Lifetime Fluids: Marketing Lies vs Mechanical Reality.
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Car
Jeep Wrangler
The Jeep Wrangler is a tough vehicle designed for off-road driving. Many people love it for its ability to handle rough terrain and its fun, adventurous style.
Car
Nissan Rogue
The Nissan Rogue is a small SUV that is great for families. It has a lot of space inside and is good on gas, making it a popular choice for everyday driving.
Part
brakes
Brakes are what help a car slow down or stop. They are very important for safety when driving.
Car
Dodge Valiant
The Dodge Valiant is a small car that Dodge made a long time ago. It was known for being dependable and affordable.
Term
cranking over
When you turn the key to start a car, the engine 'cranks over' as it tries to start. If it doesn't sound right, it might mean there's a problem.
Part
alternator
The alternator is a part of your car that makes electricity while the engine is running. It helps keep the battery charged and powers things like the lights and radio.
Part
starter motor
The starter motor is what helps your car's engine start. When you turn the key or push the start button, it spins the engine to get it going.
Part
carburetor
The carburetor is a part that mixes air and fuel so the engine can burn it and run. It's mostly found in older cars since newer ones use a different system called fuel injection.
Term
beater
A 'beater' is a cheap car that you don't worry about too much. It's usually older and not in great shape, but it's good for getting around without spending a lot of money.
Term
lease payments
Lease payments are what you pay each month to use a car that you don't own. At the end of the lease, you give the car back, and you might have the chance to buy it.
Term
buy back mileage
Buying back mileage means paying extra money in your lease so you won't get charged for driving more than the allowed distance. It helps avoid penalties when you return the car.
Term
per kilometer
'Per kilometer' means you get charged a fee for every extra kilometer you drive beyond what's allowed in your lease. It can get expensive if you drive a lot.
Term
cabin air filter
The cabin air filter cleans the air that you breathe inside your car. It helps keep dust and pollen out, making the air fresher and healthier for passengers.
Concept
fleet maintenance
Fleet maintenance is about taking care of a bunch of vehicles that a company owns. It makes sure those cars or trucks are always running well and safe to drive.
Term
scheduled maintenance
Scheduled maintenance is when you take your car in for regular check-ups and services to keep it running well. It's like a doctor's appointment for your car to make sure everything is working properly.
Term
motor oil
Motor oil is a special liquid that helps your car's engine run smoothly by reducing friction between its moving parts. It also helps keep the engine clean.
Term
thermally break down
Thermally break down means that the motor oil can get too hot and stop working well. When this happens, it can't protect the engine like it should, which can cause problems.
Term
big ticket items
'Big ticket items' are things that cost a lot of money to buy or fix. For cars, this usually means parts like the engine or transmission that can be very expensive if they break.
Term
warranty
A warranty is like a promise from the car maker that they'll fix things if they break within a certain time. If your car has a problem and it's still under warranty, you usually won't have to pay for repairs.
Term
four wheel drive
Four wheel drive means that all four wheels of a car can move at the same time. This helps the car drive better on rough roads or in bad weather.
Term
climbing rocks
Climbing rocks means driving a car over big rocks and rough ground. It's something people do when they take their vehicles off-road.
Company
Peterbilt
Peterbilt makes trucks that are used for transporting goods. They are known for being well-built and efficient.
Company
Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks makes big trucks that are used for carrying heavy loads. They are known for being tough and reliable.
Term
HVAC
HVAC is a system that helps keep the inside of cars warm in winter and cool in summer. It makes driving more comfortable.
Term
lifetime fluids
Lifetime fluids are special fluids in cars that are supposed to last a long time without needing to be changed. But they can get dirty and stop working well over time.
Term
degradation
Degradation means that something is breaking down or getting worse over time. In cars, it often refers to fluids that stop working well because they get old or dirty.
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You never know what pops into my head.
Well, we're gonna be talking about this morning,
lifetime fluids.
I love that term, lifetime.
Yeah, lifetime fluids, marketing versus mechanical.
