Buying Certified Pre-Owned Cars

Walboy said:
I bought a car from Enterprise with 35k miles on it and have been very happy with it. I plan to do it again.
Click to expand...

In 1990, I bought a 1989 Chevy Celebrity from Hertz, with 29k miles on it. I ran it up to 250k miles over several years with only a few starters, alternators, tires, and batteries, and gave it to my son who put another 50k on it before it went to the junk yard.
 
I also change the full-synthetic in my truck every 7500 miles, but that's within Ford's specs.

I drive the hell out of the rental cars I drive (usually 5-7 days/month). I wouldn't personally buy a former-rental car, but that's just me. Anything mechanical that went wrong under 36K miles is under factory warranty, so Hertz/national/etc don't care as they dump them shortly after. I rarely worry about taking it easy on tires/brakes in a rental. I just drove down 10 miles of rough gravel roads in Edmonton, AB just because I wanted to play with the stability control in a rental car. I paid no mind to the onslaught of gravel being kicked up. Hence why rental cars are cheap to buy used.
 
Walboy said:
I bought a car from Enterprise with 35k miles on it and have been very happy with it. I plan to do it again. I rent from Enterprise almost exclusively and can say I have never had a bad experience with their cars. I don't really worry about the ones they put out to pasture. So what if they cut corners on maintenance a little bit, 35k miles is basically a brand new car to me. Keep your expectations low and you'll be happy.
Click to expand...

They do more maintenance than I would have.:lol:
 
With full-synthetic oils, the problem is more the filters than the oil. In practical (not warranty) terms, a quality synthetic can easily go for 15K or more with no problems. Filters, not so much.

Almost all of the aftermarket filters are garbage nowadays. The only ones I trust -- and provisionally at that, because these things change -- are the higher-end Wix filters (including the NAPA Gold and Platinum clones) and Mobil1. The rest either have fragile, cheap media or defective bypass valves.

I've cut open too many supposedly high-end filters from other manufacturers and found either damaged media or that they'd gone to bypass while they were still well within their rated lives.

Since the filter condition is not something that can be inspected non-destructively, I feel more comfortable extending the OCI than the filter change interval. But I can't bring myself to just change the filter, especially since the annual cost for the oil is trivial assuming twice-yearly changes with Pennzoil Platinum at Wally World prices.

Besides, the car's still under warranty, and Pennzoil tacks on another warranty for using their product.

Rich
 
SoonerAviator said:
I'm a Wix guy myself. I use them on all my cars/boat/equipment.
Click to expand...

Wix and Baldwin are pretty much the filters I use for oil and fuel filters on the engines, Racor (Parker Hannafin) filters are what I use for course fuel filtration and water separation. I usually have a secondary rig with them and an electric pump hooked to the fuel manifolds so I can polish fuel and move it between tanks on boats.
 
Henning said:
I change my oil approximately every 50,000-100,000 miles change my filter every 20,000 and still get 250,000 miles out of cars. Modern engines don't need plugs or oil changes very much, and top up oil is typically sufficient to keep the additive package functioning. Unleaded gas and computer controlled engines changed the reality of auto serve requirements, yet we still sell the ancient practices because they are more profitable.
Click to expand...

Just don't try this on a car with direct injection.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I'm a Wix guy myself. I use them on all my cars/boat/equipment.
Click to expand...

I am, too, with the exception of Hyundai and Kia. They had a TSB out a while ago that warned of oil starvation on startup with unspecified aftermarket filters because they lacked the backing plate that the OEM filters have.

The Wix filters appear to use the same system (none of the others do, to my knowledge). But the thing is that the Hyundai / Kia filters are excellent filters and can be had for a bit over $5.00 each if you buy them half a dozen at a time. I've never cut one open and found problems with it. Plus, if one of them does fail and damage results, Kia can't try to deny the warranty claim.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if Wix makes them for Hyundai / Kia. They're not identical, but they're very similar inside. Either that or Wix is just more careful about building filters that really are OEM-equivalents.

As for OEM filters in general, I've found them to be a crap shoot. I think most manufacturers just farm them out to whichever company gives them the best deal at any given moment in time. After being disappointed enough times, I settled on Wix (or the NAPA clones), with the exception of Kia / Hyundai. I can't see going cheap to save three or four dollars on something like an oil filter, especially since I only change them twice a year on my cars. That would just be stupid.

My biggest disappointment was Bosch (whose filters I'm 99.99 percent sure are re-branded Purolators). They have the same weak bypass springs as the Purolators used to (and may still) have. Once the bypass opens, it stays open, and you now have unfiltered oil being pumped back into the engine. It was disappointing because their oil filters were the only Bosch product that ever dissatisfied me.

In the interest of fairness, it's been a long time since I've used any other filters besides Wix or Hyundai / Kia OEM, so the other companies may have corrected the problems since then.

Rich
 
Last edited:
RJM62 said:
I am, too, with the exception of Hyundai and Kia. They had a TSB out a while ago that warned of fuel starvation on startup with unspecified aftermarket filters because they lacked the backing plate that the OEM filters have.

