A man buys a brand new car.  Six months later, he notices black smoke and a horrible smell coming from the exhaust and becomes very concerned.  So he takes his car to two mechanics – one from his dealer and another independent.

The independent mechanic tells the man that he is running his car into the ground and that it is his responsibility to change the oil every 3 months to keep the car in the proper working order for which is was designed.  The cost: $30.

Well, this makes sense to the man though he confesses that he never bothered to look at the owner’s manual and he was so busy that he didn’t notice when his car first started smoking.

But he goes back to the dealer just to get a second opinion and hear it from the horse’s mouth.  To his relief, he learns that the dealer, having seen many of their customers ignore the need for oil changes, has developed a new fuel additive that will keep their valuable customers from the added aggravation of maintaining their car – not to mention the ridiculous expense.

This additive is a simple pill that he can drop into the fuel tank when pumping gas.  And the real beauty – it only costs $10 a month for 4 pills.  There are some known side-effects.  The exhaust from the additive is clear and has no noticeable odor but the exhaust from the additive will build up on the back of the car and eat through the paint in as little as a year.  This will require a car wash after each fill-up.  Also, the additive leaves a buildup in the fuel tank and fuel lines that may or may not require additional maintenance.  The cost of a repaint and the costs of fuel line maintenance are very expensive and 1 in 3 cars will require this.  The dealer assures the man that by the time his new car would suffer from those side-effects, they would have new additives to fix those problems for a small cost.

Which option does he choose – oil changes or additives?