I was not looking to purchase another vehicle, as I already have several, but the opportunity came up to buy a 2001 Echo at what I felt was a "give away" price. The car was not without its problems, but most I was able to fix rather inexpensively.
One of the first things you should do after purchasing a "new to you" vehicle is check out the overall condition of the car. This includes the air pressure in the spare tire and all the fluids. If the oil level is not at the full mark top it up and jot down the mileage. It is important to establish the oil consumption rate on an engine that you suspect is going to consume some oil.
Based on the oil change sticker on the windshield there appeared to be plenty of miles left before the next oil change was due in my 2001 Echo. What was alarming however was how low the oil level was on the dipstick. Not below the "add" mark but low enough that it appears this engine was consuming oil.
Two bottles of Auto-Rx PLUS were added to the oil and the level brought up to the "full" mark. Based on its current oil consumption rate it might be down to the "add" mark after 2800 miles. One thing that I discovered - there is more than a quart between the "add" and "full" marks on the dipstick. As a ball park figure the engine currently appears to be consuming a quart of oil every 2000 miles.
These cars can achieve some pretty impressive fuel economy numbers. My goal was to see if I could achieve 50 MPG and I've already exceeded that. Well once anyway. I will admit my hypermiling skills are lacking, on a day to day basis there is room for improvement.
I look forward to making further improvements to the Echo and document my fuel economy progress in the coming year. I expect great things once I have finished with my Auto-Rx PLUS "clean phase" and enter into the "rinse phase".
