New (used) car, not sure if oil has been changed. Bad?
8 replies, posted
So I just got a new (er) 2011 Kia Optima. It's a great car, but the dealership we got it from didn't have any service records on it (It has 9200 miles, how much can be done to it?). I have no idea when the last oil change was. The manual states that it should be done at 3000 miles, then again at 15000 miles.
So I pulled the dipstick out, and the oil is a really really really dark brown. Compare it below, the darker is my oil, and the lighter is my mom's 2008 Ford Fusion that had an oil change about 3 months ago.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/qAEDR.jpg[/t]
Is that a sign that the oil hasn't been changed in this car's life? And if so, is that something to be very concerned about at 9350 miles? I don't want to deal with a bunch of crap (even under warranty) when the car is this old.
how much oil is on it when you look at the dipstick?
if it's far from max it was probably never changed.
Honestly that is such low mileage I can't say I would care. A lot of the new cars have have a 5000-7500 mile oil change interval, so you missed two at most. If something were to go wrong, I'd bet on it during the warranty period that should have transfered over to you. There may just be a color difference in the oils you compared when they are new anyways, especially in the case of synthetics vs regular oil. You could ask the dealer if they have performed an oil change, I would think they would have.
The vehicle was probably sold as is anyways. Just change the oil, check everything else on the maintenance schedule, and enjoy your new car.
[QUOTE=SilentOpp;36572022]Honestly that is such low mileage I can't say I would care. A lot of the new cars have have a 5000-7500 mile oil change interval, so you missed two at most. If something were to go wrong, I'd bet on it during the warranty period that should have transfered over to you. There may just be a color difference in the oils you compared when they are new anyways, especially in the case of synthetics vs regular oil. You could ask the dealer if they have performed an oil change, I would think they would have.
The vehicle was probably sold as is anyways. Just change the oil, check everything else on the maintenance schedule, and enjoy your new car.[/QUOTE]
The interval is at 7500, so I figured it wasn't a huge deal. Just a little disconcerting. My friend has a 2012 Elantra which has the same period and he waited until 12,000 miles, so it can't be too bad.
I'd change the oil and filter just to be sure, you can't do anything wrong with it.
Just change it and get a new filter, i'm sure it's fine. I think our old '99 Dodge Durango went that far without an oil change 155k miles into it's life and nothing went wrong with it(nothing oil related, atleast).
Things to do when you buy a used car:
1. Change your fluids, all of them.
2. Check your brakes to see if they are worth replacing (usually are).
3. Ensure all lights and electronics work.
4. Make sure the tires aren't worn or wearing unevenly. If things look wavy, you need to get an alignment.
5. Get an alignment.
6. ???
7. Don't buy a new car ever.
Just change it since they are pretty cheap and easy to do anyway. Not like its going to hurt anything.
Your oil doesn't look too bad to me. My last oil change had ~3500 miles on it and was a bit darker than that.
That being said, I'd still change it along with the filter. That way you atleast know when it was last done
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.