Auto-related urban myths deflated

[snopes]

Call them facts, scams or urban legends, but there are more than a few car-related questions out there that need answering. Here are a few.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...6/1016/METRO05

[Ali Infree]

Actually, that column did answer one of the ULs that I have observed--not using gas stations that have a tanker truck refilling their tanks. I avoid those although as DW has pointed out, I don't know if the tanker left the station a few minutes before I pull in. Mythbusters, try as they might, couldn't blow-up a car with gas fumes and a cell phone.

On the 3000 mile oil change, Car Talk recommends 5000 miles citing better oil and better engines.

Others:

*I consider tire rotation a myth--I just plan on changing my front tires twice as often as my back ones, on a front-wheel drive car.

*I have used Carfax to check my own cars and ones that I have bought. I do wonder whether an accident that was not reported, where there was no citation for a violation, and any repairs are paid privately do not appear in their records. ( I had a question raised about my current car that suggests that might have happened.)

*Also, with CarFax, say my car has been totaled by a front-end collision, but someone buys its remains (the back end) and mates it to a new front, is it now a new car?

A lot of car-related stories are not myths--Pintos did explode, 1970s era Fords rusted like nobody's business, etc. But why didn't the Ford Edsel sell, why did American Motors think the Pacer would sell, etc.

I guess the junkyard is pretty large.

Ali "two quarts low" Infree

[diddy]

*Also, with CarFax, say my car has been totaled by a front-end collision, but someone buys its remains (the back end) and mates it to a new front, is it now a new car?

If a car gets totaled, its no longer a "car". Its salvageable parts can be used in another car (to a certain point) is new. It would be like you dying and having your organs donated. Your dead. Simply because your liver and spleen (random parts) are in another person doesn't make that person you.

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

*Also, with CarFax, say my car has been totaled by a front-end collision, but someone buys its remains (the back end) and mates it to a new front, is it now a new car?

I beleive the way that it works is that there isn't a new car, but the car with the destroyed rear end is fixed and stays on the road. (With your old rear). Your old car gets a salvage title (?) and is parted out like all the other cars in used auto parts yards.

[Alchemy]

Originally Posted by diddy

If a car gets totaled, its no longer a "car". Its salvageable parts can be used in another car (to a certain point) is new. It would be like you dying and having your organs donated. Your dead. Simply because your liver and spleen (random parts) are in another person doesn't make that person you.

There's some vagueness between Total Loss, Salvage, and Junk. Total Loss is usually determined by an insurance company and simply indicates that the car has suffered substantial damage so that it is not economically worth repairing. Salvage/Junk marks the car title as damaged to the point where it is not and never will be roadworthy and can't ever be sold as such. AFAIK these vehicles then go on to being Scrapped or Dismantled which ends the title and the car.

If you wanted to put together a bunch of Junked/Dismantled cars together you can get a Rebuilt/Reconstructed title if it is inspected and determined roadworthy. AFAIK this would be a title separate from the vehicles which were used to construct it, so as you say, it's a new car.

[diddy]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

There's some vagueness between Total Loss, Salvage, and Junk. Total Loss is usually determined by an insurance company and simply indicates that the car has suffered substantial damage so that it is not economically worth repairing. Salvage/Junk marks the car title as damaged to the point where it is not and never will be roadworthy and can't ever be sold as such. AFAIK these vehicles then go on to being Scrapped or Dismantled which ends the title and the car.

If you wanted to put together a bunch of Junked/Dismantled cars together you can get a Rebuilt/Reconstructed title if it is inspected and determined roadworthy. AFAIK this would be a title separate from the vehicles which were used to construct it, so as you say, it's a new car.

Yes, My defition of Totaled doesnt necessarily follow the insurance companies standards. I used it in the sense that it was slated to be salvaged for parts and then scrapped. Not re-built. My analogy would make a rebuild sound like a resurrection. Now thats a miracle.

[Delta-V]

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

*I consider tire rotation a myth--I just plan on changing my front tires twice as often as my back ones, on a front-wheel drive car.

The only problem might be if your FWD car doesn't wear the rear tires much, they might be quite old and hard before the tread is gone. While they might still look ok, they may not have much traction left. Since it doesn't cost me anything, I do it on the wife's car when I swap the snow and summer tires. It's a moot point on mine...different sizes front-rear, and asymmetric/unidirectional side-to-side.

Originally Posted by diddy

If a car gets totaled, its no longer a "car". Its salvageable parts can be used in another car (to a certain point) is new. It would be like you dying and having your organs donated. Your dead. Simply because your liver and spleen (random parts) are in another person doesn't make that person you.

Not quite...the totaled car has a 'salvage title'. You can't license it or drive it, but it's still a 'car'. And yes, you can take a salvage titled car and return it to running condition and apply for a regular title. This is easier in some states than others. Sometimes all that matters is having a valid VIN plate - The newly titled car is whatever car the VIN plate came off of, regardless of content. There are stories of people going south of the border (back a few years ago when VW was still making new 'old-style' Beetles in Brazil), buying a complete car, and 'rebuilding' a salvaged US Beetle with the 'parts', keeping only the VIN plate from the original US Beetle.

Originally Posted by Alchemy

If you wanted to put together a bunch of Junked/Dismantled cars together you can get a Rebuilt/Reconstructed title if it is inspected and determined roadworthy. AFAIK this would be a title separate from the vehicles which were used to construct it, so as you say, it's a new car.

It may be a rebuilt title, or a regular title ( I think it varies from state to state, but not sure). But it will still techincally 'be' one of the original cars used, whichever VIN you put on the new title.

