Uber and out

[MGMcAnick]

I don't know if it's true everywhere, but Uber cars here can be no more than 10 years old, must have under 100K miles at sign up, and have clear (not rebuilt) titles. I know of one driver whose car is "grandfathered" for not meeting those requirements. We don't have annual safety inspections, but Uber cars and taxis should be inspected if any ever were. Their drivers are vetted just like the taxi company folks.

[Guinevere]

That was always one of the selling points for Uber, in the billboards they used to put out looking for drivers. "We pay your insurance."

The Uber that picked up some friends at my dinner party was a pretty new model four door spiffy looking Toyota something. Young driver, probably looking to make a few extra bucks on a Saturday night.

I still had them screenshot and text me the driver and vehicle information, because you never know. In that way, I think Uber could actually be safer than a taxi. It's a much less anonymous process. Who pays attention to taxis and their license plates or the license of the driver.

[ex-khobar Andy]

I don't know if it's true everywhere, but Uber cars here can be no more than 10 years old, must have under 100K miles at sign up, and have clear (not rebuilt) titles.

One of my best taxi experiences was in Cyprus, in 2003. We were on a week's R&R from the Magic Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) and had to get from the airport to our hotel fifty miles or so away. I looked approvingly at the taxi which had come to pick us up: one of the newer Mercedes so I was looking forward to the ride. Dark blue, in immaculate condition. I stole a look at the odometer when I got in and I was staggered to see 673,000. Of course that was km but a quick calculation gave me around 420,000 miles. The driver told me that he and his brother share the car and they average six round trips a day over that route. Once a week they get the oil changed.

I bet that car is still going.

[Jarlaxle]

I don't know if it's true everywhere, but Uber cars here can be no more than 10 years old, must have under 100K miles at sign up, and have clear (not rebuilt) titles. I know of one driver whose car is "grandfathered" for not meeting those requirements. We don't have annual safety inspections, but Uber cars and taxis should be inspected if any ever were. Their drivers are vetted just like the taxi company folks.

I don't recall a mileage restriction (indeed: one Uber driver I know on another board has close to 250k on his van, and bought it with over 100k), but yes, then have to be <10 years old.

[Jarlaxle]

I don't know if it's true everywhere, but Uber cars here can be no more than 10 years old, must have under 100K miles at sign up, and have clear (not rebuilt) titles.

One of my best taxi experiences was in Cyprus, in 2003. We were on a week's R&R from the Magic Kingdom (Saudi Arabia) and had to get from the airport to our hotel fifty miles or so away. I looked approvingly at the taxi which had come to pick us up: one of the newer Mercedes so I was looking forward to the ride. Dark blue, in immaculate condition. I stole a look at the odometer when I got in and I was staggered to see 673,000. Of course that was km but a quick calculation gave me around 420,000 miles. The driver told me that he and his brother share the car and they average six round trips a day over that route. Once a week they get the oil changed.

I bet that car is still going.

Thats nothing remarkable. 400,000 on a livery car s normal. I drove a Lincoln Town Car with 580,000 miles. It was retired due to hairline cracking in tbe frame with over 650,000. Four big guys, a stuffed trunk, 90 degrees, AC cranked, 85MPH on the Pike...never missed a beat.

[MGMcAnick]

...one of the newer Mercedes so I was looking forward to the ride. Dark blue, in immaculate condition. I stole a look at the odometer when I got in and I was staggered to see 673,000.
I bet that car is still going.

I'll bet a nickel it was a diesel.
At 600 miles a day, they'd be well advised to change their oil weekly, and ATF every three months if it's an automatic (somewhat doubtful in that setting).
German blinker fluid, however, lasts forever.

[rubato]

Blinker fluid? I give up.


yrs,
rubato

[Jarlaxle]

...one of the newer Mercedes so I was looking forward to the ride. Dark blue, in immaculate condition. I stole a look at the odometer when I got in and I was staggered to see 673,000.
I bet that car is still going.

I'll bet a nickel it was a diesel.
At 600 miles a day, they'd be well advised to change their oil weekly, and ATF every three months if it's an automatic (somewhat doubtful in that setting).
German blinker fluid, however, lasts forever.

