[font=californainfb]With my '80 (Yes... Ithat's 1980) Honda Civic, I changed over to Mobil1 10w-30 when the car already had about 120K miles on it. That was 20 years ago.
I had autoXed it and street rallied it, drove it to and from work every day, as well as some general playing around. I drove te car for over 189K miles, changing the oilroughly every 10K and if it hadn't been rusting out, literally beneath my feet, I might still be driving it (as a second car) today.
The engine was never rebuilt. The cyl head was NEVER off, and it did not use oil.

 

Well of course that is what they are going to say...DUUUUUHHHHHH.

Think aboutit from their stand point.
"wait, you are telling me that people are starting to go longer between oil changes?"
"yes sir"
"That means less product...less income...less money for me to buy crap."
"yes sir"
"well ****...we better keep on the 3000mile ball."

 

1. Why spend $60, when you could spend just $35, and get exactly the same service? Only $25, not going to change your life, agreed, but why burn the money? Everyone who disagrees, please send me $25.

2. I've never understood the time constraint on oil changes.Can someone explain, in engineering terms, why oil suddenly is bad after, say, 4 months, if you've driven only 2000 miles? Unless you are using different weights for different seasons, what's the harm in having oil in the crankcase for longer than a certain number of months, if your mileage driven is low, and the oil is not black? Oil does not contain living organisms, it does not spoil; the oil in the crackcase is in a sealed area, its not like dirt is falling into it over time.

 

1. Regular oil leaves more deposits behind as it ages which stick to your parts causing gunk. Synthetic takes MUCH longer to start leaving deposits on your parts.

2. The longer oil sits the more time it has to break down and "glue" itself to your parts. The more you keep it moving through your system the less chance it has to settle. It's the same deal with gasoline. Leave gasoline in your tank for a long time and you get "Old Gas" also known as Varnish in your tank. Gasoline becomes a varnish over time. Remember. Oil and Gas come from Crude Oil. Same product...in a sense so they both varnish over time.

 

well thats obvisouly whats happening...
but oh well.. i have no problem with spending $60 every 5 months on synthetic.

oh, and virgin1, honda's never die. ive worked on old civics that have no coolant, next to no oil, and are rusted to pieces... lol

ps i like it how this thread was originally about a dealership, and now its about my comment on oil changes...

 

I agree with Draconius
I have gone 15,000 on my old car without oil change. I did add oil.
as long as its not black, leave it alone. my dodge neon had 110,000 miles when i sold it and I change the oil 5 or 6 time over that whole time.
my wifes car VW jetta has 80,000, bought were bought new and I change the oil every 10,000 or so. regular oil, not syn.
both cars had and have tighy running engins and I have had no problems with either car, just reg stuff like tires and brakes.
My Mazda will get the same treatment. so far 6,000 mile and one oil change at 1,000 miles. I do live by the old school thought that you should change the oil a little after breaking in the engin... it works for me and I'm sticking to it.

 

I forgot to address the original question. As far as the dealer. My dealer here in Florida sucks... I have gone twice, once for the oil change and again when my horn died. I gave up on the horn and bought my own, after waiting a week for the dealer to get one in.
NEVER bring your car in for those stupid milage checks. rip off city.
I have neve brought my cars in for these check ups (money makers for the dealer) It will NOT void your warrentee, they want you to think that.

 

You actually do not agree with Draconius. He said he'd never go beyond 7500 miles.

 

I believe that Dealerships (not just Mazda's) have a set rate of income they expect from every car they sell. I find that they pressure you to have your car serviced at their center by insinuating that your warranty may be void if someone else does the service. It seems they almost always seem to find something else wrong with the car that they can either charge you for OR get a warranty claim from the Factory. I had this experience with Saturn (that is why i now own a Mazda) and things got really bad when I had another dealership in Ottawa work on my car. The last time I took the Saturn in for an oil change it cost me over $600.00. Apperantly my car needed front brakes... at 50,000Kilometers??? They said the brakes were seized... but a G.M. Mechanic friend of mine just drove the car the day before it went in and he confirmed there was nothing wrong with the brakes. When I asked to see the old parts they couldn't show them to me... said "they had already been disposed of". I am a Service Manager for an Electronics Firm and even we send back the old parts with a repair. Needless to say it only took me 24 hrs to get rid of the Saturn and no dealership will never see me again.
I learned with that car to Always get a second opinion!
Regards, Cl8ton