[diddy]

Not quite...the totaled car has a 'salvage title'. You can't license it or drive it, but it's still a 'car'. And yes, you can take a salvage titled car and return it to running condition and apply for a regular title. This is easier in some states than others. Sometimes all that matters is having a valid VIN plate - The newly titled car is whatever car the VIN plate came off of, regardless of content. There are stories of people going south of the border (back a few years ago when VW was still making new 'old-style' Beetles in Brazil), buying a complete car, and 'rebuilding' a salvaged US Beetle with the 'parts', keeping only the VIN plate from the original US Beetle.

Yes, delta. Please note that I did clarify that I was not using the word "Totaled" correctly. My definition of totaled was that the car would not be rebuilt since it was not in any condition to do that. If it can't perform its function, it really cant be a car anymore.

[Hero_Mike]

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

*I consider tire rotation a myth--I just plan on changing my front tires twice as often as my back ones, on a front-wheel drive car.

One does not merely rotate front and back, but also alternates sides. This way a slight bias in alignment won't lead to an overly worn single tire.

[Singing in the Drizzle]

You should change the oil in your vehicle every 3,000 miles.

The answer to this "fact" is all over the map. Some informational sites dismiss it as a scam to get motorists to buy more oil more often.

Critics also note that many automobile manuals state that today's more-efficient engines only need their oil changed every 7,500 miles or so, plus many of today's oils are superior to those in years past.

But there are a number of factors to consider: Will you change the oil at exactly 7,500 miles or will it drift more into the 10,000-mile range before you get around to it? If so, that means added wear and tear on the engine.

I change my oil every 3,000 miles or so, and, yeah, maybe I'm being scammed, but I see it as a yearly $160 investment to avoid problems.

From this, I get the impression that we need to change the car oil every 3,000 miles, so that we do not drive over 7,500 miles with out a change. [sarcasm] Why not just change it every time you are out for a drive just to be save? [/sarcasm]

I'm sure the manufactur recomended mileage has some padding in it so that if you run a couple of hundred miles over the recomend oil chage, you will not hurt the car any. If you are that worred about going over the 7,500 mile oil change. Then why not every 5,000 miles. That gives you 2,500 miles of safety.

[Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Delta-V

It may be a rebuilt title, or a regular title ( I think it varies from state to state, but not sure). But it will still techincally 'be' one of the original cars used, whichever VIN you put on the new title.

Hm. So how do you decide which VIN to use, if, say, the rebuilt car has several different VIN stamps?

[Troberg]

One does not merely rotate front and back, but also alternates sides. This way a slight bias in alignment won't lead to an overly worn single tire.

If the tires are not worn evenly, you have some other problem that needs to be fixed. Fix that instead.

I don't bother, I just put the best tires on the driving axle and am satisfied with that. The Swedish national road administration recommends putting the best on the front wheels, to give the best possible steering, but I prefer raw acceleration (not that I have a car where it matters anymore).

[Delta-V]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

Hm. So how do you decide which VIN to use, if, say, the rebuilt car has several different VIN stamps?

At least in Kansas, the one stamped on the body (left front door frame and firewall), if intact. If that doesn't exist, I think you can use the one from the engine or transmission, or apply for a new one. You also need sales receipts for VIN-stamped major components (engine, transmission) that don't match the one on the frame.

[BoKu]

Originally Posted by Hero_Mike

One does not merely rotate front and back, but also alternates sides. This way a slight bias in alignment won't lead to an overly worn single tire.

It depends. The recommendation I've most often found in maintenance manuals is to rotate tires between front and back on the same side for radial tires, and to rotate between opposite corners for bias ply tires.

Of course, almost nobody uses bias ply tires on passenger cars anymore, so that's kind of moot.

Bob "oblique fiber" K

[Eddylizard]

On the subject of tyre wear, I was told once by a garage monkey that front tyres on cars with power assisted steering would wear more quickly than the equivalent tyre on a car without power assisted steering (this was back when power assisted steering was a comparative luxury.)

Any truth to this? I can kind of see that with power assisted steering you can take corners a bit faster, and impose greater forces on the tyre, but I really don't know.

Re oil change. I'm pretty sure that every car I've owned the manufacturers have recommended an oil change at the standard service interval - usually 10,000, 12,000 or 15,000 miles. I've never heard of a 3,000 mile oil change.

[Nappy Solo]

What hasn't been mentioned with the oil change discussion is driving conditions. If someone, say the legendary little old lady, only went on short trips of under five miles, never got the car up to operating temperature, etc, leaving the oil change to 7,500 miles would shorten the life of the engine. But, then again, would she care? (maybe the next owner of this low mileage "gem" would) Someone who does long drives on the road, like the equally legendary traveling salesman, could do the 7,500 mile interval with ease, and not shorten the life of the car's engine. I've heard engineering types discuss this with the following argument: The big factor isn't so much miles, but the number of times within those miles that the engine is started, and brought to full operating temperature. That is a big factor in how many contaminents are in the oil, and how it rids itself of condensation and other impurties. Acid accumulates in oil as it ages, and is extreme cases can etch the metal parts of the engine as it's additives break down. So many variables here, that the discussion of oil - types, intervals, etc., would take volumes to discuss. And, there is certainly a lot of disagreements out there as well.

[Delta-V]

Originally Posted by Nappy Solo

I've heard engineering types discuss this with the following argument: The big factor isn't so much miles, but the number of times within those miles that the engine is started, and brought to full operating temperature. That is a big factor in how many contaminants are in the oil, and how it rids itself of condensation and other impurities. Acid accumulates in oil as it ages, and is extreme cases can etch the metal parts of the engine as it's additives break down. So many variables here, that the discussion of oil - types, intervals, etc., would take volumes to discuss. And, there is certainly a lot of disagreements out there as well.

One of my cars computes some of this and has an 'oil life remaining' display on the Driver's Information Center (one-line LCD display).