That's where we're gonna kind of pull over and park on,
because that term lifetime has a lot of us fooled.
And so I'm gonna break that out for you
when it comes to fluids.
And I may even talk about filters,
because what's important is that word lifetime
needs to be broken down and dissected
north, south, east, and west.
So you really know what they're really saying
when they say lifetime,
because that's the word that tickles many of our ears
when we're making a purchase on something.
Oh, no, not to worry about maintenance.
No, no, no, no, no, no, you didn't understand me.
This is, has lifetime warranty.
It's good for lifetime.
You never have to change it.
We're gonna talk about that as well.
So stick around.
If you're joining us for the very first time,
we do things a certain way here
in the car connection workshop.
I'm your host, Niall Motormouth Jenkins,
in the driver's seat this morning.
And car connection is brought to you by Niagara Block,
5,000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls,
Building Canada since 1931.
Imagine that.
Building supplies, hardscape, landscaping materials,
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And I was just reading an article yesterday online
about landscaping company, huge.
They do a lot of work and they're saying,
now we're in February,
now is the time to start lining that up.
So there you go.
If you want the lower pay grade contractors
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So that was a word of wisdom
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now is the time to get on our calendar for landscaping.
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We won't go there.
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There's a lot available for you to learn
the fundamental basics about vehicle ownership.
And I'm gonna be working hard in 2026
to change your mindset about it's just a car.
No, it's a fleet vehicle.
And when you practice fleet maintenance,
you will be shocked at how long you can keep
that vehicle going.
Mileage means absolutely nothing.
That's a sales pitch from the pit of hell
and it smells like smoke.
They don't want you maintaining it.
They want it to become a wreck in three to five years
so that you get back on the never, never plan,
making payments and interest
and they move another piece of sheet metal rubber
across the curb.
That's their objective.
Your objective should be if you're interested
in keeping your vehicle long term.
Packing is much mileage on that vehicle as possible.
That's why we have the 300,000 kilometer club,
400,000 K miles club and the 600,000 K miles club.
And my question to you today,
how is it fleet companies can get a million miles,
not kilometers, a million miles out of one of their units
that they're running up and down the highway.
How is that possible if they don't do any maintenance
whatsoever, you just run, run, run, run, run, run, run
and hope for the best.
Is this a good one?
Did they build us a good one?
So I'm planting that seed.
Answer, you have to answer that question.
How is that possible when the sales guy says
you got three, three years, 60,000 K and that's it.
Really, I just look at them and go, really?
That's all you can give me on how much money I'm spending,
60, $65,000, you gotta be stinking kidding me.
Really, what's my ROI on that when it's depreciating
at 15 to 35% per year?
At the end of the day, you can't even buy a Timmy's with it.
Folks, if you're interested in reducing the size
of your repair bills on your car,
keeping that vehicle long-term giving the engine
transmission longevity and stuffing cash back in your wallet.
If that's of interest, you've landed on the right podcast.
You're checking in to the right YouTube channel as well
because that's where I teach you this stuff
so you can see it.
So not just hear it through the microphone here
on the podcast, but see it.
We have almost 200 videos up there from the basics,
where are the fluids?
What do they look like?
How do you find them?
How do you check them?
How do you test a battery?
How do you know if a battery is good, bad, or ugly?
Beyond a shadow of a doubt.
And it frees.
What are we looking for?
How do we test it?
What does a color mean?
I walk you through all of that.
Breaks, why did these breaks fail?
What do we need to do now to bring them back up to par?
All that stuff we cover on our YouTube channel
so that you can put money and stuff it back in your wallet.
Okay, so with that, before I digress
and get into something else,
because that can happen.
It can happen, you know, the spark plug goes off
and my brain goes, oh yeah, let's talk about that.
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Excuse me, I'm still suffering with this winter,
whatever it is, I don't know what it is.
Man, that looks like a lock washer.
Anyways, we have a beverage together, you ready?
