Damaged goods or not?

Thinking about buying used Honda CR-V. 2013 model, was leased. First recorded oil change and service at 15k miles. Now it’s at 20k. Price is decent.
Do people think this lack would have damaged it, or is it too early for that?

So how did that happen? Is the warranty voided? How do you know the warranty will not be voided if something happens? What would the price be on it without a warranty and why is it for sale already? I wouldn’t be very comfortable with it because of the questions, not necessarily the wear and sludge.

I just pulled up the owner’s manual maintenance schedule and the oil change interval for normal driving is 15K. That’s a lot more miles than I want to put on a vehicle before changing the oil but the Honda engineers probably know what they are talking about. A lot of the newer models of all the manufacturers have stretched the oil change interval to the maximum. If it’s a real decent price then I might go for it after it’s completely inspected.

I really don’t think the vehicle is damaged. But I wonder why it is for sale so soon. Most leases are for 3 years and 12000 miles a year. It makes me think it may have some intermittent problem that is hard to correct.

The only problem I see is the car is almost 2 years old and has had only one oil change. Was the first oil change before the first year anniversary of the lease?

An opportunity to purchase a 1-2 year old Honda CRV doesn’t come around all that often so if the price is good it’s definitely something worth holding on to. 15 k without an oil & filter change on a new engine wouldn’t be what would worry me. What would worry me is that the owner didn’t ever check the oil level, and at some point it got low, and maybe not topped off when it should have been. Newer cars tend to consume more oil than older models as the manufacturers spec less viscous oils to try to get every bit of mpg out of the engines. I’d focus on making sure the car is pre-purchase inspected by a good mechanic for problems that would occur due to low oil pressure. If nothing is found, the price is acceptable, get out your checkbook.

Tough call and it’s an expensive gamble. No oil changes in the first 15k miles could certainly cause a problem. Whether one exists here I cannot tell you.
If it consumes a quart of oil in the first 1000 miles then you’ve probably rolled craps. :frowning:

For what it’s worth, as a mechanic I’ve seen very low miles, damaged engines on cars that were purchased new. Never seen one at 15k but I have seen some in the 20-30k miles range that to be honest, were not worth rebuilding due to lack of or few oil changes.

Look in the tailpipe. If it’s black/oily walk away, it’s an oil burner.
If not get an inspection.