[jstellema]

We have all seen vehicles with a “150,000+- maintenance free miles”.  These are beyond maintenance…it’s time for restoration or a salvage yard.  Fluid maintenance has never been about condition; it has been about mileage.  I many time have said, “If it is a fluid, it has a maintenance interval, except for washer solvent and battery acid” :>). If there are adverse conditions regarding fluids, i.e. burnt, discolored, odor, these become more a mechanical concern than a maintenance interval issue. Maintenance is mileage. Perhaps regarding discolored fluids, service technicians should mandate an SOP of inspection such as drop the pan or have a spectrum analysis done on the fluid, or test for PH acidity is another procedure we could employ to verify and justify the sale of certain fluid exchanges.  With our clients, it is all about education, not dictation.

Agreed, some will over sell these maintenance items, (as I write this, I am remembering an article a few years ago called, “Flush My Wallet”) but the true professional service company will take things a little more seriously.  

Jon Stellema

[jstellema]

We have recently sold our two repair facilities in Grand Rapids, MI.  I made several efforts on my own over the past three years with only those who had no financial backing, tire kickers, competitors in disguise, and those looking for a give away.  I finally enlisted the services of RUA Associates of Zeeland, MI.  We did all the leg work of having the business evaluated by their staff and did the enormous amount of Q & A to build a profile they could market with confidence.  In less than two months they had a well funded buyer.  We initiated the paperwork with the buyer in late October and we were done in two months.   Sold and now retired!

RUA made the significant difference. Their closure rate is near 80%.  

Jon Stellema

Retired

Grand Rapids, MI