>
No oil change for 7 years!
- Thread starter andyw1234
- Start date
What are you basing that one? Service book? Mines not been stamped since 2010!
I tend to buy cars based on my own assessment of them. Service history is only of benefit when you come to sell. If the MOT history is good and the oil is nice and clean and there is plenty of it and the car is cheap enough then go for it.
From memory when Mobil 1 was first released i mid 70's Audi ran an Audi 100 for 100k miles on it then stripped it down -hardly any engine wear. from hottest to coldest climates in world Article in Car magazine by L. J. K. Setright.
Agree with above posters wouldn't worry about it if rest of condition of car checks out.
Agree with above posters wouldn't worry about it if rest of condition of car checks out.
enuff_zed said:Perhaps it burns so much oil that it's constantly being topped up and never needs a change.oke:
I had an Alfa 147, it used so much oil that i never changed it once in the five years I owned it.
deltasierra
Member
If the price is right, the engine runs smoothly and no smoke the rest of the car is good I’d go for it, there are many reasons why milage is low, what is MOT history.
Rockhopper said:
This 100%.
My Zed came with no paper history. The oil was fresh and I could see new starter and the MOT history was good and only 1 advisory (Bottom ball joint, which went a month after buying) no codes on reader both before starting and after driving and everything else seemed ok. So I bought it and that was year ago and it just passed it's MOT with no advisories.
Oil degrades over time.
17,000 miles is already quite a long time with the same oil. If it is the same oil and thousands of miles have been done with the oil well past its best, I'd walk away.
With cars of this age and value there will often be holes in the service history. A 7 year gap is too long for me.
17,000 miles is already quite a long time with the same oil. If it is the same oil and thousands of miles have been done with the oil well past its best, I'd walk away.
With cars of this age and value there will often be holes in the service history. A 7 year gap is too long for me.
john-e89 said:
That is my understanding.
I would love to have some hard data, or even a really solid anecdotal. Is there anyone out there who has stripped at least two N52s, with one being an engine that has definitely been maintained to the highest standards, and one that definitely hasn't, and compared engine wear on the two of them?
Always a gamble and low milage cars arent always the gift they seem. Start using it and a few other issues may crop up.
That being said if the price is right and the car is the spec you want then... just need to get more information from the owner. Call him, otherwise the thread is just a load of posts of what ifs and do this do that.
That being said if the price is right and the car is the spec you want then... just need to get more information from the owner. Call him, otherwise the thread is just a load of posts of what ifs and do this do that.
Owned a 2003 e46 330ci convertible for 17 years. service recommendations were "condition based" with display of how many miles to next service. A time limit was not introduced until the E9x series. S depending how car ws driven it would show how many miles to next oil change. Dont know how it was measured but could be anything between about 13k to 20k miles. Mine only did about 3k miles per year. so east to get to double or triple time period.. My thoughts at time E9X series time limit to 2 years was introduced was just to make more money for dealers so that oil and filters etc were changed more often. Never had any problems with the engine (apart from water pump).
Don't think you are going to get any evidence that will show difference in wear between engine that has been changed every two years and one that hasn't.
Go and view it and ask owner- lots of reasons why it may not have been driven but on face of it oil changes could have been within BMW recommendations at time.
Don't think you are going to get any evidence that will show difference in wear between engine that has been changed every two years and one that hasn't.
Go and view it and ask owner- lots of reasons why it may not have been driven but on face of it oil changes could have been within BMW recommendations at time.