-
Who is this Secret Santa for Independent Auto Repair Shops?
I want to know the name of this person who is responsible for giving additional years of life and billions of dollars of repairs to tens of thousands of shops. Our shop is already receiving the benefits and we expect to receive much more in the coming years. We may soon need dedicated techs and bays just for this one service.
But I’d like to know the name of the behind the scenes individual whose idea is showering us with cash. If you know the name please pass it on! Who is this person who came to work one day and thought: “What if every car had an oil life monitor – and we designed for “normal” driving conditions when more than 90% of cars are driven in “severe” conditions? Would that be cool or what?!”
If you make a living replacing engines, it’s very cool indeed.
Thank you whoever you are… 😉
-
7 Replies
-
The great engineer in the sky thank you for letting me have a nice lifestyle.
Most German cars burn or leak oil and customers do not check oil anymore. They mostly wait till it’s to late when the oil light comes on.
Why do our 5 Jetta’s that all have over 130k never have engine issues.
-
I agree, oil life has been over extended, however, we have to keep in mind there are some legit reasons. Much cleaner burning engines, no more carbs running rich all winter. Most oil changes now are synthetic blend or fully synthetic so oil changes can go to 6000 or more now. I personally don’t go beyond 6000. Why the removal of the dip sticks? Now that one somebody needs to explain to me.
-
The death of full service fuel stations also contributed to this problem. Nobody checks ANYTHING when they fill up now.
Some cars now have low oil indication systems, but I have seen them ignored too.
Can’t fix stupid!!
Willie
-
This is all the more reason why we can explain to our customers why they need “customized” maintenance intervals. We recommend 5000 mile oil changes, and never more than 8000 miles between services. We also have custom intervals for all other services based on our location and customer use habits. Following the owners manual is not what will get a car to 250k. Its a trained professional that has the customers best interest in mind. Not the factory whose main purpose is to sell cars.
-
In our store we have found our selves occasionally being the bad guys because we insist on using the correct oil for the engine, and we may be somewhat of an exception, at least as far as quick lubes go. A week ago we had a 2015 truck with 20k miles and the manufacturer called for 0w20 oil. We quoted the 0w20 full synthetic oil change and the customer was quite surprised. Turns out the last quick lube to change oil used 5w30 conventional in the truck and customer had no idea what the vehicle called for. He expected we would know the right oil, which we do, and that is what we sell, especially during the warranty period. Now combine this industry practice of using the wrong oil with extended intervals and the final recipe does not spell well for second owners of the vehicle and sometimes, even first time buyers.
I did an oil change by type analysis last week. YTD we did 1601 conventional(includes diesel)1654 full syn and high mileage and 970 syn blend. The syn blend was sold because that was the minimum oil to meet the spec, and I suspect most of the full syn was as well, or requested. We mostly only upsell to high mileage.
We warn our second owner buyers of the potential for motor issues on these modern vehicles. Lately, virtually every time we quote any reason for a head to come off or timing repairs on modern vvt motors with any nore than a 100k or more, we usually find ourselves considering the cost of repairs vs. the cost of a replacement motor. The motor replace usually wins.
We recently rewrote our non approved oil agreement (attached) due to a husband flipping out on his wife over the fact that we used a synthetic oil meeting the manufacturers spec for the first oil change at 9k on their 2017 nissan. He specifically told her to get the cheap oil because it was a lease vehicle. She called back to say she felt pressured to use the right oil????
-
So, if they brought in Wesson oil, would you install that in their engine?
-
Howdy, Randy!
I personally would insist on using only the recommended oil when performing any service. Looking at your form, I’d recommend adding what the recommended oil should be and what oil the customer is requesting be used to better “protect” you. The reason for the quotes is I still don’t think this document will exempt you from a liability issue if brought to court.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Log in to reply.