Quote Originally Posted by redrob View Post
Its nothing that I have gone into researching.............its just something that I have heard as well. When I would get a new car it wasnt to save gas so I wouldnt check to see what my MPG was and when I bought this car (to save gas) it was used. I do remember there being some rumors about engine shavings and impurities in the oil for a new engine but I dont know if that affected MPG or if it is even true( again I dont care enough to go do some scientific research) to begin with. BTW do yoou have any info other than your experience that confirms that this "myth" is just that or do you just say this casually?
I log all my MPG on all of my cars (3) with every fill-up, so I have a continual record of it for the entire life of each vehicle, and I've been doing this for 40 years. I typically will own a car for more than 20 years, as each one is only driven about 5000 miles per year. I've never seen any improvement in MPG in any of my cars as they got older, and most were bought new. (I currently have cars that are an '89, a '99 and the '09 Aveo.)

Since there is no proof that this is anything other than a myth, it deserves to be called that. Also the idea that MPG would increase flies in the face of logic. The only difference between a vehicle when it is new compared to when it is old is the amount of wear it has on it. I don't see any way in which increased wear is going to improve MPG at all.