On three, two, one, raise your cup, whatever it is,
if it's Tai Chi or Fulong, doesn't matter.
We drink coffee, copious quantities of 99.5%
octane boost, so let's have a sip together
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to each and every one of you, three, two, one.
Yeah, that's happening, for sure.
You know what, folks, it's Friday, it's Friday, friends.
Mm-hmm, we've made it, for some of us,
we've made it to the weekend, for others,
you worked the weekend and I've worked weekends
for over 31 years.
I don't know what having a Saturday off is like
unless I take off to my brother-in-law's cottage
and do a little fishing and just a little rest.
Yeah, then Saturdays, what day is it?
Oh, it's Tuesday, you lose track of time.
Anyhow, let's take a look at the weather.
I heard about it yesterday,
I thought I better let you know this morning
on your drive what you can expect.
I've done all that I needed to do on the road this week
and got it done early in the week
because I had heard through my pops
that snow was coming in later in the week
and here's what we have.
In the Niagara region, blowing snow advisory.
So please be safe out there, slow down,
adjust your driving to the road conditions, all right?
And give the road crews lots of space
as they work to try and keep us on the road,
not in the rhubarb or upside down in the ditch.
Blowing snow advisory, these conditions are expected
by 1 p.m. today, Friday, February 6th.
Hazy conditions expected around 8 a.m.
Wind gusts up to 22 kilometers an hour
are making the temperature feel like nine degrees
and my phone is in degrees and inches.
Yeah, I believe that the metric system
is a tool of the devil.
That's why I had to have two toolboxes
back in the day when metric system came in,
bought all my tools as an apprentice at that time,
all in SAE for some idiot to bring in the metric system.
That was great for the Snap-on and Mac tool trucks, guys.
They were rubbing their hands together,
going, goodie, goodie, goodie, we get to get them again.
We had to buy, so imagine you got a toolbox full of SAE tools.
Now you gotta buy them all over again in metric.
Is that dumb or dumbest or dumberer?
I'm not sure, but that was like
making the purchase from ground zero all over again.
And no, we were not as mechanics.
If you didn't own a business,
you couldn't write your tools off,
but a plumber with a bucket full of goods
and a plumber's crack, he can write that all off all day long.
Yeah, but us auto service techs, no,
unless you own the shop you're working for,
no, you get to write off nothing.
So anyways, I thought I'd throw that in there.
Okay, here's the rest of the forecast.
I just pulled up some more
so you can get all the details.
15 degrees right now in cloudy in the Niagara region.
Wind is making it feel colder, about nine degrees.
Hazy conditions expected around eight a.m.
Today's temperature range,
eight degrees to a balmy 26,
but it's gonna feel like with the wind,
minus nine to 19 degrees.
So dress warm, make sure you got your travel goodies
in the car in case something should happen.
A full jug of washer fluid, not a partial.
Yep, I've learned my lesson big time, let me tell you.
So full jug goes in the rear
and I get another jug off the shelf
and I fill up the washer fluid bottles.
So I am ready to do business with the road slop.
Exactly, and you don't how much that stuff
you can go through just getting to work one direction.
So make sure you also park your vehicle out of the wind.
Get the engine bay out of the wind today
because that wind chill and blowing snow
will pack your engine out.
And I remember one time when I was working
for Mack Trucks of Canada and I was on Long Shift,
which started at three.
We finished at 1.30 in the morning
and it had been snowing like the devil all day.
And I drove into work from Hamilton
to Queensway and Kipling.
That's where the dealership was,
was 91 of us service tax.
In this ginormous building and there was a back shop
where they built new trucks
and customized trucks back there.
So I was on swing shift.
So I started the overlap about an hour with day shift.
So we go in at three and get our packet
and our working orders and whatnot
and what bay we're gonna be working in.
We worked in pairs.
So anyways, it's 1.30 in the morning.
So I'm heading out and you couldn't even see the cars
in the parking lot.
Like, I mean, you couldn't tell what color they were.
