Was at my dealer on Thursday when one of the techs gave up on a 91 244 that was in for a "Noise" in the engine. Well lets see, the owner could not remember when the oil was last changed. The oil was down to a quart and a half and black as coal. The coolent level was only about 3/4 full and "PURE" water. The owner stated that this Noise had been there for about four weeks. The transmission had NEVER been serviced at all in the 103K miles it had been driven. To make the long and short of it, The valve train was gone with a worn down cam shaft. The racket coming from under that valve cover told the story. The engine compartment was filthy with dirt and oil crud everywhere. This moron KILLED the car and all he could do was complain about it being the worst car he has ever owned. When they told him it would be cheaper to get another engine instead of fixing it he came as close as you could accusing the dealer of lying and trying to rip him off. They were not even trying to get him a new one, they quoted him $600-$750 installed for a used engine. He shut up real quick when he came over to my car. I was standing there shooting the breeze with the tech working on my car. I guess he wanted someone to listen to him complain. He looked at my car and my clean engine compartment and said what do you have on this. I said 260K, original engine and transmission. His eyes got big and his jaw dropped. I walked to the back of the car and pointed to my 100K and 200K badges. He asked why my engine has lasted so long. I looked him straight in the eye and said
"When you change your oil every 3000K miles ANY engine will last 200K plus miles". All I saw was this Blank Stare. He said "OH" and walked away.