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On 26/03/2020 at 2:13 PM, Shanedorf said:

Mr Clueless checking in, seeking some advice

We've got a 2003 Toyota Highlander that the kids drive and its starting to leak oil on a consistent basis. Not a lot, we're talking a silver dollar sized spot under the car each day. I'm reluctant to invest a lot of coin in this ancient car, but I'm wondering if anybody has any thoughts on this and I know its a difficult question to answer given the limited info

How much work/ $$ is it for a shop to investigate the source and given the age of the vehicle, is it likely to be the end of the line ?
Do we just top off the oil from time to time and live with it ?

Any insight appreciated

As was already suggested...it's a case of...follow the oil.

That can get kinda weird if it's a very mild leak and you have some sort of belly tray underneath that accumulates the oil and makes it drip somewhere other than directly underneath the actual problem.

 

Tracking down an oil leak though, is generally just a process of uh...using a flashlight and investigating.  Look at things from every angle imaginable, and you should find it.  Starting with the obvious/easy stuff in and around the oil pan or filter is probably smart.  Work up and out from there.

 

Sometimes, it does end up being something that just isn't worth fixing until it gets far worse.  My car has just a continual seepage of oil from the cam chain tensioner gasket on the one side.  But i'm not about to tear the entire top off the engine to fix it, unless it becomes a serious issue.  When i don't even have to bother topping off oil between changes...i'm not gonna start disassembling major things to rectify it.  

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On 29/03/2020 at 8:24 PM, ET80 said:

So, update:

I know a guy who works for a fleet leasing/sales company out here - he was looking for a Maxima for me when he called me and told me he found a 2019 Infiniti Q50 Luxe, AWD with about 26k miles. It was clear he was desperately trying to make a sale, so I threw out a ridiculously low number... and he actually went for it.

So... I bought an Infiniti Q50.

PU2osTx.jpg

Fleet sales cars are something i'd never go anywhere near.  On the one hand...they've presumably been maintained by...a mechanic, who is...a mechanic i guess.  But on the other hand...they've been driven by people who don't own it and don't give a ****.

I mean, maybe you get lucky?  I wish you the best Mr Claus.

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2 hours ago, Tugboat said:

Fleet sales cars are something i'd never go anywhere near.  On the one hand...they've presumably been maintained by...a mechanic, who is...a mechanic i guess.  But on the other hand...they've been driven by people who don't own it and don't give a ****.

I mean, maybe you get lucky?  I wish you the best Mr Claus.

Very fair assessment. Taking a risk, for sure. 

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Just now, ET80 said:

Very fair assessment. Taking a risk, for sure. 

I mean...a deal's a deal...you could make out like a bandit.  Especially if you don't intend on owning the car for that long.

 

I'm more of a..."buy an old car and own it for a decade" sorta guy.

 

I've also been the abuser of, or witness to the abuse of far too many fleet trucks to ever buy a White truck ever in my life.

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3 minutes ago, Tugboat said:

I mean...a deal's a deal...you could make out like a bandit.  Especially if you don't intend on owning the car for that long.

 

I'm more of a..."buy an old car and own it for a decade" sorta guy.

 

I've also been the abuser of, or witness to the abuse of far too many fleet trucks to ever buy a White truck ever in my life.

A little background on me - I used to work for US Bank as a Relationship Manager for their Voyager fleet product, so I'm pretty well versed on a lot of the fleet managers in the area - who are the guys who let their vehicles go beyond recommended services, who are the guys who let their drivers have carte blanche in their cars. Likewise, I know the fleet managers who keep a watchful eye on their fleet, on a mile by mile basis. 

Had it been anyone else giving me the call, I'd probably be worried. But this guy is someone I'm comfortable with, especially with anything that would qualify as an executive vehicle (because nobody is bringing a Q50 onto a worksite, you know?)

It could go sideways, I haven't been deep in the fleet leasing world in over a decade and this guy could have checked out to his standard quality of work. But, I'm willing to roll the dice on him for the most part.

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If it’s a rental or something I’d be more concerned but if it’s a company lease for some 50 year old dude, meh, no different than any other used car imo.

Probably doesn’t drive like an idiot, probably garaged, probably gets preventative maintenance done.

Pair that with a sweetheart deal and you’re likely going to come out just fine.

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2 hours ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

If it’s a rental or something I’d be more concerned but if it’s a company lease for some 50 year old dude, meh, no different than any other used car imo.

Probably doesn’t drive like an idiot, probably garaged, probably gets preventative maintenance done.

Pair that with a sweetheart deal and you’re likely going to come out just fine.

Yeah.  Could be just fine.

 

Just that even when shopping for a used car outside of the fleet car market...i'm always curious about the ownership history.  Because it can really matter.  Whether it's on the "lease return, don't really care" end of the spectrum, or the "hot shoe dip**** boy racer" end of things.  Neither is good.  Some people are just bad inattentive drivers who let things fester because they don't care because they're 50 years old and they just expect the car to do what it's told.  Others are bad because they actively thrash it.  Bad things on both ends.

 

When you can trace the ownership back with service records and everything, to a limited number of owners...that's the best imo.

Edited by Tugboat
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Once I pay off my KTM Duke 390 starter bike in a year, I'll have to check out these new BMW F900R's

New 2020 BMW F900 R & F900 XR revealed | Spec & gallery

That's my style of bike. And it has a 270 degree twin ala the Yamaha MT-07, so it should sound really good with exhaust. A fender eliminator and some bar end mirrors, she would be beautiful.
Right now is a great time to own a cycle btw. 

Edited by Jeezla
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On 4/5/2020 at 1:58 PM, Jeezla said:

Once I pay off my KTM Duke 390 starter bike in a year, I'll have to check out these new BMW F900R's

 

I had an old Honda 400 as a starter bike. Drove it all of 15 miles. A tractor trailer went by at 80+mph and near blew me off a bridge. Bought a Suzuki GS1000 I knew of for sale the next day and sold the 400. Had it 4 days.

Dont have it in me to recommend light bikes to anyone. Cant see how theyre called beginner bikes. Unless its to teach early lessons in ways to die on one. Cause the 1000 was 1000x easier to learn on, maneuver and drive without feeling every car going past. You gonna love moving up to the 900. Nice looking bike at that.

 

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