the same mountainbike "Who needs maintenance"? Vehicle owners who have to pass state inspections!
State inspections only covers some things in general maintenance.
. Not changing oil will never show up in an inspection.
. Not changing air-filter won’t show up in an inspection.
. Not changing anti-freeze won’t show up in an inspection.
. Not changing brake-fluid won’t show up in an inspection.
I could do on…but you get the point.
My sister-in-law couldn’t understand why I insisted she get the flatish tire with the slow leak fixed before we went on a 600 mile road trip.
My aunt liked to tell the story of how her Rambler made funny noises for months before the transmission let go completely right in the middle of a busy intersection; and my grandfather came to rescue her.
A professor at my job copped an attitude when I pointed out his tires looked low in the parking lot.
"My mechanic checks out everything when I get the oil changed, mind your own business."
He did get his tires checked later (they were at ~20psi vs 32) and gave a half-arsed apology.
Yeah, those folks who rely on their mechanics to check their oil always end up wondering what went wrong that made their engine die from oil starvation.
Having read the rest of the thread I’ll pipe in and say I think the way to go is inspection stations that only do inspections, not repairs, too easy to corrupt otherwise.
Maryland has a safety inspection when you buy a vehicle, by a shop that can also do the repairs.
So you know that inspection is real strict.
After that no more safety inspections.
I knew a guy who was terrible about his car. It was a 1990’s Jeep Cherokee and he got almost 300,000 out of it which is a testament to that vehicle. It had the 4.0L inline six. He never changed or checked his oil until the low oil light came on. Even then, he would only add like 1 quart after driving several more miles like this to get to a store. He would say, “I plan to change the oil soon so why fill it up?”. Sometimes “soon” was several months after the first episode of this. The oil light would come on a week later and he would add another quart. This would go on and on. The thing smoked and used oil pretty fast as you can imagine.
The entire thing was falling apart by the end. It had spent most of its winters in a northern climate (Chicago area) so there were massive rust holes a person could fit through in the floor. You had to be real careful getting in and out. The doors were about to fall off and were sagging because of all the rust so you had to be real careful opening and closing them. The suspension was shot and the thing wore out tires in no time. Wheel bearings were shot but he kept driving with the roar. The gas tank leaked so he only kept it about half full as that minimized gas dumping out on the ground. I helped him replace the worn out starter once. I don’t think he had ever changed the transmission or 4WD fluids. I am probably forgetting a whole list of things too!
It came due for a safety inspection and failed. He was quoted like $5000 worth of work just to get it to pass and that wasn’t all that really needed to be done. He traded it in and got a new car. He did actually take better care of that one and put synthetic oil and everything in it. He wanted to get another 300,000 miles out of it!
I was amazed he got the miles out of the old clunker that he did. That Jeep 4.0L engine must be a good one. I know people were upset when it was discontinued to meet EPA compliance and such. You are hard pressed to find a modern Chrysler product that could go like that with good maintenance.
“Not changing brake-fluid won’t show up in an inspection”
Actually, that one will if the inspection agency uses a device to measure water content in the brake fluid. The German TUV and British MOT do use this tool. This is a direct safety item they check which is why motorists in these countries change brake fluid.
"Not changing brake-fluid won't show up in an inspection"Actually, that one will if the inspection agency uses a device to measure water content in the brake fluid.
No it won’t…because it’s NOT part of any State Inspection. And if the shop just happens to decide to test anyways…they can’t fail you for it - because it’s NOT part of the State Inspection.
The way some people treat their cars, or the state they will let them get to is pretty shocking. I once saw a pickup on the highway that looked as if there were hinges in the frame rails where the bed met the cab.
I was visiting a different city for 4-5 days several years back. A nasty old pickup parked near where I was walking fired up with a roar and blast of blue smoke screen. It had no compressing and you could hear the guy downshifting all the way to 1st to make it up the hill. You could see clear through the bed because of all the rush and the sides of the bed were like flapping in the wind. I was with several people and we all got a good laugh out of this.
A few days later we all saw that same truck go by on a flatbed trailer. We also got a good laugh out of that. Hopefully this one was on the way to the scrap yard as it was really a clunker that needed to be off the road.
