Important: IMO
- Thread starter movietvet
- Start date
I've never had a car like my 2005 Saturn Ion I bought new for a simple commuter car ($13,000). My commute was 100 miles round trip with mostly freeway driving. I sold it a couple years ago to my nephew with 413,000 miles and still running great! He still uses it for commuting. Unbelievably it still had original brakes and clutch with very little wear on the brake pads, couldn't get a good look at the clutch. Got pretty beat up with multiple fender benders including one 18 wheeler that refused to let me merge on the freeway in a traffic jam and side swiped me without stopping. Driving home one day on a surface street, not long before retiring and selling the car, I ran over something that I never caught sight of beforehand; looking in the rearview mirror I saw a large body panel in the road--couldn't believe I could miss something so big! Few days later I noticed the front bumper cover was missing--now I know why I never saw it before hitting it LOL. Of course it was long gone from the roadway by that time and wouldn't have been in good enough shape to use anyway.
Best car ever for me--I always kept up with routine maintenance without fail, and it never failed me.
Best car ever for me--I always kept up with routine maintenance without fail, and it never failed me.
I preach to every one of my current customers and the ones I had in my shops, over 40+ years, that fluids are the "blood" of what ever system they flow in. Worn out or leaking "blood" is not good to the systems. Pay me now and know the price or pay me later and guess the price.
Another thing that some people fail to realize is how important it is to never let the engine overheat, or at least shut it down as quickly as possible if it does. BooKoo damage otherwise...
Mostly common sense for us older folks. My Sierra is my second new vehicle (The first was a 2008 Pontiac Montana SV6) and maintenance is key for longevity, which was never a problem for me. Oil changes at ~8K Km, which is about 35% on the OLM, tranny fluid changes at 50k Km (it's actually due for its second change) and for extra peace of mind, transfer case and diff at the same time.
My '07 TB I bought used but it was a Gov't vehicle that I knew the history. Low Km (only 87k in 2017), it was garaged and washed regularly, and because of low usage, its oil changes were every 6 months instead of by mileage so it always ran on new oil. It also had fluid changes mid-way. It's still going strong but rust is now rearing its ugly head. I'll have to see if I can get it remediated this year because I plan to keep it as long as possible since the junk they're putting out nowadays isn't worth my money.
The big problem here is rust. You don't see too many older vehicles here because of it. My '02 TB I would still have if it weren't for rust. When the tranny died at 330k km (hard mechanical failure, not clutches), the body was too far gone and wasn't worth the money. Otherwise, it would have been worth the rebuild. Rust prevention does help but only to a point.
One point of the article for a threat is accidents. As a former cop, I drive VERY defensively and watch Idiots in Cars on YT to see the stupidities that people do and how to avoid them.
My '07 TB I bought used but it was a Gov't vehicle that I knew the history. Low Km (only 87k in 2017), it was garaged and washed regularly, and because of low usage, its oil changes were every 6 months instead of by mileage so it always ran on new oil. It also had fluid changes mid-way. It's still going strong but rust is now rearing its ugly head. I'll have to see if I can get it remediated this year because I plan to keep it as long as possible since the junk they're putting out nowadays isn't worth my money.
The big problem here is rust. You don't see too many older vehicles here because of it. My '02 TB I would still have if it weren't for rust. When the tranny died at 330k km (hard mechanical failure, not clutches), the body was too far gone and wasn't worth the money. Otherwise, it would have been worth the rebuild. Rust prevention does help but only to a point.
One point of the article for a threat is accidents. As a former cop, I drive VERY defensively and watch Idiots in Cars on YT to see the stupidities that people do and how to avoid them.
When I first bought the Saturn I was still Old School doing oil and filter changes every 3,500 miles. After joining the most active Saturn forum at the time, I found that a lot of people were advocating for going by the OLM, with evidence supported by oil analysis (I was still so Old School that I wasn't even aware of having such a service available to ordinary peasants like me LOL), so I decided I'd use that method. With the long commute the OLM usually came on about every 8,000 miles and that's what I always went by for the whole time I owned it. Until recently I was treating the TB the same way but since I recently decided to hold onto the TB until death do us part I've gone back to every 3-4,000 miles, mainly just because it makes me feel better. Using the OLM obviously did no harm to the Saturn and after 196K miles on the TB I have no evidence that the engine has suffered from going by the OLM. Just did a compression check a year ago and got 180-190 across all 6 cylinders. Of course I realize that's not the only measure of a healthy engine but it does say something. All that to say that going by my experience I'm not convinced that the OLM is necessarily a bad thing, at least for GM vehicles.
Having an accident that totals or disfigures the car significantly has become my greatest anxiety now. Prices skyrocketing and quality plummeting have completely turned me off to something new, and even used vehicles have gone off the charts price wise. Long before the internet I bought a lot of used cars in my life and usually did well with my choices. Now, even with all the internet resources available it feels daunting to think about all the time I would have to spend hunting down good value in a used car.
I use nothing but synthetic oils in my Tahoe and my girl's TB. I still change the oil at 4k miles, period. The GM reminder is not even considered. I like my intervals and it also gives me a chance to inspect the under carriage. So far, all is dry under the both of them and steering/suspension is great. At 155k miles, I did a complete front steering and suspension rebuild of the Tahoe and at 77k miles on the TB, there is no problems.
Yes, used vehicles are more expensive. If I am looking, I ask for repair and maintenance paperwork and I still do an inspection. I trust documentation, only a little bit.