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Another Fuel Question

Southern Ray

Southern Ray

Well-known Member
George's fuel question below reminds me of a question I have pondered for some time. All over south Texas I see many lots of new and used vehicles for sale.
I recently made two trips to Lubbock, Texas. On the way I saw many sales lots full of all types of vehicles and machinery from sedans to construction machinery.
Every on of these vehicles and machinery has a fuel tank. In each tank I would venture to say there is at least five gallons of fuel.
So do the salesman go out every week or so and start and run the engines and charge the batteries? Or do they just sit and wait for the next buyer?
How about all the cars, pickups, trucks, and machinery sitting in the new sales lots. Are salesmen or mechanics assigned to a group of vehicles he is to tend?
Every vehicle I have purchased I started and drove it. Everyone of them started the first time and ran good.
 
Most car lots will re shuffle the deck at least once a week, moving cars around the lot. Parking the cars in a different order, so they catch the eye of a perspective buyer. Cars shouldnt sit on the lot for more than a month, or dealer is going to loose $$
 
My combine sits from fall, [in 2020 I was done in October] until the next summer. It usually gets started and moved around some in between times. My tractors, and various small engines also sit for months at a time. No problems.
My neighbor brings in machinery from out of state. It seems fairly typical that the big tractors and combines run fine at first, but then once in the field, fuel filters plug up. I assume it's the prevalence of bio-fuels used elsewhere?
 


starting an engine and running it for a short time periodically is severe service and is bad for any vehicle. One of the products is water. Most of the water produced goes out the exhaust. A little goes into the crankcase oil. One the motor has done a little work the oil gets hot enough for all of the water to evaporate. If the motor does no work but sits and idles, water builds up in the oil. If this continues the oil starts to lose its lubricity, and the moisture starts to cause corrosion. Engines that run with only infrequent cool-offs go more many miles and hours, that an engine that cools off twice a day.
 
In a modern vehicle with a computer the battery either needs to be disconnected or charged every month to 6 weeks, or it may not start. We leave our 13 Silverado sit in the garage for 4 months, with one cable disconnected, and it started with the original battery,8 years old, without charging! Like Bruce said, dealers regularly move vehicles around, wash them, and park them differently.
 
Big Ford dealer up the highway keeps from 200 to 300 F150s in stock. I have bought new there several times, and one time battery had too be jumped to move it to the sales office, and another time battery was so dead it wouldn't take a jump and had to be replaced on the lot. Started buying Toyotas because the dealer has a more manageable inventory and the trucks at least start.
 
New (for the last 30 years?) road vehicles have emission features on their fuel systems that seem to keep fuel from going bad as fast as it does in a bulk storage tank.
 
It depends on the lot, they come in all forms, well run businesses to sleazy tote the note scum.

I haven't spent much time on new car lots, but I suspect being new there would be very low chance of dead batteries or bad gas. If they have that slow turn over, they won't be in business long!

Used lots is a different story. I've been on some bargain hunts that resulted in many no starts or dead battery, or no battery, flats, you name it!

Heavy equipment, I suspect a lot of them sit for extended periods waiting on the right buyer. If I found what I was looking for, and the price was right, I would not let a dead battery be a deal killer.
 
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