Thought about bumping this thread from last summer but the general thrust is the opposite of it, so here’s the deal…
So… due to my unexpected relocation for work taking aspects of permanence, I decided to acquire a car. Nothing fancy, just an economical weekend driver for when I’m shopping for something bulkier or would rather not be tied to walking distance of transit or risk Uber surges. I’m paid fairly enough anyway.
However during the first 6 months I hardly drive it significant distances, it just happens that way. My employer subsidizes my transit pass so virtually every regular workday I’d rather avoid the horrible commute in this town. So I see the service interval is 6mo or 5K and I’m nowhere even halfway to that mileage, so I say OK, I’ll go by time for that first visit.
Show up at the appointed time, the Service Rep (Dealer shop) looks at the record (blank since the sale itself) and at the odometer and says to me… “Save your money, man. Come back by September when you will have made it past 3K.” I go like, really? Even with short drives? “Oh yeah, I could put that oil right back in my car.”
Wait, did Hell freeze over? A car repair shop *not *looking to take my money?
So this could be a tech deciding to be generous knowing that their interval is widely overcautious, OR a tech with a busy schedule waving off a minor routine low-margin task to give themselves a break.
What say you, people? Take 'im at his word or go get it done “indie”?
I don’t know what the guy’s motivations were, but he’s right.
I took my car in to get some hoses replaced. His initial quote was $500. But when I went to go pick the vehicle up, it was only like $190. He told me after he took everything apart, he didn’t have to replace all the hoses he originally thought he needed to.
There’s some chance that you’ve found an honest mechanic who’s thinking longterm, and figures that if you can count on them not to sell you stuff that you don’t need, you’ll be a good consistent customer for things that you do need.
I’ve had mechanics tell me that I didn’t need to have something done. Those are the ones I go back to. (Presuming, of course, that it seems likely they were right and I didn’t actually need it.)
Many years ago I brought my car to the shop on the corner for a brake job. I chose it only because of convenience - it was within walking distance of the home I had just moved into.
The mechanic called me after a couple of hours and said I didn’t need brakes. However, I did need some air in two of the tires, which he remedied.
When I went to pick it up I was shocked when he told me “no charge”.
I became a steady customer for the next 25 years. Alas, he just retired within this past year and I have zero confidence in the new owners.
mmm
Good friends of mine run an auto repair shop. They’re overwhelmed with work, and have told me that competent mechanics are hard to find. I can definitely see them telling a customer to come back after a longer interval.
I mentioned several years ago that I had bought a new Jeep. The dealership has a deal where they do the first and fifth oil change free. When I took it in for the first 5000 mile change the service desk guy advised that from now on, to just wait and bring it in when the change oil light comes on. Apparently the on board computer monitors the driving conditions and my habits and can accurately calculate when the oil actually needs changed.
My next and subsequent services were hitting around 8000 miles. Still haven’t made it to the fifth.
Cutting a long story short, one of my favorite storekeepers was seen rescuing clients from an overeager “helper” (his BiL, so he couldn’t just sack the imbecile) and explaining that “we’re not trying to make sales here, we’re trying to make customers”.
Some people actually understand the difference and why it’s worth bothering with it.
What gkster and Projammer said, combined with the fact that autorepair is one of those industries that gets painted with a broad brush of suspicion and distrust for a lot of various reasons, the most visible being crooked mechanics. Good competent smart mechanics fight this image as much as possible since bad news travels farther and is more persistent than good news. One of the ways is by doing exactly as described by the op and others
The point I didn’t get around to in my post was that yes, they do want your money, but more than that they want a reputation as a business that doesn’t do everything they can to squeeze a buck out of you. ‘Sacrificing’ a hundred dollars today can net them thousands over time from you and people you relate your experiences to.
There was a local repair shop near me that I went to for a minor issue. When I picked it up, he said he found a loose hose and tightened it. When I went to pay, he said “no charge.” You can bet I went back there the next time I had a problem.
Another time, the check engine light went on. The problem was a broken solenoid, but they no longer sold the part separately; I’d have to get a new carburetor. He fixed it so that it would work without replacing the carburetor.
The guy retired, and his son took over the business. I brought in the car for an exhaust problem. There was a hole in one of the pipes. But they didn’t sell the pipe separately; you had to replace the entire exhaust system including the catalytic converter – a couple of thousand dollars. He told me of a place that would cut out the bad pipe and replace it for $100.
The last time, I brought the car in for an oil change and state inspection. He did the oil change, then realized that the car would not pass inspection and was too rusted to bother fixing. He apologized that he didn’t do the inspection first so he had to charge me for the oil change.
My wife’s dealer (Honda) has said the same thing. It could be that, in the case of the dealer here, the Honda big wigs are telling their service folks to not force the service thing in the hopes of getting more car sales down the way (having to pay less in service may be something the sales team can play up).
Years ago I took my car to one of those “quick lube” places to have the tires rotated. They told me that I needed new brake pads as well. And I also needed new tires, but they only told me that when I asked how the tires looked, because they don’t sell tires you see. Of course they still rotated the worn out ones and charged me for it. So I went to Les Schwab (A West Coast chain that does tires/brakes/shocks) and asked for four new tires and a brake job. And after looking at them the guy there was like “Who told you you need brakes? These have plenty of life left” and recommended I hold off on the brake job. Because of that, Les Schwab got my repeat business when I actually did need brakes, and the next time I needed tires, and shocks. And I never set foot in that other place again.
My Subaru was shifting sluggishly and just behaving poorly–I had swapped out the older engine it came with to one with less than 120K on a dealer rebuild and was concerned that the significantly higher miles on the transmission vs the engine might require a rebuild to forestall it grenading inconveniently. They did a full service on the transmission, told me there’s no indication of excessive wear or metal in the pan so they basically turned down a $2000 rebuild for a $160 service. So I’m taking the truck in to them too because it also has some issues. When a shop turns down money you’ve stated you’re willing to spend because it’s not necessary, that’s a shop worth keeping. I have a regular mechanic but he doesn’t mess with transmissions much so this is a nice add to my roster.
Only question I have is whether a new car’s warranty wouldn’t be voided if scheduled maintenance weren’t performed.
I’m embarrassed by how few miles I’ve put on my 2 yr-old car (VW) each year when I’ve brought it in for the scheduled annual. At this rate and at my age (58), that car is EASILY going to outlive me!
Wait, did Hell freeze over? A car repair shop *not *looking to take my money?