So it's 1.30 in the stinkin' morning
and I had this little 1976 valiant.
First Dodge I ever owned.
It was good.
I brushed off the driver's door, got my hand in there,
cranked it over and it didn't sound right.
Cranking over, I'm like, uh-oh.
It's gonna be a long night.
So I opened the hood and it's completely flat
in there with snow.
Like it's white, solid and it's shaped
like the underside of the hood.
You don't want that to happen
because you gotta dig it all out.
You can't just start the engine.
You gotta dig it out, get everything out
from around the distributor, all the ignition,
the starter motor, the alternator, the carburetor.
You gotta dig it out.
So there I am, 1.30 in the morning digging out my engine
because I parked it the wrong direction.
It was blowing in the parking lot
and it stuffed the engine bay completely full.
So I share that to say, don't let that happen to you
because that is not fun.
Because you can't just get in under the hood
and get ramy and pulling and digging like a wild rodent
because you're gonna unplug stuff,
break some wiring and then it won't start.
So yeah, it's a project.
So you wanna make sure that that park,
I say all that to say how important that is.
It may sound trivial to park the front of the nose
of the vehicle out of the wind.
That's the reason why.
And I went and did a service call for a single mom
last week in the same thing applied.
I went and got the battery out
and it's good we rescued it the day before
because one more day it would have been non-rescuable.
Went back to put it in and the van had,
she had turned the, got the vehicle started
and had turned it around so the nose of it
was facing in the west wind
and there's a hard west wind where they're located.
So when I opened the hood to put the battery back in,
it was filling up with snow.
So that's what you don't want.
So let's jump into our topic this morning,
which isn't a really long one,
but it is a very important one.
Very, very important.
So we wanna say thank you to Rainbow Motors,
Rita and Ramiz Shenoud up in Scarborough, Ontario
with Rainbow Motors and Garage Sales
in service you can trust night and day.
These guys been with our on air radio program
car connection for many years
and now we're all fully digital and they're still with us
and that's fantastic because that's an area,
for all the flat earth, there's not too far from Scarborough,
you can't drive over the edge
and go underneath the flat world.
Yeah, haven't quite figured that one out yet,
but Scarborough I hear is like close to the edge
and it's great to have the brothers up there
to take care of you because they will take great care of you.
So whether you're looking to purchase a vehicle,
they have a small car lot there.
Some of the vehicles qualify for extended
aftermarket warranties and there are a couple of companies
that are really good to deal with
for aftermarket warranty if that gives you a peace of mind,
but sales and service.
So you can purchase a vehicle there
and also have it service there
and they service all years, makes and models
including an up to light commercial vehicle.
So check in with Rita and Ramiz Shenoud
the brothers up in Scarborough
at Rainbow Motors and Garage Sales
and service that you can certainly trust.
All right, let's dive right into this this morning.
Did that make sense?
Let's dive right into this this morning.
Yeah, it works.
Lifetime fluids.
First of all, I'm circling right now that word lifetime
because here's where we have to unpack the word salad.
Yeah, don't get me started on that topic.
We don't have enough time.
There's only 168 hours in a week
and we can't make it to 171.
I've tried.
Lifetime.
What does that really mean?
What does it really mean?
Well, on a number of packages,
if you see the word lifetime
and you take the time to read the small print,
the company will tell you what that really means.
Exactly.
Time or mileage, month or year.
So they will actually bust themselves
by having to tell you what their meaning of lifetime is
but you gotta be willing to look for it.
And in some cases, it's tricky.
They hide it very well in the very small print
that looks almost non-existent.
Like I don't even know how they can make print that small.
Yeah, what font is that exactly?
I don't know.
I can't figure it out.
So in the automotive world,
let's break down what the manufacturers say
and what the dealer level says.
They use a lot of lifetime.
Well, what it means in the automotive industry
is the time by days or months or years or mileage.
Whichever one you hit first,
that's the end of the lifetime warning.
So when you hear that word lifetime,
you really should cringe because that's not true.
Whatever it is.
