“What percentage of mechanics do you suppose actually have a boat of any kind?”
Around here it seems more mechanics have boats than other professions, or at least not in fewer numbers than other lines of work.
Many mechanics are outdoors types in the first place, so more prone to boats, ATV’s, etc. But the big thing is, as any boat owner can tell you, that maintenance and repair on boats can be a killer. But as mechanics we can maintain and repair a great deal of things on boats and trailers. A few years of salt water launches can kill the brakes and bearings on a boat trailer, but a mechanic will save that thousand dollar ticket by doing it himself. Same with engines and outdrives, electrical, etc. It’s cheaper for a mechanic to own a boat than a teacher or an office manager.
It is much more cost effective to have a buddy with a boat (A hole in the water that you pour money into.) than to have your own ( I had a buddy with a boat it was lot’s of free fun for me). Motorhomes and large trailers (Unless you’re living in them.) same-same. I could also include giant pick-ups that owners never use as a pick-up but that might offend a few (million) people. Hey! I have things that I bought and don’t use too.
Some prefer to keep to the old schedule as far as oil changes and the like, if they plan to keep the car for the long haul. The Mechanics that my parents have stuck with for years must have their boat’s paid off because the service and prices have been more than fair. The dealers try to add services much more than the independents in our experience but there are some dishonest mechanics out there. The only shop my brother will deal with earned his loyalty many years ago by fixing a simple problem and refusing payment when they could have claimed it was something expensive (this was a VW Jetta from the 80’s) and he will only buy cars that they service.
My formal mechanic schools GM Mr. Good-Wrench ended in 1976. I have no clue concerning computerized vehicles. I worked at a GM (Buick, Opel, Saab) dealership. At that time 3,000 mile oil change was recommended. I don’t remember what the factory requirement for warranty compliance was. Not that it mattered to much as the warranty was 12 Months/12,000 miles.
Wha who you are correct.I didn’t realize dexos was a synthetic. The manual does specify dexos and says failure to use may cause engine damage not covered by vehicle warranty. Is there any way to tell if that is what is in the car now?
No way to tell, unless you have the receipt from that oil change. I’d replace it.
And here’s a question for those who worry about carmakers’ extended change intervals - why do we get so few questions that relate to engine oil problems for cars changed at the carmakers’ recommended intervals? We get all kind of question about all kinds of stuff, I would think if engines regularly failed while following those recommendations we’d hear (LOTS) more about it.
I had the dealership fax me a service report for the oil change they did before selling me the car, and it states synthetic 5w-30 was used, mileage and date correct. Does the fact that it has synthetic oil change opinions about frequency? I’ve heard great things about engine life with synthetic, but this is my first vehicle that I’ve had that it’s recommended for.
dexos–actual dexos in the AC Delco bottle–is a synthetic blend, not a full synthetic oil. Most full synthetics are dexos approved, but not all. Just be sure to use actual dexos or an oil with the dexos approved logo on the bottle and you’ll be fine. However, even if you use a full syn like Mobil1, never exceed the change interval on your OLM.
There are some car companies that allow you to go longer intervals with synthetics. Car makers who do recomend synthetics seem to be with longer change intervals. Not saying I agree because 5k is my max change interval regardless, but that’s because my mileage on each car has dropped to around 10 k per year and a 5 k interval seems too short so I use non syn in my cars. . But, friends who drive high mileage and use 10 k with synthetics like they did in police cruisers they drove when working, do so with personal cars that go well past 200k miles. The run so well they just hand them around from one family member to another. Of course, they have seen this routine actually work well in their working cars. They have no fear of 10 k changes with synthetics.