because at 3,000 mile a year, there is a good chance the engine rarely gets warm and you get condensation inside the engine every time it is run. That contaminates the oil as do the acids from incomplete combustion. If you smell the oil from a car which only does low miles and a lot of short journeys, it is a mix of unburned fuel and acids - horrible..
And anyone who knows anything about car engines knows the worst wear occurs when engines are cold and in stop/start driving.. which cars doing a lot more miles will be less subject to..
Are we making correct assumptions about low usage? I may be non typical, but I dropped my mileage a few years ago, by cutting out the short runs (that my DPF really did not like), and more recently the 10-20 mile trips (taking my late mother "out for a drive"). Now all that is left are the long 60Mile+ trips, possibly once a week.
If we do not understand the usage patterns are we making incorrect decisions about: - maintenance - petrol/diesel choice - internal combustion / electric choice?
Too often we read "rules of thumb", but do they necessarily apply to our own personal usage patterns?
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