Lifetime antifreeze, no.
Lifetime maintenance-free batteries, no.
Lifetime fluids, no.
And I'm gonna give you the Margaret Thatcher
no this morning, I feel up to it.
No.
No.
No.
Correct.
So you got that?
You've just been thatched.
Yeah.
Well, here's somebody in the shop saying no.
I go, I think at warrants.
Thatch, no.
Okay, I'm on it.
Is you have to understand the meaning behind that.
Is that what they want you to hear?
And that's what you want to hear is maintenance-free.
Lifetime warranty.
And none of it is true.
Don't buy into the lie.
I just made that up.
I like that.
We should put that on a shirt.
Don't buy into the lie.
When you hear those words, lifetime and warranty,
you need to start looking for what that really means
and ask, what does that really mean exactly?
They'll hesitate to give you an answer.
They'll give you what we call, I call the non-answer answer.
You can ask them a yes or no question,
like some other things that we can't talk about right here.
And a yes, a question that requires only a yes or a no,
but you'll get this, because that point you should say,
I'm smelling what you're selling, okay?
So lifetime on an automobile is the day the warranty runs out
or you hit that magic kilometer and it's over.
You got zip and I've seen that happen.
And I've seen it happen with people that have taken out
a lease and they've hit the mileage within the first two
years and they still have another whole year
to go on the lease and they've had the park it
and go on by a beater.
Yeah, and you're making the lease payments,
but you're going to go over mileage
and they're going to crush you per kilometer
for going over mileage unless you got to relist
into that podcast, leasing versus buying.
Unless you buy back mileage, then you can blow over it,
but you're going to pay per kilometer.
And if you don't buy back mileage,
then the question you need to ask is every kilometer
I blow over, what are you going to charge me for that?
And make sure it's in writing.
Yeah, so you're going to pay for those kilometers.
Yeah, that's a great, we'll do that podcast again.
That's totally 100% perfect example of the never,
never plan for the average Joe that doesn't own a corporation
that needs to write down income.
Leasing for you is not a great idea whatsoever.
If you're working with a financial planner,
certified financial planner, you're not going to hear them
say, that's a great idea, you should do that.
No, you will not hear that.
So where are we at with fluids?
They are not lifetime.
And I'm going to put them all in one package.
One, heating and cooling.
That's what happens to fluids.
And thermal breakdown happens.
I don't care what brand it is.
I don't care if it's purple, pink, blue or orange.
It breaks down thermally from the constant heating,
cooling, heating, cooling, heating, cooling.
Every moment of every kilometer you drive,
the fluids are degrading and they're getting contaminated.
Their lifetime fluids do not shed dirt.
Okay, if I came into your home and said,
yeah, our carpets, they shed dirt.
Yeah, you never have to vacuum them
and they come with lifetime warning.
Like if your dog has a mistake on the carpet,
you just flick it right off.
It actually rejects it.
It just kicks it off the carpet.
You'd look at me and go, you're an idiot, wouldn't you?
Be nice about it though, at the same time.
So fluids don't know they're dirty.
Fluids don't know how much dirt they've picked up.
Fluids don't know how many times
they've been heated and cooled, heated and cooled
and they are on the cusp of not being able to protect
the mechanical devices that they're supposed to protect.
Fluids are not lifetime.
They're not.
So what do they really mean?
There's a window of time and kilometers
that the fluid will be okay, but here's what I have to ask.
And a great example is an engine air filter.
And I remember one time asking my factory representative,
I said, Mike, how can the owner's manual
in the maintenance section tell you
that you need a new air filter, engine air filter,
every 12,000 kilometers?
I said, that's a stinking lot of mileage.
And he says, Val, you know Naya is only a suggestion.
He was from Piviria.
I'm like, oh, does the consumer know that?
Like I don't see anything on the front of the maintenance
book that says all these services are only suggestions.
Answer, it's a yes or no, right?
No, that's up to consumer to figure that out.
So where am I going with this?
