Never assume
 

Im sure most of you have heard the old saying never assume because it makes an ass out of u and me. Ass-u-me im sure you got that already. Anyway. I bought my latest hatchback about 2 months ago and it ran so smoothly i never bothered to check my air filter. Well i calculated my mileage recently on a long road trip and i was only getting 28 mpg. I checked my filter today and sure enough it was clogged with dirt and leaves. I took it on an hour long drive after and the needle barely came off full this time and i noticed a huge improvememt in acceleration even though it wasnt bad before. I learned a lesson today just because things seem ok doesnt mean they are, always check.

Good advice any time a used car is purchased. You never know if the PO ever performed any basic maintenance at all. Unless there are receipts provided for recent services, I'd do an oil change, inspect air filter, check the condition of the trans fluid, test the coolant. Most shops will also offer a vehicle inspection service. I bought an 89 F150 4wd truck several years ago, a $50 shop inspection was well worth the cost. It revealed several items that would need attention, and helped in my price negotiations.

Yeah im doing a tune up today just on gp. I did replace the clutch and tranny oil, has all new oil and motor honey because i have bad rings on one piston, motor honey completely stops the smoke. I was using 50/50 lucas oil but that made start ups take way too long to warm up. I changed the upper and lower radiator hoses and put all new 50/50 premix coolant. It runs awesome, its hard to believe it has bad rings.