The truth about long servicing intervals and double-dipping discounts

Is it safe for a virgin engine to turn and burn for 15,000km before its very first oil change? Plus: Sticking one’s hand in the discount car cookie jar twice: getting caught…

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We’ll get to oil change intervals, but first, double-dipping discounts and savings.

The truth about saving thousands on a brand new car is that there are limits to how much you can pull - and you don’t get them twice. 

This question was one of two from David Roze, delivered in two parts, as he asks for help despite shopping elsewhere.

I recently purchased a new Mitsubishi Triton GLS. I contacted your brokerage, but they were unable to beat the $43,900 price the first dealer gave me. The second dealer I called quoted $41,750 including tow bar and mats, so I went with that.

- David Roze

I’m not surprised.

Triton GLS manual has an undiscounted drive-away price of about $50,000 - varies slightly from state to state. It’s $2500 more for the auto. Here’s my take on the new Triton range if you’re in the market too >>

There’s a retail offer on the GLS auto currently for $48,990 drive-away. That’s almost $4000 off, up front.

Like all vehicles, Triton is a manufactured product with the same input, production and distribution costs, regardless of the retail price. So if they knock $4000 off, someone’s copping it in the bottom line.

Therefore, to pump up the sales volume, Mitsubishi (in this case) has decided to take a $4k hit. Obviously, this reduces the further discounting potential on your deal. Because there’s a limit beyond which it’s just not profitable to sell the damn car. And you’re already getting four grand off. Without trying. So, just embrace it.

Here’s why you should embrace buying a new car in 2020 >>

Personally I think anything above 10 per cent off the undiscounted drive-away price is pretty good on a car. If you get 15 or more per cent off - sign the contract quick, before someone changes their mind.

It’s $50k Australian for the undiscounted Triton GLS manual, so 15 per cent off equals $42,500. Which is kind of where David’s at, which is an awesome result, frankly - as long as the vehicle’s not an undisclosed demonstrator or last year’s model, or some other underhanded dealer arsehole move of that nature.

If you get a sharp price like that, easily, you need to ensure you’re not being covertly bent over on a demonstrator or a superseded model - whatever. It’s kind of up to you. Buyer beware.

But let us assume, just for shits and giggles, that this is a brand new 2020 GLS manual, for $41,750, with a towbar and mats.

My advice would be: Don’t hit me up on the website for that. Take the deal. We will not be able to save you thousands - because in this case you are already saving thousands.

Frankly, the stone’s capacity for blood donation is finite. Because we all live in the real, commercial world. You just don’t get to save thousands, twice, on the same new car.

If you’re not match-fit to get in the ring with a car dealer, allow me to assist >>

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Long servicing intervals

So anyway, Mr. Roze had more to ask of me, despite not having hit me up on the website. And because I’m a nice guy, I didn’t send in the hounds and instead answered his interesting query regarding the farce that is long-term servicing intervals.

This (Triton discount) however was not the reason for my email. The first service is due at 15,000 kms/12 months.

I noticed that other new cars have the first service at 1500kms. My concern is that I was under the impression the oil and filter is normally changed at 1500kms, in order to remove all of the new metal and other contaminants caused by the engine run in.

If this is the case, is it healthy to leave the engine for 15,000kms before the first oil change?

- David Roze

I admire the sheer audacity of this. “I elected not to do business with you, but hey: please help me.” Thirteen points out of a possible 10 there.

To David’s point I would say, in between the death of the dinosaurs and the advent of Twitter, engine manufacturing practices improved. Tolerances got better, materials got better, assembly practices got better.

And, of course, oils got better. (If yours is drinking oil, click here >> )

They’re generally fully synthetic now, especially in diesels, so they’re more durable. ‘More durable’ meaning: able to maintain a tough, slippery, thin film separating the moving parts for longer, as they age. It’s what all lubricants do.

So, on one hand you’ve got teams of qualified engineers and metallurgists, highly experienced technicians, conducting accelerated life durability testing to validate a carmaker’s target servicing protocols. And you’ve got chemical engineering wizards developing better lubricating molecules with ever greater endurance. This is what these people do. They’re kinda serious about it.

They’re no fun at parties. They don’t get the chicks, typically, but they are rather proficient in this arcane domain.

And motivated, because the carmaker which pays them is going to cut off their balls if they get it wrong, because if that happens it’s going to cost multi-millions in lost profit, should they spawn an epidemic of premature engine failures by signing off on servicing protocols that don’t deliver acceptable durability. So there’s that.

On the other hand you’ve got a dude with an excess of spare time, with rose-coloured glasses fixated on the rear-view mirror, perhaps stroking his beard, developing a hypothesis about whether the oil should be changed at 1500 kilometres, with no evidence whatsoever to support this flight of fancy, save for historical precedent.

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Run-around

As for running in, just drive normally - not too soft and no thrashing either - for the first 1000-1500 kays. Vary the revs, the speeds and the loads. No endless droning up the freeway at 110. Mix it up a bit. That’s all it takes.

(If you find yourself already in a jostle with the service department, do this >> )

My default advice on servicing is: Service the damn car precisely according to the manufacturer’s schedule. The one caveat being to see if there’s advice in the manual about ‘harsh operating conditions’ and increased servicing frequency. Often there is.

Default servicing might be 15,000km or 12 months - whichever occurs first - but under harsh conditions it might be twice as frequent: 7500km or six months.

Bear in mind that ‘harsh conditions’ generally includes lots of cold starts and lots of short trips - because this really is hell on earth for oil contamination. People tend to think ‘harsh’ equals ‘slogging across the desert on a 40-degree day, hauling a three-tonne trailer - and it is. But short suburban trips are, in a sense, even worse.

As to the contamination from running in: Fine metal particles. That’s what oil filters are designed to trap. Obviously, when you design an engine for a 12-month service schedule, the design of the filter is part of that process. And if you design the engine for no 1500 kilometre first service, ditto - filter design is part of that.

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Final thoughts…

Guaranteed, there’s a dude in an R&D centre, whose only job is to run some ‘hell on earth’ accelerated engine life protocol, to validate that vehicle’s service interval.

He’s gunna measure oil filter performance, flow rate, pressure drop and contamination load. Things of that nature.

And perversely, that dude is probably as happy as a pig in shit doing that - or he’s biding his time until he can knife the dude above him (metaphorically) and step up.

So I’d suggest you give these highly trained dudes vestigial credit. They’re kinda serious about what they do, and they tend to be really good at it.

Beard stroking is really not an R&D alternative, but if you want to change the oil early, get the dealer to do that. It won’t hurt, but it probably won’t be a benefit - except of course to the dealership.

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