Anything that anyone is trying to sell you
on your automobile that has lifetime warranty,
there is a perimeter.
There's a perimeter and you have to seek it.
You have to ask, is it 120 days?
Or in a lot of cases, it'd be one year, 20,000 kilometers.
That was pretty much standard in the industry
when I had my own shop on the Hamilton Mountain
for 11 years, one year, 20,000 K.
If we bought an engine from somewhere,
that's what they give us.
If we bought a pre-owned engine from somewhere,
it'd be 120 days, right?
120 days from the day of purchase,
not the day you turn the key and it's in the car
and it's running, that's not how it works.
From the day it lands and you got the invoice
and we paid for that motor, the meter's running.
120 days, not mileage, 120 days.
If we bought a remanufactured engine,
it'd be one year, 20,000 K on a lot of items
that we bought that came into the shop.
Fluids are exactly the same way.
They're only gonna last so long.
And a company stating that it's lifetime,
the fluids are good for lifetime,
are setting you up for mechanical catastrophe,
mechanical failure.
It's not a one time thing.
That's what I'm trying to say.
No, no, no, no, plus no, times no,
divided by no equals no.
The answer to that is no.
And if that person that's selling me that
is standing in front of me, I'm going to take
their lunch money and their milk money away from them
because I'm gonna blow more holes in their Swiss cheese.
Nicely.
Fluids do not know when they're dirty.
So back to the air filter.
So I say, Mike, what if, and at that time
I was living out in the countryside,
my nearest neighbor was like 2.5 kilometers away.
So he didn't need any fences.
They were, you know, make a call
and you'd see the billowing dust coming down the dirt road.
They're coming to help you.
And I explained that to him.
I go, would that person driving that car
have an engineer filter last 12,000 kilometers
living on dusty, dirty back roads?
Well, you know an aisle, he'd say.
I go, what?
How can they say 12,000 kilometers?
That guy's engineer filter is gonna be plugged
in probably six months.
Plugged solid.
If he hangs on for 12K, he's gonna burn the engine,
clean out.
And he just looked at me.
That was my answer.
And I go, it's a very vague suggestion, isn't it?
You don't know when that car comes off the assembly line
where it's going, who's owning it
and what are the conditions where that car
is gonna be living or is it living in severe conditions?
Like gravel roads are the toughest thing
on any automobile anywhere at any time.
They're dusty, they're dirty all the time.
Your car is covered in dust all the time
getting sandblasted by that dust all the time.
So the vehicle's gonna plug up an engineer filter,
cabin air filter in no time flat.
So it all comes back on the consumer.
You're either a conned consumer
or a prosumer, that means you're a professional consumer.
You see through the muck and the lies and the word salad.
So it all circles back to fleet maintenance,
repairs and maintenance, preventative maintenance,
scheduled maintenance, that's the way you're gonna beat it.
Because thinking that you just have to buy that can,
that lustrous can of motor oil
and pay the big bouca bucks for it
and put that into your engine
and you're good for lifetime.
No, you're not, no, you're not.
It's going to thermally break down,
get saturated with dirt
and there's no service light for that folks.
Fluids are not monitored.
Cooling system is monitored,
but it doesn't tell you the condition of your antifreeze.
It doesn't and there's no lifetime antifreeze,
there's no lifetime batteries,
there's no maintenance free batteries,
there's no lifetime anything, that's where I'm going.
Trust me, 44 years as an auto service tech
and still going like the Energizer Bunny.
Yeah, I like that, like the Energizer Bunny.
I did some grunt work yesterday
and feel like I can scratch the bottom of my feet
standing up with my hands.
Yeah, lifting some heavy stuff.
He gads, man, who should have to do that?
Skippy, get that done.
So I want you to fully understand that
and that's a lie from the pit of hell, lifetime.
If you want to watch a really good YouTube channel,
I'm going to put a plug in for him
because he does a fantastic job.
