I have been trained over the years to change the oil in my vechiles from between 3000 to 5000 miles. I average about 3000 miles a month on my vechile. It is split between city and highway driving.

So my new van ( 2009) Chev, has a oil computer, that tells you when the oil needs to be changed by watching how you drive and engine usage. So I am at 4000 miles on the new van, ( so I am ready to change the oil) but the truck says it is only 55 percent used which means I would be going to about 7000 miles before I changed oil.

Are the rules on oil changes differnet now ? Or was I a victim of oil change store advertising before

In my opinion, if you changed oil at 3000, you were a victim, I've always went with 5000 and never had an oil related failure. I still change at 5000 and just reset the oil monitor, I've seen as high as 7000 plus before the oil monitor calls for a change.

My thought, of course I drive all of my cars to about 300,000. My other two vechiles are over 20 years old, and run and start like new. Think I will stick with the 5000 and see how that works

I'm like you, I just recently let go a 94 lumina (let sons girlfriend have) now we have my truck(97) and wife's 08 grand prix. I'll keep the 97 another few years.

We do all our own maintenance and repairs, I'm curious, do you?

Not any more, when my 4 older sons where at home ( they are in their 30's now) we even had a lift in the yard to pull engines of all their friends cars, and a few rear ends over the years.

I have a 89 chev truck that is getting close to 300,000, it will start first time you turn it over, I seldom drive it, and keep a solar charger on it to keep battery up. Now it is a well used body, a work truck with a lift gate, not a part of it, not dented

Now my pride and joy is my Mercury Grad Marquis, it is a 91 and looks like it did when it drove off the show room, ( just had a new leather top put on) When I drive it into the dealership, all the salesmen want to drive it around the lot, ( I laugh, it is a longer vechile than my large van I just got)

Short trips where the car doesn't have a chance to warm up is the most detrimental to an engine.

In 82, my Toyota had a 10K recommended interval. I did it 2x/year and put on about 12K/yr. 235K and 17 yrs later it as still ticking.