sung35

Since the search is not working, I need to ask those who knows about car, or have heard about it.

I recently bought a 05 Camry as a beater ( ) for my 2000 GS4 with 44k miles. I want to keep my GS4 in the garage as my toy, so I will not drive it much, except maybe one or twice a month, 100 miles top (1000 miles/year). For this kind of usage, how often should I have the oil change? Once a year, every 6 months, or 3 months? Any why? Can I do oil change every 3000 miles, which might be in about 3 years?

Any advice is appreciate.

pat5000

On my S2000, I may drive it 2-3 times a month. I change the engine oil every 6 months. I change the rear end and manual tranny fluid every 2 years. I use only synthetic fluids.

TTurboPimp

iTrader: (12)

Im in the same situation........believe it or not, its actually worse for the car to sit without being run much. I would try to at least get the car out of the garage and started once a week. I would also change the oil more frequently than you usually would....do it by time instead of mileage. Oil has a tendency to "sludge up" in an engine that isnt ran much......or just turned on and off to get in and out of the garage. I just had the opportunity to see the inside of an engine that went through this pattern......it wasnt pretty....sludge everywhere.

RRocket

Yep..it's actually worse to NOT drive a car. Oil has detergents in it that clean the engine and prevent sludge and other buildups. Bushings, joints, shocks and even tires can start to dry up. I've never figured out why people leave a car such as a GS400, which isn't likey to ever appreciate, as a garage queen. Drive that ****.
I love my GS so much I WANT to drive it as often as possible. It's not unusual for me to put 4,000 on it in one month...Great cars are meant to be driven. Beats me why you'd rather drive a Camry (yawn) than a GS400...

Hameed

Very valid points and I feel absolutely the same way about my GS - I want to drive it all the time............................... but with winter around the corner and all the salt and sand that is dumped on our roads my GS becomes a garage queen from Dec. 1st to March 31st.

I put gas stabilizer in the gas tank, hook up a trickle charger to the battery and don't touch it for 4 months. It just kills me to not drive it, but I would rather not subject it to our harsh winters. Yes I know it can easily handle our harsh winters, but it hurts me when I see all that salt on the car and god knows where else it potentially creeps into ..........

Plus, with my Tein Flex suspension setup and my TTE lip I am barely 4 inches off the ground - can you say snow plough? I would also have to buy some wimpy winter tires and rims and store the HRE's. (space and money that I would rather not spare).

TAMR_GUS98

With the car sitting for sooooo long, you would need to at least jumpt start the car as the battery would die on you. And just starting it up just to keep the battery fresh would also not be a good thing. when started cold the engine runs on the rich side of the air/fuel mixture. Repeatedly doing this over time is what contributes to the sludge build-up in the crankcase. Weather permitting, you would be better off driving the car at least once a week. And changing the oil every 3 months. Hope this helps you. And by the way. I would love to drive your car for you once a week. Just to help you out of course. He he

Will

sung35

Thank you for all your responses. They were very educational. So in conclusion I should use the car in the weekend, and have the car service by its age, not milage.

If you haven't driven a Camry lately, test drive it. You will be very surprise. I bought the Camry because going to work is 45 miles each way, and I live in the rural area. Second, GS400 is terrible in snow.

Hameed, thanks for the tip about gas stabilizer. Does that help the moiture in the tank?

Let see how it goes 20 years from now.