So, I have this 2003 Toyota Avalon for sale (129k). I’ve got it advertised and get some inquiries. I emphasize the proactive maintainence (it runs like a new car). So this lady calls me and asks about scratches, etc, will they rub out. I stress the mainatainence and how good it is mechanically. I have a pdf file from the shop I use which lists all the work done back to 2005 when I got it. Oil changes every 4k, etc. So I send it to her, and she calls me back and says, “I thought these were reliable cars. Why did you have so much trouble with it?”
I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
@melott You wouldn’t believe how often we hear some variation of that when talking to someone with a 10 year old car that’s about to fall apart.
“How can so many things be wrong with this car now. I’ve put 130,000 miles on it and only needed oil changes and new tires. How can this be?”
… and that’s why I try not to volunteer any information when selling a vehicle. If they want to see the maintenance records, they will ask. If they want to know something that is important to them, they will ask. After the sale is complete, I will make sure they know everything they need to know about the vehicle.
One thing that always frustrates me is when I travel through poor areas such as Indian reservations. They are driving pretty new and nice looking cars but the lifters are ticking and/or the engine is knocking like they have never added or changed the oil. Sometimes they are burning oil and blowing lots of blue smoke and the car looks like brand new except for the sooty oily film all over the back of the car. I have seen more than I would like of 2 year old cars sitting in a yard with tall weeds and grass surrounding them like they haven’t moved in quite some time.
I saw one house that looked like it was partially constructed out of old computer boxes like a business or government agency (more likely) had gotten all new computers and someone took all the boxes home and used them for siding on their house. There was a nice shiny new looking Dodge Charger sitting outside. At least I think this car was still running.
I am by far from rich and drive a beat up 1994 Geo Metro much of the time. The car gets a fresh change of European spec synthetic oil every 4-5k and doesn’t use a drop of oil, all while getting 50+ mpg. I have never understood the mentality of treating things as disposable when you are poor.
"I thought these were reliable cars. Why did you have so much trouble with it?
I am familiar with people like that @melott.
Many years ago, every time that I took my car in for service and had to get a ride from other department members, one woman in the department would say, “You’re having the car repaired again?”
I would respond, “No Vera, I’m having scheduled maintenance done on it”.
And, then, her usual response was, “You have this car repaired at least 3 times each year!”.
Even after a careful explanation, she was absolutely unable to understand the difference between scheduled maintenance and repairs.
I also get this with computers I work on. People will say I have to have it “worked on” at least once per year and I have $XXX invested in it so it is time to replace it. Usually the work is just simply cleaning up viruses, malware, and the like which I consider to be routine maintenance on a computer much like an oil change it on a car. I try to explain this to them and that if they replace it, they will still have to maintain it. I tell them as long as the computer runs software correctly, suits their needs, and the OS is still supported, then there is no reason to replace it. They still look at this routine maintenance as though the unit is costing them too much money in repairs. Sounds identical to what you describe about cars.
@VDCDriver Yes, this raises some thoughts as to what information to give a prospective buyer when you sell a car.
The last car we sold was a 1994 Nissan in 2012 and the buyer was the manager of the company that painted our house, a $4500 contract since the house exterior is all wood. The guy wanted a cheap car for his son who just got his license.
I copied all the mainteance work, and some key repairs like new alternator and starter to show him he would be getting a sound vehicle. The son probably would not have grasped the importance of this, and I would have shown this lad only enough info to show the maintenance was up to date.
On the other hand, selling a car to those who believe a car needs no upkeep, showing 4 pages listing all upkeep over 17 years would probably scare them away.
A previous car I sold, a 1988 Caprice, came with a 3 ring binder of all work done since I was selling it to a German fellow who really appreciated all the care and documentation.
You have to tailor the info to the prospective buyer. New tires are always a selling point.
Unfortunately, in order to help me, the shop already uploaded 9 years of maint. items to Carfax.
I’m screwed.
Edit: Never mind. - it was a mistake.
One thing that grates on me to no end. My better half, more than a few times, has complained to me that I’m too negative about cars and always point out flaws on vehicles to friends, relatives, in-laws, etc. They don’t want to hear about it.
“If you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything at all…” is not a mechanical philosophy I’m on board with.
The alternative is to put on rose-colored glasses and turn the radio up.
My concerns about dying in a rollover because of a thumping tire or clunking ball joint should be relegated to the bottom of the list I suppose…
@ok4450, what a coincidence! Today’s Dilbert strip is very similar to your post.