Naah...no need to change oil that often. Even 3 weeks (about 12,000 miles) would be fine.

[MGMcAnick]

Blinker fluid? I give up.


yrs,
rubato

It's a old joke rubato. It has to do with unscrupulous shops fleecing unsuspecting customers by recommending unneeded maintenance. Another example is muffler bearing replacement. If a shop ever suggests either of those services to you, RUN.

[Jarlaxle]

Rube does not do "humor". He occasionally attempts it, but fails spectacularly every time.

[BoSoxGal]

My car has had work here and there over the past several years, including a service inspection at the dealer in Montana before my cross country trip home. Nobody has ever suggested fluid changes. Should I be worried that my fluids are too old? I get oil changed every 5-6k miles and use a synthetic blend for high mileage vehicles, but transmission & brake I don't think have ever been changed. The power steering should be ok because it was leaking on my driveway for a couple of years and being regularly replenished until I finally got the rack & pinion replaced. Coolant should be fine because I had a bunch of work on that system last year after I ended up stranded on the highway in Maine with broken belts and water pump.

Should I be asking my new mechanic to change out these fluids for me, or is this a case of don't fix what ain't broke? I've read online that newer vehicles are built to not need certain fluids changed at all, but I don't know if that applies to my 18 year old gal.

[Big RR]

I am not a mechanic but I have had a number of high mileage cars (200,000+) and, except for oil and coolant, have always been of the opinion "if it ain't broke ...". I have had a number of friends who developed transmission problems after replacing the fluid and filter (my guess is that it just stirred up the particulates in the case) so I have never done that. I haven't replaced brake fluid ever (except when I was in high school and air got in the lines so I had to bleed them and replace some of the fluid), ditto for power steering fluid. But I do regularly change the oil and filter and also routinely replace the air filter--I have even used mechanic in a can to clean the injectors every 70,000 miles or so).

this has worked for me, however, I am not a mechanic and I defer to the mechanics (professional or amateur) on the board.

[Joe Guy]

I only use STP for my blinker fluid changes....

[Joe Guy]

If you were to ask about fluid changes over at Cartalk, my guess is 11 out of 10 people would say flush your coolant every couple of years and change transmission fluid about every 30,000 miles.

But many of them would first say, 'Check your owners maintenance manual'.

[BoSoxGal]

I looked at the maintenance manual and couldn't find any direction to change the tranny fluid, brake fluid, etc. - just to check them periodically - and I presume top off any low levels, those specific directions aren't given.

I think I'll just leave well enough alone. Reva just had her 175k birthday a few days ago and my new mechanic - an Albanian immigrant who owns a very nice garage and small used car lot with his brother - says I should get 300k from her easy if I keep changing the oil, which I have always done very faithfully and synthetic blend since she turned 75k.

She is beat up, has really bad clear coat failure on the roof and hood (the AZ and MT suns are unforgiving) but I am very, very attached to her - I think because my dog Jenny traveled so many miles in that vehicle with me. I'm currently really regretting not taking even better care of her, like waxing or whatever to preserve the paint job - but I have always placed a higher priority on reading and such in my very little spare time.

I'm currently running a 64 mile RT commute to work with my lovely new client who lives on the ocean, so I'll probably be putting @ 15k/yr on Reva now. If she does have the potential to go 300k that's 8 more years, so I might have to invest in repainting her.

[RayThom]

Oil Change: (use OEM or K&N filters only)
Regular: every 7500 miles.
Synthetic: every 15000 miles.

Radiator flush: every 5/6 years.

Transmission fluid: 50000 mile filter change, ATF DRAIN and add. DO NOT FLUSH.

Brake fluid: Only if a brake problem has overheated/cooked the fluid.

[MGMcAnick]

Oil Change: (use OEM or K&N filters only)
Regular: every 7500 miles.
Synthetic: every 15000 miles.

Radiator flush: every 5/6 years.

Transmission fluid: 50000 mile filter change, ATF DRAIN and add. DO NOT FLUSH.

