Some maintenance issues are time based and some operation based. I would email the service manager for the definitive answer and keep a paper trail if they say you can wait until the 6000 mile mark.

Let the dealership know how many miles the vehicle has, the dealership’s computer does not know how many miles you have driven, only that, in usual usage (12-15k miles per year), your car may be due for a 6k checkup. One of my vehicles was purchased with a dealership maintenance program. While I drive more than you do, my total on that vehicle may be 3-4K miles per year. I have had that vehicle for 3 years, I have the vehicle serviced once a year.

Your car battery is charged by med-long distance driving. Are you able to purchase, hook-up, monitor, and remove a battery charger. At 1,000 miles driven per year, your battery will discharge.

I don’t know what a hook up monitor is. It’s garaged & I never drive in rain or snow so I thought the battery should be ok. I’ve never replaced a battery.

Couple things.....

Most new cars have sensors built in to indicate when oil change is due. Systems are better sealed and oil changes may not be needed as frequently. Some cars may indicate oil change is due at 3,000 miles, some higher. At 450 miles, you are not due. Oil does degrade over time so you should have it changed within 12 months. You do have a maintenance plan included so take advantage of that AT YOUR SCHEDULE.

Tell your dealer you appreciate the reminders but to stop calling you about them. If they insist on reminders, make them send them via regular mail.

I'm surprised they didn't ask if you wanted the service done when you brought it in for the scratch repair.....just my two cents.

They may get paid by the manufacturer when they service your car -- hence the attempts to schedule you. Make sure you will not void your warranty by refusing service until you *need* it, not based on averages for 'most' cars like yours.

Our 2005 Jaguar X-Type has 36K miles on it, but some of the miles are expressway miles -- more than to town and back -- so the battery gets charged. It goes in once a year for engine maintenance. (You could probably just drive a good distance once in a while rather than mess with a charger.)

Dees, luckily the service shop & body shop aren’t attached. They’re in the same parking lot but not connected. The body shop was happy to get rid of me.

Chisue, I had a feeling they might make money on this deal. Your right, I don’t want to void anything.

Voiding the warranty... that would be my concern so be sure to get that straightened out.

When I bought my car in 2010 we went to a new dealership. The saleman became a great annoyance to me. I didnt so much mind him calling me every couple of weeks in the beginning to make sure all was well but then he started calling to "check in" with me and if i knew of anyone looking to buy a car. I bought a new car two years ago from a different dealer. I made sure to tell him how annoyed I was at all the calls from the other dealership.

Je, we are on our 3rd Honda and the car does tell you when you need a oil change. On the display when you oil gets to 15% it will notify you to get your oil change and anything else that needs changed.

Call the dealer and discuss. That may be a required checkup to keep the warranty current, and then again, maybe not. Call.

I have a 2000 4Runner with less than 50,000 miles. In the cooler months I have to make a concerted effort to drive it a couple times a week. I only use synthetic oil, because it doesn't break down like conventional oil.

Among the things that happens with limited use is that moisture (water) can accumulate in the oil/engine and the fuel tank and fuel lines, Water in the oil and engine will evaporate with a long enough driving session with the engine fully warmed up and then some. For water in the fuel system, there's no substitute for driving enough to use up the existing fuel and keep a steady stream of resupply flowing to replace it in the tank and fuel lines.

Gasoline also breaks down when it sits for more than a few months.

Elmer is correct. Your mileage is so low that there are two issues:

- Battery life. Your car has numerous electronics and some of them are always "on". They draw energy from the battery - a trickle, but it's 24/7, 365 days/yr. Understand that once your battery dies - especially if this happens more than one time - it may never reliably hold a charge again.

- Stop and go/short distance driving is actually harder on an engine than if you ran it continuously for a million miles at freeway speed (this was actually done on the most famous test of the then-newly introduced Mobil 1 synthetic oil, using a car engine hooked up in a lab).

Some of the CarTalk folks were discussing a situation similar to yours. This is a summary of two of the posts:

" With
modern cars warm-up is quick these days because low-emissions dictate rapid
engine warming. One of the few remaining issues is condensation leading to
water accumulating in the oil of engines which don't get hot enough to
evaporate it off over longer journeys. This is easily addressed
by doing your oil changes based on months in service rather than mileage
covered.

Extended
idling is NOT a solution to short-trip driving, nor is a 15 minute slow
drive. This car needs the following:

At
least once every two weeks, the car needs to be taken out on the highway for a
high-speed run of at least 40 minutes, in order to fully evaporate the water
vapor that is currently diluting her motor oil and is also sitting in the
muffler, rotting out the exhaust system from within.

The
car needs to be serviced according to the Severe Service maintenance
schedule that is contained in the Owner's Manual, in the maintenance section.
This means doing the servicing on the basis of elapsed time. For instance, this
will likely mean changing the oil at least every 6 months, even only a few
hundred miles are accumulated in those 6 months. The car is being subjected to
the worst type of usage that is possible, so it must be serviced accordingly if
it is to last and to run reliably. "

=====

I would also strongly suggest you discuss the exact terms of your service agreement with one of the service department customer service reps (usually the folks who check your car in and generate the paperwork for you to sign). If you have a service contract, then you have prepaid for a specific # of service appts over a specific period of time or mileage number. If you do not use those appts, they will simply expire and you will have wasted $$$.

