And since the timing belt issue has been solved by everybody, let's look at the oil change recommendations.
many manufacturers will give you two different recommendations based on whether your car sees "extreme duty" or not. Cars that see extreme duty get 3,000 mile oil changes. The rest get 5,000. 6,000 is REALLY pushing it.
Now here's the trick. Car manufacturers know that they can sell more cars if they tell people it'll be longer between scheduled oil changes. So they've redefined what extreme duty means. Basically, if you do anything but long drives on the highway - any stop and go in town or in rush hour, any starting and stopping the engine (as in when running errands) etc, and you're in the "extreme duty" category.
What's this mean to you? Get it done every 3,000 miles. No question.
As you run your engine, not only does the oil break down over time, but it also picks up tiny metal particles from your engine, and little bits of dirt from what gets past the air filter, and little bits of unburned fuel, and water, and all sorts of other crap that mixes with the oil and makes it less. . well. . oily. As you keep running it you get more and more of these shavings, which means the oil can't do as effective a job at lubricating your engine. In short, change the oil every 3,000 miles.
Look at it this way. It's 20 bucks an oil change. The average person drives around 11,500 miles a year. Let's say you drive 20,000 miles per year. The difference between every 3,000 and every 6,000 is 3 oil changes. If you're really willing to risk destroying your engine for sixty bucks a year. . . .well, all I can say is, start buying cheaper cars