The Wix filters appear to use the same system (none of the others do, to my knowledge). But the thing is that the Hyundai / Kia filters are excellent filters and can be had for a bit over $5.00 each if you buy them half a dozen at a time. I've never cut one open and found problems with it. Plus, if one of them does fail and damage results, Kia can't try to deny the warranty claim.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if Wix makes them for Hyundai / Kia. They're not identical, but they're very similar inside. Either that or Wix is just more careful about building filters that really are OEM-equivalents.

As for OEM filters in general, I've found them to be a crap shoot. I think most manufacturers just farm them out to whichever company gives them the best deal at any given moment in time. After being disappointed enough times, I settled on Wix (or the NAPA clones), with the exception of Kia / Hyundai. I can't see going cheap to save three or four dollars on something like an oil filter, especially since I only change them twice a year on my cars. That would just be stupid.

My biggest disappointment was Bosch (whose filters I'm 99.99 percent sure are re-branded Purolators). They have the same weak bypass springs as the Purolators used to (and may still) have. Once the bypass opens, it stays open, and you now have unfiltered oil being pumped back into the engine. It was disappointing because their oil filters were the only Bosch product that ever dissatisfied me.

In the interest of fairness, it's been a long time since I've used any other filters besides Wix or Hyundai / Kia OEM, so the other companies may have corrected the problems since then.

Rich
Click to expand...

Yep. Bosch is Purolator. I think Fram is the worst, though.
 
I would never buy a used car from a dealer. I've been burned once doing that.
 
Sac Arrow said:
I would never buy a used car from a dealer. I've been burned once doing that.
Click to expand...

:rofl: Works the other way around too, you should see the junk people try to unload on dealers.

There are good honest dealers out there, there are crooks out there as dealers or individuals. At least with a dealer you have some recourse even if they're crooked, individuals you have none.
 
Last edited:
Sac Arrow said:
I would never buy a used car from a dealer. I've been burned once doing that.
Click to expand...

Most dealers would rather not sell to attorneys either. :D:D:D
Actually, some of my best customers are my local attorneys and judges, heck even the sheriff and DA buy cars from me. :D
 
N747JB said:
Most dealers would rather not sell to attorneys either. :D:D:D
Actually, some of my best customers are my local attorneys and judges, heck even the sheriff and DA buy cars from me. :D
Click to expand...

So, you haven't paid a ticket in a long time huh?:rofl:
 
Henning said:
I change my oil approximately every 50,000-100,000 miles change my filter every 20,000 and still get 250,000 miles out of cars. Modern engines don't need plugs or oil changes very much, and top up oil is typically sufficient to keep the additive package functioning. Unleaded gas and computer controlled engines changed the reality of auto serve requirements, yet we still sell the ancient practices because they are more profitable.
Click to expand...

Your stuff; you can do what you want with it. Audi TT with 84,000 miles without an oil change.

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • cq0vsgP.jpg
    cq0vsgP.jpg
    112.6 KB · Views: 64
Henning said:
So, you haven't paid a ticket in a long time huh?:rofl:
Click to expand...

No, I am smart enough to get tickets AWAY from home, they are tougher to beat!!! :D With teenage boys, it never hurts to be on good terms with the local sheriff and DA, the boys are almost 20 and 21, so it's still a good idea! :D
 
That Audi had to have been topped with non-synthetic oil.
 
SCCutler said:
That Audi had to have been topped with non-synthetic oil.
Click to expand...

Not just that, they used the cheapest crap oil they could buy, and probably overheated it several times. Thing is, it'll run like that fine.
 
I am happy with my Certified Pre Owned Chevrolet Truck that I bought a month ago. I got a price that I was happy with on the internet and went in and bought the thing.
 
Warrior said:
I am happy with my Certified Pre Owned Chevrolet Truck that I bought a month ago. I got a price that I was happy with on the internet and went in and bought the thing.
Click to expand...

My car was a CPO. No problems at all
 
ktup-flyer said:
Would love to see the blackstone results from that.... Mine gets 8qts of full synthetic every 5k.
Click to expand...


You should send yours in. In automotive applications they'll give you information about whether or not it needed to be changed yet.

Most auto manufacturers are moving to very long oil changes with specific filter and oil combinations, similar to the long haul trucking industry. NAPA as one example, pushes their "Platinum" line of filters (made by Wix I believe, but I'd have to check that) as extended change interval capable, and diesel manufacturers have been honoring warranties for at least a decade now if specific things are used. Cummins for example calls out Fleetguard filters and the newer Valvoline synthetic ("Blue") and specifically honors warranties for extended mileage oil changes if they're used.

But anyway, like I said, Blackstone and their competitors will tell you if your oil was changed too soon in their automotive reports, these days.
 
denverpilot said:
You should send yours in. In automotive applications they'll give you information about whether or not it needed to be changed yet.

Most auto manufacturers are moving to very long oil changes with specific filter and oil combinations, similar to the long haul trucking industry. NAPA as one example, pushes their "Platinum" line of filters (made by Wix I believe, but I'd have to check that) as extended change interval capable, and diesel manufacturers have been honoring warranties for at least a decade now if specific things are used. Cummins for example calls out Fleetguard filters and the newer Valvoline synthetic ("Blue") and specifically honors warranties for extended mileage oil changes if they're used.

But anyway, like I said, Blackstone and their competitors will tell you if your oil was changed too soon in their automotive reports, these days.
Click to expand...

It's once every 6 months. Not a big deal, since I change my clutch/brake fluid then, too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top