Did I get duped?

I will say it again . . . I don’t think the dealer forgot to put fresh oil in, after draining the oil

I don’t think the engine would have made it this far with no oil in the crankcase

I think the engine burnt up the oil, or the engine is all sludged up

Bear in mind not all engines that use oil leave the huge clouds of blue smoke you see in the movies

it’s quite possible autonation didn’t know they sold you a dud, but they should handle it now, if they want you to recommend them to your friends and neighbors

If they don’t handle it your satisfaction, I recommend telling your friends and neighbors that they sold you a dud and wouldn’t make it right

It doesn’t have to be hard to buy a good used car. You just need to learn that most of these outfits that sell themselves as your friend that are trying to help you, are just trying to get into your wallet and get their share. Do some research on how to buy a used car. I’m sure there is a lot of info out there on the web.

Remember a few years ago and companies were trying to sell you extended warranties for your car. Many repair shops would not honor them and you had to pay the bill and the company would …or was supposed to pay you back. Little was ever paid and there was always a reason why it was not covered under the warranty.

Yosemite

In my area they’re still pushing extended warranties. Yup, they’re a scam.
As is CarFax. They lead you to believe that they have some insight into some comprehensive databanks that show the history of all cars. They don’t. None exists. Even the data they do have is very often wrong. It’ll often show an accident where there was none, no accident where there was one, and even totally completely dramatically wrong data. Since they seem to have data for every car, I suspect that they even use their data to “compile” a “profile” for cars they have no data on. I have no evidence of that, of course.

They have been investigated by consumer reporters, and everything I believe has proven true except that last theory of compiling profiles. I just came up with that this moment. But since they cannot possibly have data for all cars, since no mandatory reporting exists, they MUST be making stuff. up. It may be as simple as “no data on this car”, but I suspect it’s more like the report “no accidents” without actually knowing. Hmmmm, I wonder if I’ve stumbled onto something?

I can’t fault the dealer. You bought a 15 year old car with over 150,000k miles on it. Any gambler on the planet would bet on the car having problems to some degree or being worn out.

The dealer did not omit the oil or it wouldn’t have made it but a few miles. The engine is more than likely burning it due to oil sludging/coking which was likely caused by a shaky oil change history, running it chronically low on oil all the time, overheating at some point (or maybe more than a few points), and so on.

As to oil consumption how is the dealer to know this. They’re not going to take every car they accept in trade or buy at auction and use it as a test mule for 2 weeks before selling it.

A car with that age and mileage on a dealer lot is normally considered either a back row unit or one that a wholesaler comes around and snatches up; usually the latter.

I wonder if the dealer replaced the car.

Beware buying from wholesalers(She said She didnt)cash for clunkers must have missed one.
Toyotas reputation and hype has worked against this unfortunate Lady.Junk is junk doesnt matter who the manufacturer is,if not maintained,they all turn to junk.

Update: I know its been a while but I just wanted to let you all know that the dealer DID give me the full amount I paid as a trade in towards the purchase of another vehicle and dropped $1000 off of the sale price of my new used car… The car I purchased is newer, less mileage and nicer! I had my mechanic go with me to help me select a car and believe I got a great deal. Thank you all for your excellent advice, this was definitely a learning experience for me… I had to fight somewhat with the dealership and made a complaint via the BBB and the ADI so maybe that’s what finally made them make this right because I still believe the service shop did a sub par oil change and probably didn’t put enough oil or forgot to put it all together… Just happy they did what was right… Thanks again everyone!

@singlemama4 Congratulations!

It sounds like you were able to get a fair resolution to your problem

It’s good that you took your mechanic along. That should improve the chances that you picked a good one this time

I have no doubt that your fighting and complaining is what made the dealership do you right, in the end

Sincere congratulations. And I mean that.

Yeah, they hate it when the authorities get involved. The authorities have the expertise and the resources to find out what’s really going on and the power to pursue whatever avenues of punishment are appropriate.

I had a car involved in an atty general’s office investigation once years ago. I was respectfully asked if I could bring the car in for a review of the work I’d had performed. When I got there, there were guys in suits. I asked who they were and was told they were from the AG’s office. There were also some other cars that were there in response to the same request. They were putting the cars up on the lifts and taking notes. I have no idea what it was all about, but I got a check in the mail a few days later… a 100% refund. The dealership closed not long afterward.

Glad that you got the dealer to make you right with this @Singlemama4.

It was nice that your mechanic went along with you for a little help in picking out a newer car. I’d keep that guy!!!

Yosemite