Everybody gives me hard time for being "hard on transmissions" in that I am a fairly agressive, impatient driver. But, at the end of the day, I don't beat on my vehicles when cold, and I've got a lot more tame over the last few years after killing three 4L60Es, so now I'm very good to my vehicles.
But, despite driving hard, I'm one thing, and that's a maintenance freak. If something's not perfect, I fix it, and most of the time when I buy a used vehicle I do a complete tune up and fluid service if it's dirty. I check the oil on a regular basis. When I do repairs, I try to use high quality parts, not the cheapest stuff available. Full synthetic oil, quality filters, etc. Just had to change the alternator and I decided to replace the (original) belt while I had it off and I spent extra on the Gates instead of the cheap one. It needs brakes and I'm going to spend more on quality parts because quite frankly I don't want to do it again next year and I want it to be perfect. The transmission, it's getting drain-and-filled with genuine Motorcraft Mercon V fluid because I don't like the unlicensed Valvoline "Mercon V" fluid I used originally.
But, I know so many people that don't maintain their stuff and the only time the vehicle gets any attention is when it leaves them stranded, and then only the bare minimum is done to get it running with the absolutely cheapest parts available. My ex, for example, the poor Envoy needs a lot of work and he's not going to do any of it until the day I will get a phone call from him that "I'm stuck on the side of the road and the truck is broken what do I do". Hell it's been on the same cheap oil and filter for like 10K now. 7 quarts of new Full synthetic oil and a Wix filter are sitting at his house, but no, he's not going to take me up on my offer to change it for free or take it to the shop and spend $20 to have it done. The same mismatched bald tires are still on it. The brake caliper still sticks. All the other fluids are way overdue for changing (admittedly I should have done them under my ownership but I figured I'd have time to do it later). The new blower motor resistor is still sitting in the box somewhere in the car and in the meantime half the speeds don't work. There's still an unsolved stumble off idle that needs to be troubleshooted and resolved. The passenger side door panel apparently fell off in the mean time. but as long as the truck goes from point a to point b he doesn't give a shit.
And at work at the auto parts store and I see this kind of stuff every day. Their interiors are filthy, they are only there because "why is the oil light on when i had my oil changed last year?" and their oil is 2-3 quarts low and their engines sound awful because this isn't the first time they have run it low. They tell me their check engine light is on and why is that, well in California we can't scan their codes for them but I tell them, just take it to a shop and have them take a look, it could be something cheap and simple, or it could be important. They tell me they aren't going to take it in because the car drives. While it is not my car so I don't really care I try to tell them it could decrease their fuel economy to have the check engine light on. Sometimes then they are like oh, it might be worth taking it in then...
This is all ridiculous because for most people their car is their most expensive (or second most expensive) possession that they rely on every single day to get to work.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, this whole thing really pisses me off. Feel free to share your stories of people you know not taking care of their cars!
But, despite driving hard, I'm one thing, and that's a maintenance freak. If something's not perfect, I fix it, and most of the time when I buy a used vehicle I do a complete tune up and fluid service if it's dirty. I check the oil on a regular basis. When I do repairs, I try to use high quality parts, not the cheapest stuff available. Full synthetic oil, quality filters, etc. Just had to change the alternator and I decided to replace the (original) belt while I had it off and I spent extra on the Gates instead of the cheap one. It needs brakes and I'm going to spend more on quality parts because quite frankly I don't want to do it again next year and I want it to be perfect. The transmission, it's getting drain-and-filled with genuine Motorcraft Mercon V fluid because I don't like the unlicensed Valvoline "Mercon V" fluid I used originally.
But, I know so many people that don't maintain their stuff and the only time the vehicle gets any attention is when it leaves them stranded, and then only the bare minimum is done to get it running with the absolutely cheapest parts available. My ex, for example, the poor Envoy needs a lot of work and he's not going to do any of it until the day I will get a phone call from him that "I'm stuck on the side of the road and the truck is broken what do I do". Hell it's been on the same cheap oil and filter for like 10K now. 7 quarts of new Full synthetic oil and a Wix filter are sitting at his house, but no, he's not going to take me up on my offer to change it for free or take it to the shop and spend $20 to have it done. The same mismatched bald tires are still on it. The brake caliper still sticks. All the other fluids are way overdue for changing (admittedly I should have done them under my ownership but I figured I'd have time to do it later). The new blower motor resistor is still sitting in the box somewhere in the car and in the meantime half the speeds don't work. There's still an unsolved stumble off idle that needs to be troubleshooted and resolved. The passenger side door panel apparently fell off in the mean time. but as long as the truck goes from point a to point b he doesn't give a shit.
And at work at the auto parts store and I see this kind of stuff every day. Their interiors are filthy, they are only there because "why is the oil light on when i had my oil changed last year?" and their oil is 2-3 quarts low and their engines sound awful because this isn't the first time they have run it low. They tell me their check engine light is on and why is that, well in California we can't scan their codes for them but I tell them, just take it to a shop and have them take a look, it could be something cheap and simple, or it could be important. They tell me they aren't going to take it in because the car drives. While it is not my car so I don't really care I try to tell them it could decrease their fuel economy to have the check engine light on. Sometimes then they are like oh, it might be worth taking it in then...
This is all ridiculous because for most people their car is their most expensive (or second most expensive) possession that they rely on every single day to get to work.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, this whole thing really pisses me off. Feel free to share your stories of people you know not taking care of their cars!