Ask an expert

Hi, I have a tired old 1990 mazda famillia and it was due for an oil top up so I filled it but then as there wasnt much left in the bottle I thought why bother keeping that and just poured the rest in (thinking what could be the harm?) Um, apparently a lot. I turned the car on and oh good lord the smoke!!! It was all coming out of the exhaust, nothing from the engine. I turned it off straight away but there was a wisp of smoke coming from the tail pipe for at least 20mins or so. Just wondering if you reckon I have totally stuffed my dear wee car? I was due an upgrade anyway so wont bother towing it to a garage for repair if its probably going to cost a lot.
Thanks!

No, you shouldn't have done any damage. The best advice is to drain the oil to the correct level and assuming the vehicle still runs (ie; the pulgs aren't fouled with oil to the point of not starting), take it for a good long run. It will smoke badly until the oil is burnt off, but it will eventually clear. It might pay to do it at night when nobody can see :)

Awesome, thanks! And an excellent idea doing a night stealth mission to hide my shame haha :)