People who don't maintain their vehicles!

I know quite a few people who do not do or ever have preventative maint. done on their vehicles. They just drive them until something breaks and then whine about the cost of having it fixed or they trade it in. This morning I told my coworkers about how I changed my diff. fluids and oil last weekend and they looked at me like I was nuts.

I knew of one woman who never had the oil changed in her new cars. She would drive them until they quit or just didn't look and run well and then trade it in on another new one. I have always been a do-it-myself type person as I don't trust shops to do it right and with the cost of used vehicles I need to make what I have last.

 

this is me as well. one of our VP's at work knows that i self perform regular maintenance on my tundra (all fluids, filters, etc.). he also knows that i hand wash 2-3 times per month, and machine wax 2 times per year. he wants to buy it when i'm ready to sell. i let him know that he is 1st in line, however, it's likely to be a 20 year wait.

 

Ok.

 

So, your diff fluid won’t get messed with until it needs to be messed with? And when do you assume that will be?

 

I don't know what it looks like but I sure know what it smells like. I'm sure the magnet is loaded with metal. No reason not to put fresh oil in and clean the magnet IMO. It has a drain for a reason.

 

My sister would drive a vehicle until the wheels fall off and then try to keep driving. If maintenance lights weren't a thing I have no doubt majority of people would never change their oil, let alone anything else. Dealerships and mechanics may suck ass, but at least they keep the uninformed running when the maintenance light comes on.

When I met my wife she actually knew to get her car maintained and how to check her fluids, she might not know what they did but knew how to check them! Probably why we got along so well after all these years though she's osmositized enough information from me that she could probably build a buggy from scratch, all while saying she doesn't know anything

 

Was this just a general statement or were you asking a question?

 

I know those people.

I am not one of those people

 

In 2004, a coworker got a great deal on a 4 year old Tahoe with 40,500 miles on it. He took it in to a shop a week later, because the oil light came on. The shop said the oil was like black honey.
He called the guy he bought the Tahoe from, and found out it had never had a oil change.

Then the guy said he buys new, runs them for 4 years, then sale them. Then said, hey don't worry about it, you got a great deal.
My coworker had to have the engine oil flushed. My coworker drove it for the next couple of years and then sold it, never trusting it.

Never buy a used vehicle that you can not find good maintenance records on.

 

I know too many of those people. I said it in first gen land but last month my cousin showed up asking if I can look at her Jetta because its shaking and making noises. First of all, its a Passat. I checked it, it was 4.5 quarts low on oil. It practically said "yum" when I poured oil in it and started it up.

A friend of mine daily drove a 96 Tacoma, the single cab 4 cylinder variety. He came by once asking for help to change his oil. I pulled the drain bolt and it was like watching the pitch-drop experiment (look it up). I asked when he last changed it, he said "I've had this truck 8 years now, I think 3 years ago?" We confirmed he was 90k over due. Truck ran fine because its a Toyota.

My brother on law, the one from towel rack fame, doesn't maintain his cars either. Every winter I see his tires are flat. He changes his oil once a year. Its a Lexus so it will survive, his previous car was an Audi and it didn't live long before it started pouring blue smoke.

I don't know how people can have something as expensive as a car and not take care of it.

 

People look at me like that, too. I’ve even been asked if I used to be a mechanic. Because I know how to change my oil.

Most people these days don’t care to be competent at their own jobs let alone anything else as well.

 

Toyota claims oil should be changed every 5000 miles on my wife's Corolla but it's filthy if I leave it that long. I noticed it's needed a change for the last 3 weeks or so but it's been too cold to do it myself and I haven't found a free Saturday to take it in yet.

 

I bought my '06 in June of last year from my dad, who a year earlier, bought it from my uncle. I knew my uncle took care of it but, since I had no actual maintenance record, I immediately got the oil changed, diff and transfer fluids changed, replaced the timing belt/water pump (86K miles), and a coolant flush. Even at the oil change, they told me the oil looks good and likely doesn't need to be changed. I got it changed anyway. I write down the date, mileage, and maintenance performed in the back of the owner's manual.

 

I just got a 14 with 203k miles and have very little history!
I am going to just do it all myself so I can be sure what goes in and comes out!

 

Growing up when a family vehicle would need a clutch or something else my dad would just be out in the driveway that weekend doing the work! He was never a mechanic.
So glad to grow up in an environment like that!