When you get to Cincy, give your BIL a kick in the pants for this. Of course a $5400 bill is probably gonna hurt just enough to change his mind.
When I met my wife, she had a 1998 VW Beetle. It went 32K miles on one oil change. But like a good Beetle owner, she always stopped at a gas station and added oil when the light came on.
While dating I would hear questions like:
"Why won't my car pass inspection?"
"Why does oxygen sensors cost so much and why do I need one every year?"
"Why does my car always smell funny?"
Remarkably, I was able to nurse the 2.0L back to better health with many changes of 15w-40 Delo, some MMO flushes, cleaning the intake, plugs, wires, filters, etc. Still drank oil though. The rings must have look like coal.