Not a good time to buy a car

[dodge man]

What’s the point of using high dollar synthetic if your going to change the oil every 5000 miles. I also started using the computer to tell me when to change it, I let it get down to about 10% to 20% and change it. I also don’t go past about 12 months.

New vs used. I’ve done both, sometimes lightly used cost nearly new prices.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Thank you for your reply Lineman.

I hear you. But, I have read TONS of comments from prior mechanics of all makes and models, 35-40 yrs experience, and none of them ever recommend going over 5K, that is, unless you're going to trade her in at 70K+ or earlier, esp any direct inject engines. They all swear by an oils Noack rating. The Noack volatility of an oil is defined as the weight loss of the oil when it is held under isothermal conditions at 250 ˚C for a period of 1 hour under a constant flow of air. The lower the better 6.6-8.8, Pennzoil Ultra - Qkr State Ultimate Durability, respectively/ Mobil oil and a lot of dealer oils are in the 10.1-14.3 NOACK range, which is horrible. Then, take that over 5K+, like shooting cholesterol/lipids directly in your arms. The best value and availability is Qkr St, but here's the ratings. If you have a personal friend that's been a mechanic for 25+ yrs, see what they will tell you "off-line"...good luck sir.

Ultra 6.6%
Mobil One 10.1%
PLatinum 9.3
SynPower 11.6
Super Tech 11.1
Royal Purple 10.9
Quaker State Ultimate 8.8
Lucas Synthetic 14.9 (almost out of spec at 15%)
Kendall GT W/Titanium 10.9
Formula Shell 9.7
Castrol Edge 11.1
Amsoil OE 10.9
MotorCraft Blend 14.3

I was always a stickler about the oil being changed at 4k then I bought my wife a 2011 GMC Yukon Denali and it specified using Dexos 2 full synthetic oil and to go by the onboard computer oil life monitor to change the oil, so that is what I have always done and it's pushing 200k with no problems knock on wood, I still change the oil in my 1997 GMC Sierra every 4k just like I have since it was new.

 

[Jstpssng]

Sit tight with diesel at over $ 5.00 per gallon you will start seeing a lot of these people who don't haul anything heavier than grocery's start getting rid of them and going back to something more economical and back to $29.00 oil changes, IMO.

The problem is that they are all those big 4-door behemoths that take 40 acres to turn around, and weigh a ton more than they need to. Generally short bed to boot... while that's fine for a passenger truck it sucks for something you want to put a dump body on.

 

[beowulf]

I always learn something here. I have read that you can go 7,500+ miles between changes with synthetic oil. I have been using synthetic oil in my pickup and changing oil about every 6,000 miles - my miles are almost exclusively highway miles (which should mean the engine is running about one third of the hours to get to 6,000 miles than if it was all city driving). I was under the impression, however, that I could go even farther than that without any problem. The garage handling the oil changes told me that because I always specified the 'platinum' filter that going 7-8,000 would not be an issue. Certainly, the costs are a lot more for synthetic (and the upgraded filter).

So, I will redo the math re conventional vs synthetic, as well as re-check the relative advantages of synthetic vs cost considerations - I really don't mind paying more but don't want to waste money. And I will keep reading.

 

[dodge man]

Send an oil sample on if you want to be sure. Costs maybe $30. It will tell you what the oil is doing. Wait until you hit 7500 miles and send it in. Blackstone is a popular one.

 

[88bradb]

As everyone probably knows, it's a terrible time to purchase a vehicle. We went SUV shopping yesterday and it was a joke. One new car dealer we stopped at straight out said, we are marking up all new vehicles a minimum of $4000 over MSRP. That was Hyundai and Honda. The Ford dealer claimed they weren't marking any new vehicles up except the top of the line full size Bronco.

We drove 1 1/2 hours to test drive a used Lincoln SUV only to find out the battery was dead. We drove it anyway and the battery didn't charge during the test drive. The vehicle was only 3 1/2 years old with 20K miles, still under warranty. We left and I don't plan on going back.

Kevin

Yes,vehicles and tractors are hard to come by here in Indiana. But went to the Albama coast this week and it appears that the dealers along the interstate ha plenty of inventory. I thought that was strange?

 

[Tomtint]

Last September or so I traded my 17 F350 Platinum with 23K miles on it and got 69500.00 for it..I think I paid 73k for it new.. Got a 2021 F450 Limited "used with 1K miles on it for 95K..so a net my truck and 26K for the 450. I was just today offered 115K for my 450..guy has cash and wants the truck..I said no. I also have a 19 F150 xlt sport extra cab 4x4 with the 3.5 EB motor..truck has 22/23k in it..Lease is up in a few months and the buy out is like 31K...Im thinking its worth buying that back from Ford .

 

[Jstpssng]

Last September or so I traded my 17 F350 Platinum with 23K miles on it and got 69500.00 for it..I think I paid 73k for it new.. Got a 2021 F450 Limited "used with 1K miles on it for 95K..so a net my truck and 26K for the 450. I was just today offered 115K for my 450..guy has cash and wants the truck..I said no. I also have a 19 F150 xlt sport extra cab 4x4 with the 3.5 EB motor..truck has 22/23k in it..Lease is up in a few months and the buy out is like 31K...Im thinking its worth buying that back from Ford .

Heck yeah. The dealer will probably offer you at least that much for it if you don't turn it in... and sell it for a profit the next day.

 

[Tomtint]

Heck yeah. The dealer will probably offer you at least that much for it if you don't turn it in... and sell it for a profit the next day.

I called the dealer I leased it from and told them I was thinking about buying, trading or selling it to them..They offered me 35K for it.. I said no thanks. We ordered a new Jeep 392 Wrangler last month, I think it will take 3-6 months for that to come in.Im certain I can buy the 150 for 30K at the end of the lease and trade it for more on the jeep if we decide to go that route.

 

[jayhawk238]

The more costly oil changes for diesels are kind of a wash because they occur at 10k miles vs 5k miles for gasser vehicles.

I can take my F250 to the Ford dealer who lets me supply my own oil and filter and only charges me $25.00 labor. And the includes tire rotation.