…you can pretty much guarantee there will be engine damage and a good amount of sludge.
The only problem I have is when he sells this car…Would YOU buy this car knowing that it went 40k miles WITHOUT and oil change??? That is IF Mr DallasDave tells you that what happened…because unless he discloses that information the person buying this vehicle will never know. I sure would never buy a car that was this abused.
My only comment is likely I would not buy it either.
I think the majority of car owners perform oil changes maybe not exactly on time but on a timely basis enough. There are the small minority of exceptions and that is the unfortunate end of used car buying. However a used car inspection with a decent mechanic can hopefully weed out loser cars.
Can I have 4 ounces of the oil that’s in your engine?
I will pay out of pocket to have an oil analysis done on it, and heck, I’ll even throw in the $35 to have you get an oil change done at Jiffy Lube.
The car is owned by Mr. DallasDave and he is free to do what he wants with his car. It is not the property of anyone else and to get all pious and presumptious about it is not appropriate and can discourage others from posting. Who would want to post on Car Talk to get a personal tongue lashing for their efforts?
In this instance, I believe some “tongue lashing” is needed to give a wake up call. this quote comes to mind:
“When others do a foolish thing, you should tell them it is a foolish thing. They can still continue to do it, but at least the truth is where it needs to be.”
