My wife needed her oil changed the other day so I switched vehicles with her.  There were a few other items needing attention on her vehicle so I skipped the quick lube options and went to the dealership.  I would have preferred the quick and inexpensive route but an ounce of prevention = a pound of cure phrase was in my mind (as well as happy wife = happy life ).

Bringing the car into the dealership has become an unpleasant experience.  Don’t get me wrong, I realize I have options and can bring my car anywhere but I choose to bring it to them because in spite of the irritations they are very good and thorough.  My wife and I, like many others, rely heavily on our vehicles for the success of our daily obligations.  That said, I think service departments have figured this out.  For example a news report stated something to the effect that 20 years ago an average fender bender cost around $80 to fix and is now around $700.

So, I called the dealership and explained what I needed.  They said “come on in!”  I mentioned I didn’t want to get caught up in spending hours waiting and they said “we don’t have a line and we’ll get you in, come on in!”

I understand their sense of urgency from a business perspective: getting the customer in generates business.  And, I’m sure they have reams of statistics/data supporting an average amount to expect from callers like me and subsequent commissions for those who take the calls.  So, knowing this, knowing it will cost some uncertain amount, and probably take more time, I commit to coming in and getting my task taken care of.

By the topic of this article you already know the direction this is going.  It ended up costing more and taking a lot more time.  Three separate up-sell times: 1) when I handed them the keys, 2) at a 45 minute later consult, and 3) a “discovery” once it was up in the air on the lift.  I tried to protect myself by asking the right questions ahead of time but still ended up getting reeled in.  The problem I have is they have you trapped!  They have your car and it needs stuff done.  They told me it needed other things and there is this do-hicky and some other things that if you don’t do will put you at risk!!  Look, my cars are 2 years old; I bought them from this dealership.  Don’t try to refurbish it every time I bring it in.  It is going to naturally have wear and tear but won’t need to be completely refurbished at every oil change.  I get it that cars cost money and require maintenance, it is a fact.  I’m irritated by constantly being dinged by costs that I have to determine if they are necessity items when I’m not a mechanic.  It is one of the reasons why we have extended warranty’s – which I thought covered everything when we purchased them (or at least was assisted in thought of believing it was) but there is a deductable and a few other items, I’m finding…

Why am I sharing this with you?  In the hopes you don’t ever feel like you are pressured and we’re going to ring up the bill on you.  For the record: our staff isn’t on commission.  They have quality score incentives based 80% on your experience and 20% from the management group. We will try to reel you in but our price isn’t a mystery and your lesson time is defined. Come on in and enjoy your time, we’ll work to make sure you do.