Brake fluid: Only if a brake problem has overheated/cooked the fluid.

I would not be married to OEM filters of any kind. They all have to be made by someone. Toyota's are made by Denso.

Here is an extensive comparison of oil filters. http://filtrationcomparisons.weebly.com ... sults.html K&N is fine, but so are many others.

I've had dozens of transmissions flushed. My favorite transmission shop does it for about $75. I trust them implicitly. They have fixed at least three transmissions, with electrical issues, for me that other shops said needed $1700 to $2000 overhauls. Flushing changes all the fluid where dropping the pan and changing the filter only changes the three or four quarts in the pan, not the whole nine to twelve held by the entire tranny. Whatever particulate matter is in the filter will stay in the filter, and there won't be much. Changing the fluid will not cause a transmission to fail any more than it will bring a dead one back to life. The latter is why changing the fluid has been blamed for failures.

Brake fluid changes should probably be done every five years or so to prevent brake lines from rusting from the inside. Yes it happens. It is also good preventive maintenance for the ABS system. DOT 3 brake fluid takes on water as it ages. The water will cause rust, and also lower the boiling point of the fluid itself. Once it boils, the lines will get air in them. That will cause a spongy pedal feel.

Other than that, RayThom's advice is good.

[BoSoxGal]

At times I had to get my oil changes at Walmart and would buy my own oil and filter and bring them to be used by the technician. I'm pretty sure I used K&N but it could have been Fram. Like I said I've been using synthetic blend high mileage oil for the past 100k miles, but the sticker always said to bring the car back in 3000 miles. I realize this is old school and a money maker for lube shops, so I followed Tom & Ray's advice to change every 5k - or sometimes 6k if I was busy.

So am I changing it way too soon, or is the timing different for synthetic blend v. full synthetic? Also I should add that because I put so few miles on the car every year, maybe changing it early by miles isn't so bad if 6 months had gone by to get that far - especially in the very dusty desert and mountain west?

When I brought the car to a lube place or the Tire Rama that did free rotations because I bought my tires there, they used whatever filter brand they carried - I didn't ask. I'm a bad Reva owner. I need to start being better because I'm determined to get at least 5 more years from her - I actually found an article online about a guy who got 600k+ miles out of his first generation RAV4, but I realize that's an anomaly and I probably haven't been good enough to my girl to expect that kind of loyalty.

I guess I'm realizing I've been pretty bad at maintenance other than oil - everything else, I didn't do anything until it broke. It just occurred to me that I last changed the plugs and wires in 2009, which was probably over 60k miles ago - I haven't really kept track of what happened when in terms of mileage, I can only recall by year - where I was living, what job I was doing. I do however faithfully track the miles per fill-up on my tripometer so I know how I'm doing mpg-wise and can know that something isn't right by that calculus.

I think Leo the Albanian mechanic is a good guy, he doesn't appear to own a boat. He charged me only $50 to install the VSV the other day and I know that's a bitch of a job because I watched several videos online - I think because he wasn't in that day and his brother did it, he undercharged me. Today he reluctantly asked for $150 (1.5 hours labor) for installing the air/fuel ratio sensor but he showed me how he had to fabricate a connector because the original was stripped - and I believe that because that sensor was replaced 9 years ago by my stoner boyfriend and he'd told me he'd had 'some trouble' getting it in, so I'm guessing he fucked it up.

I'll do the plugs and wires myself because I've done them before without issue and don't want to spend for jobs I can manage on my own. Flushing the tranny fluid or brake fluid I'm going to leave to Leo because I don't want to deal with driveway spillage or disposal of any kind. I know she got all new coolant 1.5 years ago when the radiator drained following my highway breakdown, but I'm considering ordering a gallon of Toyota's pink extra long life coolant and having Leo drain what's in there and replace with that - good idea, or unnecessary?

Thanks for all the car advice!

[Jarlaxle]

Oil is oil. Use whatever you can get the cheapest. I watched a fleet of cars and vans wind up huge miles (400k was nothing remarkable), using whatever oil was cheapest by the drum!

[dales]

I insist that the air in my tires be changed per mfg.'s spec.