Lake is his name, his father was Lake Speed,
very famous NASCAR driver
and Lake has a channel called Motor Oil Geek
and I'll tell you what, he loses me
in some of the breakdowns that he does
but he goes through motor oil completely
and tells you what's going on in today's world
with engines winding up the way they are
and consuming oil.
It's all in design because the manufacturers know
that you're running these cars up and down the road
like you stole them.
Like if it breaks, somebody else is paying for it.
I don't know, I can't understand that philosophy
that you're going to drive the living stink
out of that car, home to work, home to work,
home to work, home to work
and if you blow that motor up,
it's not covered by warranty, how are you paying for that?
And like, what happens at that point?
You know, today was the day the motor blows up,
transmission lets go, these are big ticket items.
How are you paying for that?
If you're still paying for the car
and it's not covered by warranty
because you're out by mileage or time,
so there's no lifetime warranty.
Do many of you think about that stuff?
You know, we used to always say
when we were building four wheel drives
or you buy an expensive four wheel drive
and you're going out on weekends and muddin' it
and beatin' it up and everything, play hard, pay hard,
that's what our boss would always say.
Play hard, pay hard, you gotta be willing to, you know,
you break something huge,
you gotta be willing to pay for it
and get it back out on the road.
Are you thinking about that?
Why not go buy a beater four wheel drive
and if you hit a tree or a rock punctures the floor
or whatever, who cares?
Patch it up with some old license plates and keep going.
But buying a $60,000 four wheel drive vehicle
and taking it out and climbin' rocks and stuff,
I can't wrap my head around that.
Paying $50,000 for a car and driving it like you stole it,
like if it blows up, somebody else is paying.
I can't wrap my head around that
because there's no logic in it.
There's no logic.
If you wanna drive a vehicle and keep it long term,
longevity and keep it for 300, 400, 600,
you gotta listen to that podcast.
I think I did that last week or the week before.
We were talking about that.
You can do it, it's very easily doable,
but you gotta change your mindset that, you know what,
when you get in, you put the key in it and you start it,
there's the thing called vehicle ownership.
You own it.
So if you blow it up, you're paying.
And if you don't have the money to replace it
because the motor's gonna be $16,000,
how are you comin' up with that?
What's your game plan for next week
to get back and forth to work?
Do you think about that?
I don't know.
But this program is really not for that person.
It's not because what I'm telling you
is what I've learned in over 44 years in the industry
with my Light Truck Passenger Vehicle License
for repairs and service,
all the way up to Mack,
Mack Trucks, Peterbilts, tractors, you name it.
And HVAC, Heating and Air Conditioning on Automobiles.
I can't wrap my head around any of that.
So I leave you with this.
Beware of those who are telling you and telling you
maintenance-free, lifetime warranty.
There is a loophole for them to get out of that.
And it's up to the consumer to be a professional consumer,
a prosumer, not a conned consumer.
They don't have to disclose everything, only something.
So when I see even the term premium today,
I insert the word junk because there was a time
when premium meant top of the line.
It doesn't anymore.
It's become part of the word salad.
Premium equals junk.
Good stuff cheap.
Really?
Good stuff cheap makes me laugh every time.
Good stuff cheap.
Really?
Okay.
So I hope I didn't beat on you too much,
but you need to know this stuff,
to put money back in your wallet.
Own that vehicle and keep it like I do
as long as you want to.
My last vehicle, 16 years.
I kept one actually 16 years.
People usually say, can I buy that?
Look, I'll give you, what do you want for it?
And it's like, no, get away.
No, not even if you lick it.
You can't have it even if you lick it.
So don't, don't lick my car.
Anyhow, I make fun of it, but you know what?
There's so many ways that if you grab hold of my coattails
that you can put money back in your wallet
and own and operate an older automobile
that's reliable, safe, and secure for you and your family
and maintain the thing like it's the last vehicle
on the planet that you're ever going to be able
to get your hands on it.
And yeah, it's okay if you lick it.
It's good.
Yeah.
So lifetime.
If lifetime fluids pick up dirt, they're heated,
they're cooled, they deteriorate.
