Taxi operators are the most experienced with car maintenance and car troubles...

**yrreg** · October 2nd, 2012 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by niky

Yeah. The Vioses that overheat due to poor maintenance, hot traffic and inadequate cooling.

Uh... have you ever talked to any taxi operators?

Taxi operators treat taxis as disposable items. That's why the boundary is so high, they need to recoup their investment before they dispose of their cars. And to keep the boundaries high, they cheap out on everything. Cheap oil. Cheap filter. Cheap suspension parts (sisirain naman ng driver, so why bother?).

Bahala na si Batman sa pintura at rustproofing. By the time the taxi is five years old, mga 200,000 kms nang tinakbo... wala na siyang silbi, may kalawang o hindi. Hindi rin kailangan alagaan masyado ang makina at transmission. Problema na ng next owner yun.

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Same for many company fleet operators. Cheapskates. Walang pakialam sa kotse. After five years, considered zero value na yun. Disposed. Kahit mga ibang car companies diyan, yung service units nila mukhang basura.

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If you want to ask advice about maintenance, go to a high-end car rental. They need their cars to last and to stay in tip-top shape, so they're willing to spend more on maintenance.

That is very good, sir -- "If you want to ask advice about maintenance, go to a high-end car rental. They need their cars to last and to stay in tip-top shape, so they're willing to spend more on maintenance."

I am talking about the car engine, though

Perhaps for trouble-shooting car engine or more broadly for a car to get started i.e. the engine is ignited and operating without intermittent dying i.e. going dead, taxi owners-operators could have the most experience and trouble solutions, namely, to get the car engine started and the engine operating all the time until you turn the engine off with the car ignition key.

Cheers.

Yrreg

**sirkosero** · October 2nd, 2012 08:33 AM

i think i see the TS' point. but i think the question should be "what are the common engine problems of taxi and how they fix it?"

its still different from claiming that taxi operators drive the most well maintained vehicles

**shelu** · October 19th, 2012 12:13 PM

if there is one thing i adapted from taxi operators, it is using delo multigrade to my gas-fed engine. i could attest to it na mas smooth as takbo. the difference is visible to the eye, malinis ang engine internals ng sasakyan pag delo ang gamit compared to other oil brands. most tricycles use delo too. during overhaul, walang oil stains pag delo. pag ibang oil ang gamit, bronze ang kulay ng internal parts. just sharing this. by the way, mas mahal ang delo ng kunti kaysa ibang oil brand na pang gas. taxi operators do take care of their units too. no breakdown means continuous income.

**Retz** · October 22nd, 2012 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by shelu

if there is one thing i adapted from taxi operators, it is using delo multigrade to my gas-fed engine. i could attest to it na mas smooth as takbo. the difference is visible to the eye, malinis ang engine internals ng sasakyan pag delo ang gamit compared to other oil brands. most tricycles use delo too. during overhaul, walang oil stains pag delo. pag ibang oil ang gamit, bronze ang kulay ng internal parts. just sharing this. by the way, mas mahal ang delo ng kunti kaysa ibang oil brand na pang gas. taxi operators do take care of their units too. no breakdown means continuous income.

Delo multigrade oil is okay naman. I would recommend it as well.

**zap.FREEDOM** · October 23rd, 2012 05:06 PM

imo, bihira lang yung klase ng taxi operator who use quality branded/expensive spare parts for their units, example: sa gulong pa lang, most of them china made tires ang binibili, bakit? mura daw saka pampasada lang naman e, katwiran pa sayo, yang mga gulong parepareho lang naman daw goma yan...kaya bakit kelangan pa daw ng may mga pangalan..like goodyear, bridgestone, michellin, kumho etc...o, gulong pa lang yan..eto pa sparkplug...instead of buying OEM sparkplugs from auto shops/casa, gagawin niyan lilinisin lang then salpak ulit, pagmaganda na ulit o sige takbo na...though yung iba bibili talaga pero ganun pa rin..they pick the cheapest one..negosyo kasi e, ..kulang na nga lang me kotseng lumabas na maintenance-free parang motolite e.

**dr. d** · October 23rd, 2012 07:31 PM

have you seen an older taxi tire or a puj tire being repaired in the tire shop? i swear, if i were the LTO, i would have rescinded the license plates of these un -roadworthy vehicles on the spot!

**confused shoes** · October 23rd, 2012 08:31 PM

Mag DIY, yes. Kahit talian na lang ng straw ang bumper ng taxi, ayos lang!

**Jo A.** · October 24th, 2012 10:26 PM

Anyone who has to rely on taxi drivers for advise on car maintenance is probably even worse at it than the taxi drivers.

Taxi drivers and bus drivers here are some of the worst people to come for advise regarding car maintenance. Most taxi's and buses are rolling wrecks. If proper maintenance advise is what you need, go to a proper car mechanic or a car nut who owns several cars and is able to keep them in very good condition.

**Retz** · October 24th, 2012 10:35 PM

maybe they are investing in acquiring more taxis rather than having it repaired or maintained.

**OTEP** · October 24th, 2012 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by yrreg

Taxi operators are the most experienced with car maintenance and car troubles, we should consult them.

Like for example, how often to change oil and what is the best and cheapest oil to use and also oil filter, and where to get them the oil, oil filter and the service involved.

Do we have taxi operators in this forum?

Please introduce yourselves.

Yrreg

Why don't you try people that operate private ambulances? The company I'm in has very high standards when it comes to maintenance and safety. We would rather invest in maintenance than cheapen out in anticipation of getting a new unit in a few year's time. Sure there are other ambulance operators that view vehicle maintenance like your typical taxi operator, but we drive the vehicles ourselves and having mission critical components fail while transporting or responding is something we want to avoid entirely.

On the other hand, we have budget limitations also so we know how to save on costs without sacrifing quality. We don't need to speed huge amounts of cash to keep things up to standard. This is still a business and there is a need to earn.

A lot of stuff i learned here from the forums. Some of our suppliers are lurking and/or posting here also.