no one knows your car better than the engineers who created it…
December 4th, 2005...and yet every day people allow services to be performed that are suggested simply to increase profits.
You know the routine… you go in for an oil change and suddenly you’re being told you need a transmission power flush (NEVER say yes), new filters, specially formulated oil, etc. It’s a trick of every sales trade – the ‘upsell’.
By the fabricated service schedules shops come up with, every car has the same service requirements (not true) and every car benefits from services not listed in the maintenance schedule (also not true).
Here are a few pointers to keep you from getting taken for a ride:
Never allow any work to be performed that you didn’t originally take the car in for. Dealership service departments, tire chains and especially quick lube services make most of their money upselling people on services that are not needed. Unless the issue will cause immediate harm to your car or your person, get a second opinion and get quotes from other shops.
Never say ‘I need a X,000 mile service’. Instead consult the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual and make a list of parts that require replacement. Doing so will save you 50% or more!
Unless you make frequent short trips, follow the normal service schedule – this will save you an additional 50%. This is especially true of a car that you are leasing or don’t plan on keeping indefinitely/past the warranty period. Car & Driver torture tests its cars for 30,000 miles and only changes the oil ever 7,500-15,000 miles. With their quick warm-up times and precise engine managment, many modern cars can safely go 10,000 miles between oil changes, especially when using a synthetic oil. (We change our own oil once a year – two of our cars are now over a dozen years old. One of our former cars was bought back by the dealership to be used as a service loaner because even though they were aware we serviced less frequently they also knew we were fanatical about the quality of oil and replacement parts used).
Don’t ‘power-flush’ anything. Doing so to the transmission (particularly at higher mileages) can lead to transmission failure. Doing so to the power steering or engine is a needless expense.
The technician may point out your oil is dirty and show you how black it is to sell you something. Kindly explain to him that means its doing its job (oil turns black after just a few hundred miles).
Don’t let them perform ‘services’ that amount to their simpy pouring a bottle of something into our engine or gas tank. Oil treatments do nothing but make the oil thicker than it should be, while fuel injector cleaner mixes with oil and makes it syrupy as well.
Call our helpline at 617.308.1136 before approving any work- there is no charge for the first 5 minutes.
Saving money on unnecessary services will benefit the environment and allow you to afford higher quality replacement parts (e.g. tires, brakes, synthetic lubricants) or a safer car the next time around. You’ll notice most services are things that are a) easy for the shop to do and b) impossible to feel the effect of.
You work hard to earn your money – spend it wisely.