I was thinking the same thing. I have gone over 20k on oil change intervals and was never more than 1/4qt low on oil.

 

I turn into a worrywart when my car is due for anything. When I finally do the maintenance, I'm always surprised that it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Spark plugs didn't look bad at all, oil isn't too dirty, transmission fluid didn't have any crap or metal shavings in it... etc.

but there's no way I'd ever let it go as far as some of the examples of blatant negligence posted. To me, your car is your buddy in a sense. It gets you where you need to go, keeps your ass warm in the winter, etc. The least you could do it return the favor Keep it in good shape, I mean.