Went with elderly friends to a Toyota dealer because they needed a reliable car. Lots of medical issues and they need a car that starts and gets them to their doctors appointments. Their Buick died an I have been lending them my Sienna van for weeks.
They bought a 2017 Toyota Camry SE with 68,000 miles on it. It has the 2.5L 4-Cyl DOHC 16V w/ Dual VVT-i engine.
Toyota service records show consistent oil changes at around 5,000 miles or less, except for 2 lapses, wherein the oil was changed at 9 months. Most miles between changes was 5,000 or less, except on two occaisions that indicate there was about 9,000 miles between changes.
I have a Blue Driver code reader (Scotty recommended!) and a few days after they bought it, I scanned the car with the Blue Driver and no codes. All good - no codes. Good service records.
They decided to take it to "their" mechanic, who I don't like, nor trust. The guy that kept their Buick going - thousands of dollars over 3-4 years. And I mean THOUSANDS of dollars wasted. But no matter what I told them about my concerns and their mechanic, they trust him.
They called me after getting the car back from his "inspection," with "bad news." The car, "I" told them to buy, is bad! It needs a new engine! I asked what they were talking about and they said "their" mechanic told them that air was coming from the oil filler cap. Not smoke, but air. The air makes the loosened cap move when the car runs at idle. Based on this, he said the car was trash and they should immediately take it back and demand that Toyota replace the engine. He never ran any scan tool. Never touched the car. And came to the conclusion that the engine was trashed based on the loose oil filler cap moving when the car runs at idle.
Say what?
Scotty! Wat do you think about this "issue?" And what do you think about this mechanic? Preying on an elderly couple?
Thanks for your opinion.
Bob
Getting a second opinion today.
Just got the second opinion:
“There’s not a damn thing wrong with this car. It’s in great shape!”
More to the story:
Apparently, “their mechanic” told them that “they should let him flush out the oil because that’s why there is air coming from oil filler cap.” I guess he is relying on Toyota engines getting sludge for that opinion. Sounds like he was just looking for business from an elderly couple.
in the realm of “no good deed goes unpunished,” I am done trying to help them with their car issues and if they want to trust “their mechanic,” it’s on them.
Thank you all for your replies.
the engine needs a compression test
Wat do you think about this "issue?"
This a perfect example of why you should get a mechanic to check out a car before buying it.
My suggestion: Since these folks trust their mechanic but you don't, take it to different mechanic and have him inspect it. Regardless of what the new mechanic finds, show that documentation (good or bad) to your elderly friends. (You might want to incur this cost yourself)
Got a second opinion: "There is not a damn thing wrong with this car. It's in great shape." Scanned it. And checked it all the way around.
Also, come to find out, the Toyota dealer did a 160 point check and decided to keep it on their lot. They keep about 15-20% of trade-ins; the rest go to auction. We were able to get a print out of everything they did. Zero issues.
Case closed. At least for me.
Thank you all for your responses.
good news for you and your elderly friends 👍
The car should be under some kind of used car warranty from the dealer. I'd take it back and tell them what their mechanic said and see what they say.
Maybe get a second opinion.
Would still love to hear from Scotty on this one.
Scotty?
you can ask him live.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/notice/faq/#post-211972