Engine Oil Colour

[john2]

hello everyone,im in the process of buying a 2000 reg is 200 sport,its from a private seller so no warranty.The car has a full lex sh for its 40k miles but when i checked the oil level it was half way between max and min.The oil is very black even though it is 1k off its next service,is this normal? i thought the oil should be a brownish gold colour like any other car.i would say the car has been driven hard as the seller was informing me about the rev limiter.are these engines able for this kind of driving or should i stay well away.hope someone can help me, thanks

[Chris.S]

all i can say is the more the car is used the cleaner the oil stays

[Bazza]

if the next service is due i wouldnt have thought the oil would be anything other than black

as for the rev limiter, its not hard to find out when it is, it comes in relatively low, its the rev limiter which saves the engine,

the engine is an old one which has proven itself over many years, it has its weaknesses but then so do all engines

[legendswraith]

if the oil is black and half used it sounds like whoever is selling the car uses it for short journeys that has the effect of giving you dodgy coloured oil and will use oil if the engine never gets chance to get warm

[AltezzaScott]

as has already been said.... if the car is nearing its service the oil will be black

[legendswraith]

as has already been said.... if the car is nearing its service the oil will be black

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mind u i change my oil every 5000 miles so its too scared to change colour in case it gets evicted :D

[Mr Morse]

Remember that oil technology has come a long way even in the past 10 years and is formulated to hold particles in suspension, unlike previously where the sludge collected in the sump. This will result in a blacker looking oil, almost right from the minute it is filled.

[AltezzaScott]

as has already been said.... if the car is nearing its service the oil will be black

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mind u i change my oil every 5000 miles so its too scared to change colour in case it gets evicted :D

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i change mine every 6k mate, nest way i think..... my oil sometimes comes out clean...lol

[puresilk]

If the oil is black it needs changing, and as said previously if its close to a service it would more than likely be black anyhow.

[Mr Morse]

If the oil is black it needs changing, and as said previously if its close to a service it would more than likely be black anyhow.

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No - modern formulated especially synthetic oil is designed to carry particles in suspsension, so no more having to flush the sump, so the oil may appear dark immediately after a change. The secret is to change the oil and filter regularly, I do mine every 3K.

[legendswraith]

If the oil is black it needs changing, and as said previously if its close to a service it would more than likely be black anyhow.

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No - modern formulated especially synthetic oil is designed to carry particles in suspsension, so no more having to flush the sump, so the oil may appear dark immediately after a change. The secret is to change the oil and filter regularly, I do mine every 3K.

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this is a game of one upmanship now i am going to start changing my oil every 200k :P :D