Tuesday November 24, 2009 4:34 PM ET
SmartMoney
Published July 29, 2009  |  A A A
SmartMoney Magazine by Daren Fonda (Author Archive)

The Great Car Maintenance Upsell

Got a tale of an overzealous repairman? You’re not alone. With the recession crimping profits, repair shops are under growing pressure to sell extra services that critics say probably aren’t necessary—everything from “decarbonization” to transmission fluid “flushes” that, at the end of the day, can inflate your bill by hundreds of dollars.

The sales push is happening because drivers aren’t just putting off new-car purchases; they’re also scaling back on service appointments. According to market-research firm IMR, the $133 billion car-repair and maintenance industry saw declines last year in almost every category, with basic maintenance down almost 10 percent. To make up for lost revenue, the greasy-overalls brigade is scrambling. “They’re pushing to do things earlier and more frequently,” says Philip Reed, an auto-repair expert with Edmunds.com.

Ask Ken Massey. A veteran grease monkey who has worked on his own vehicles since the days when tail fins ruled the road, he was a bit leery when he stopped by a local car dealer to replace a blown fuse in his Chevy Cavalier and was told that, by the way, his transmission had sprung a leak. Fix it on the spot, the “service adviser” urged, and it would cost only $325. But Massey, a retired engineer in Indianapolis, wasn’t buying it; the transmission had no leak he could see. “I think they got a little greedy,” he says.

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User Comments
Posted by: alternator
To budpalumbo and globalautoinc :

I never told Smart Money that I was any sort of a "grease monkey." I'm just an auto owner with over one million miles driven without any major auto breakdowns.

I do all my own oil and filter changes, antifreeze changes, bulb changes, wiper changes, tire rotations and the like. I do have an engineering degree, and an abiding interest in things automotive.

The fuse problem was on my lady love's car on which we forgot I had installed a combination back-up alarm and bulb ---- that apparently had shorted out in such a way as to blow a fuse when she backed up. I didn't have the time to investigate the matter, so she took it to a dealer I had used before and once trusted.The dealer diagnosed and corrected the problem in less than 10 minutes and charged $80, which I felt was excessive.

Regarding the supposed transmission fluid leak : There was a mere smear of what looked like grease, rather than transmission fluid, on the ...(Read more of this comment)
JBaustian

1 Comments
I think there's quite a bit of inaccurate information in both the article and the comments.

Whether it's a good idea to replace or "turn" brake disks depends on how often you're changing the pads. If the pads are only lasting 20k miles, then the disks may outlast two or more sets of pads. But if your pads last 75k-150k miles, then you might as well replace the disks at the same time -- the parts are cheap compared to the labor.

About oil filters: it is absurd to claim that oil filters will only last 3k-4k miles. Too many happy owners change their oil and filters every 10k-15k miles or even longer. Maybe we don't use Fram filters, but even Frams ought to last 10k miles. The whole notion of buying cheap oil and cheap filters and then changing the oil every 3000 miles needs to be discarded.

Finally, there are two kinds of auto repair shops: the ones who try to get the most money from every customer who drives onto the premises; and the ones who do good work and...(Read more of this comment)
extech

2 Comments
I see that this artcle has raised some eyebrows and some questions as to the competence of the author regarding the research done prior to its publication. I believe this article should be retracted and an appology extended to the honest tchnicians out there (of which there are many).

Without a doubt there are some not so honest technicias but, the smart ones realize that if they are honest and keep the customer in min they will earn their trust and they will continue to return, DA.

Hello Daren, wake up!
Posted by: budpalumbo
I'd like to thank you for calling me a grease monkey. Thanks too for calling me a member of the greasy-overalls brigade. I especially enjoyed the example of a fellow veteran grease monkey you used that couldn't change his own fuse, but yet knew his transmission hadn't started to leak. I also like the sweeping generalizations you make about mechanics.

I know there are many bad "mechanics" out there. If they follow dishonest practices they'd be dishonest no matter the profession they followed. They could have been a doctor, lawyer, civil servant, or reporter.

Ever hear about what would happen if you gave a million monkeys typewriters?
Posted by: knaugle
I might disagree with most posters here in that this article makes a great point. Every dealer, chain business, and independent mechanic out there has a vested interest in performing as much work as possible, particularly if it has any potential for benefit. My last mechanic was notorious for performing "oh by the way" work that really was not needed or asked for. It drove me nuts because I'd go in thinking I was getting a brake job and headlight and end up paying for 4 or 5 other things he "found".

That nitrogen "may" have a benefit is not in dispute, but I suspect the value relative to the cost. Why? because most all the tires I replace are tread wear at about the nominal mileage. I also am pretty sure that buying top notch oil and taking it to advertised 10,000 mile life, even with filter changes is not as good for the engine as buying less expensive oil and changing everything every 4,000 miles.

The bottom line here is you must always ask yourself, "What does...(Read more of this comment)
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