When I bought my 2010 sedan I bought an extended service contract. Unfortunately, no one explained the details and I brought it in mostly when the digital "Oil change required soon" message came on.

The result? At the end of the contract I found I had lost six service appts. I paid for them, but never used them. I had the car for three more years, but too late to recoup the cost.

Cars are made to be driven. Besides engine oil, engine coolant needs circulated to prevent corrosion. Power steering fluid and brake fluid lubricates and conditions seals and other component parts. Wheel bearing grease and CV joint grease also need exercised to keep moisture from compromising the lubricating qualities and eventual failure. Tire pressure decreases when a car isn't driven, shortening the service life of the tires.

A garage queen needs to be driven a few hundred miles a month in all weather conditions.

I bought my 2017 Honda HRV in August, since then I've only put just under 500 miles on it. I'm not exactly sure where I'm supposed to drive it to just so that I am driving the average number of miles put on each month by the average driver. The stores, work, doctors, and errands have all been within a short distance of where we live, heck I can get downtown in 20-30 minutes and that's with rush hour traffic here. Now, I do anticipate continuing to drive even once there's been some snowfall.

Even if I was interested in significantly increasing the mileage put on the car, where the heck would I drive to? There's not much to see or do in Western Nebraska - just endless miles of fields and highways with little signage (unlike California, where there are so many freeway signs marking exits, interchanges, 'cleanup' naming sponsorship (Charity group X sponsors cleanup between a and b), and dedication of highway in the memory of; Nebraska...not so much. The number of light poles could be increased a great deal here too.) and it's silly to drive just to drive whether it's an additional few hundred over several trips or driving 40 minutes at once...if I got in the car right now and drove 40 minutes I could be in Iowa for no good reason.

Three comments:

1) Perfect example why I don't give salespeople my phone number.

2) You need to discuss your driving situation with them.

3) Driving 80 miles a month, I think I'd seriously consider a cab to save money.

I'm not much more than that, averaging 125 miles - and calling for a cab isn't reasonable in some places like the suburb of Omaha, Nebraska where I am. :P I'd have to call to grocery shop, to get to work, to run errands, go to the doctor, etc.

My car is going in soon for the 30,000 mile checkup - it's a big one and while I only have about half that mileage on the car, it is also a time based warranty and runs out at 36 months - so will get service done. They have done the service on all along based on the time basis rather than the mileage.

Cynic, most likely this will be my last car since it’s really only a luxury for me and not a necessity. The older I get the less I drive.

I did use Lyft while my car was in the body shop and really enjoyed it. I had great drivers, they were fast and I enjoyed talking to them while we drove.

Grocery shopping holds me back. Even tho the store is 1/4 mike from my home, I use the service where I order online, drive there and they load the groceries in my trunk. I don’t think an Uber or Lyft driver would appreciate that waiting.

Also the vet. Uber and Lyft don’t allow animals in their car unless it’s a service dog. So my cats don’t qualify.

I only get on the freeway twice a year to go downtown to my heart specialist.

Jenn -- Tough choice, that... counting light poles in Western Nebraska, or finding your self in Iowa "for no good reason". We wouldn't want you to be pulled over in Iowa for 'loitering without intent'.

@chisue

Hahahaha, should I find a reason or a destination I want to go to Iowa for, the drive won't be an issue. Still don't think there's a good reason to venture out into the endless stretch of lonely highway surrounded by fields that is Western Nebraska. :P What if I got a flat tire on 80, who knows how far away the last marker was or where the next one might be - gotta be able to tell them where I am to get someone out to help!

Speaking of mile markers ... my neighbor recently recounted her car breakdown on the interstate. When she called AAA for assistance they asked for a landmark. She gave them the nearest mile marker, but they insisted on a landmark. Makes you wonder.

What would they do if there WAS NO landmark! A whole bunch of fields with more fields where you came from and more fields on the road ahead has...fields as landmarks? :P

I had a weird roadside incident a few years ago - a newish car with what turned out to be a defective fuel pump (that led to a recall for all cars sold of that specific model of that brand for that year). The engine stopped and wouldn't restart.

I called Roadside Assistance and after a short discussion, they asked permission to "ping my phone". I asked why, and they said it was their way to locate me, using software or a system of some kind that can read GPS information off phones. I said "sure", and a couple of seconds later, it was "Are you by #### X street, on the North side of the street?" Yes, that/s where I am. They came in about 20 minutes.

One of my cars has built in cellular communication and GPS locating that the car company can activate. It's not OnStar because it's a German car but maybe somewhat like that. When you use the car's built in system to call for assistance, they can find out where you are immediately without asking. They also have other controls to activate, like, if you report the car stolen, then can inactivate it remotely. If it's moving, they contact the car via this connection and audio link, warn what they're about to do, then then can slow it down in stages to a complete stop.