Quote:
Originally Posted by euromodder
Plain silly, that is.
Are these cars so bad they need to be inspected every 3000 miles ?
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Not at all. The technicians hate it, wasting their time doing a long checklist inspection when there's nothing to find.
Quote:
Originally Posted by instarx
Pure rationalization on the part of the dealer... Dealer recommended oil changes at 3,000 miles to get the car into the shop is a service department sales tactic.
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Except that they aren't trying to sell oil changes. It is a sales tactic, but in a very long term sense- it gets people in the habit of using us, so when they do have a problem it's either already here or they're used to calling us. Apparently our owner thinks it's worth his money because we've been doing it for quite some time. On a new car he (his sales department) gets charged for the oil changes and his technicians are tying up their time inspecting cars that don't have anything wrong with them. Maybe we'll do a $10 seal under warranty. We also get the chance to say "your brakes are getting thin, you're going to want to think about getting them done in a couple of visits." That's sales, but not in a bad way.
To a hands-on bunch like here, the engine manufacturer's or oil producer's recommendation actually means something. To someone who threw money at the shiniest thing on the lot, a windshield sticker with a shorter than necessary interval is apparently reassuring. Why else would anyone go to a dealer for their oil changes if not for the warm fuzzy feeling of having the factory sign out front?
The minivan is going to go just under 5000 for this interval so it gets an eyeball before it passes out of its 36000 warranty. The Bobsled gets done every 3,000 miles, but that's because it consumes oil and I'd rather change it than just keep adding to it. In the winter I usually pay work to do it for me because I don't have a lift at home.