Degregation is the term in my world, the automotive world.
They break down and they're done.
They're done.
So then now they're not protecting the components
that you think that you're protecting them
with a product that is lifetime warranty.
What are they paying for anyway?
So let me ask you this.
So if you buy that fancy motor oil or transmission oil
or power steering oil with these so-called additives
in there, if the engineers wanted to build the oil
and put additives in, they would.
They put the additives in already.
So we'll talk about that another time.
Additives and product enhancement thing.
So yeah, we'll break that down another program
because there's a whole story behind all that too.
Additives and this and that, adding into products
to make them better, make them last longer.
It's not true.
It's snake oil.
It's a selling feature.
That's what we wanna hear as human beings.
Tickle our ears with the words maintenance free,
lifetime warranty good for the life of the vehicle.
I love that one because again,
it boils down to mileage or month.
That's the lifetime of the vehicle, the lifetime.
It's not 25 years.
Yeah, like a jail sentence, 25 to life.
No, lifetime warranty.
Always has a limitation.
And so what are they paying for when your engine blows
and you had that expensive motor oil in there
that's lifetime?
You never have to change it.
What are they gonna pay for?
They're not gonna pay for anything
because they already know what the back door is.
Yeah, so let's pull over and park that one.
What are we gonna be talking about tomorrow
on Saturday morning?
Well, let me see if I can find that.
I have it right here.
Yeah, we've made it to the weekend for some of us.
We'll see you for another edition
of Motormouth's Morning Drive
for those who are on the road tomorrow morning
being Saturday.
Short trips versus long trips.
What actually wears cars out?
I've talked about this a little bit in depth
about vehicles that have low mileage
versus vehicles that have tons of mileage
and which one would be the one that I would buy
if I was looking for a pre-owned vehicle.
Yeah, I did break that down in another conversation
but this is gonna be a little bit different.
So tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. on Saturday,
short trips versus long trips, what actually wears out?
We're gonna break that down a little bit more.
So drive safe out there.
Weather's gonna be a little bit wintry, wacky.
It could get extreme.
So be prepared for that.
Make it a great Friday, happy Friday to all of you
and enjoy your weekend when you get there,
whatever that looks like.
And keep it under 100, put that coffee on
because I think we'll come to your house.
So peace, patience, kindness always
and we'll see you tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.
for another edition of the Car Connection Workshop.
Bye for now.
About this episode
Lifetime fluids are often marketed as maintenance-free, but the reality is quite different. Nile Motormouth Jenkins dives into the misleading nature of the term 'lifetime' when it comes to automotive fluids and filters, emphasizing the importance of regular maintenance. He challenges common misconceptions about vehicle longevity, advocating for a fleet maintenance mindset to extend the life of your car. With humor and practical advice, this episode aims to empower listeners to take control of their vehicle's upkeep and avoid costly repairs.
Original notes
Manufacturers love terms like lifetime fluids, sealed systems, and maintenance - free - but fluids don't know when they're dirty, degraded, or worn out.
In this episode, we break down the difference between marketing language and mechanical reality, and why blindly trusting "lifetime" claims can lead to expensive failures down the road.
Fluids break down. Additives deplete. Contaminants build up. That's not opinion - that's chemistry and wear.
This is your reminder to think like professional consumer, not a con-sumer. Learn how to see through the word salad, protect your mechanicals, and avoid the false sense of security that costs owners thousands.
More episodes and project Details are available at Car Connection BusinessNetwork.com (ccbusnet.com) you'll find everything on our homepage if you'd like to follow the build/repair work we do & connect with our program partners Thank You! Grab some Car Connection Motormouth Merch, Proceeds to help those struggling with addiction get the help they need at Total Freedom Addiction Campuses Canada & USA A New Life Awaits them there! Tnx a bunch Nile Motormouth Jenkins. Keep Watching & Listening and help us to grow our community, Peace Patience Kindness Always, NMJ
Car Connection Workshop
Nile Jenkins
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