Minimizing the Pain of Having Your Car Serviced

The pain of buying a used or new car may be greater than the pain of having it serviced, but you need to have it serviced far more often than you must buy a car. Below, I’m listing nine suggestions to make your visit to your car dealer’s or independent service department as pleasant as possible.

(1) If you decide to have your vehicle serviced by a dealership rather than an independent, choose the dealer with the best service department, not necessarily the dealer you purchased your vehicle from. You don’t have to have the same dealership service your car that sold you your car. You probably bought your car from the dealer who gave you the best price. You should have your car serviced at the dealer who can best maintain and repair your car. Your manufacturer doesn’t require that you have recommended maintenance done by their dealers, but you should keep receipts from the independent you choose to prove you had it done in the event of a warranty claim. You must have warranty repairs done by the dealer. The price of service is important, but secondary to the quality of the service and repairs. Do a little research. Ask friends and neighbors who drive your make of car. Check with the BBB and the County Office of Consumer Affairs. Ask the service manager at the dealership to show you his factory score on CSI (customer satisfaction index). Every manufacturer surveys dealers’ service customers and ranks that dealer by how well he treats his customers. Many auto manufacturers are measuring service satisfaction by the percentage of customers that return to their dealer for service, Service Retention. This is the most accurate measure of how well your dealer will service and repair your car.


(2) Establish a personal relationship with your service advisor. The person in the service drive who writes up your repair order is very important. Be sure you get a good one. He should be knowledgeable, attentive to your needs, promptly return phone calls, and recommend only necessary services. You might not find this person on your first visit, but if you aren’t comfortable with the person you are dealing with, ask for one with whom you are. When you make an appointment to have your car serviced, always ask for that service advisor.

(3) Don’t pay the “gotcha”, miscellaneous supplies fee. Almost all car dealers and independents tack on a phony fee when you pay your bill which is simply more profit to the dealer but is disguised by various labels. It’s sometimes called “environmental impact fee”, “sundry shop supplies” and many others. The service cashier just adds a percentage ranging from 5% to 10% to your bill. This is no different than the “hidden dealer fee” that the sales department tacked on to the price they quoted you on the price of the car. Most dealers will waive this fee if you complain about it, especially if you threaten to call the BBB, their manufacturer, or the Florida Attorney General’s office.

(4) Always road test your car, preferably with the technician. If you brought your car in for a drivability problem such as a noise, vibration, or pulling to the right or left, don’t accept the car back until you ride in the car with the technician or service advisor and confirm that the problem has been remedied. I also recommend that you drive the car with the service advisor to demonstrate the problem when you bring it in. His experiencing what you experience always communicates your problem more accurately than listening to your description of the problem. If your problem is a troublesome “noise” which the technician or service advisor cannot hear, but your do, insist on someone else driving with you who has better hearing.

(5) Ask for a written estimate of the total cost of repairs and maintenance. Florida law requires that the dealer give you a written estimate. By law, they may not exceed this by more than 10%.

(6) Make an appointment ahead of time. You should insist on making an appointment and you should try to make that appointment at a time when the dealer’s service department will be least busy…typically the middle of the afternoon on weekdays or Saturday and Sunday. Avoid the 7:30-8:00 morning rush. When your service advisor has written up your repair order, ask him how long it will take. After he tells you, ask him to let you know ahead of time if, for any unforeseen reason, your car will not be ready in the promised time. Often times when you call a service department they will tell you to “bring the car in anytime” or “come right over”. Service advisors will tell you this because they are either too busy or too lazy to take the time to make a proper appointment. When they tell you this, tell them that your time is very valuable and that you insist on an appointment at a time when they can get you in and out quickly. Always write down the name of the person that gave you the appointment.

(7) Shop and compare high cost repair prices. Most service departments are competitive on maintenance items like oil changes, wheel alignments, and tire rotations. However, the costs of major repairs can vary considerably. If you are looking at an air-conditioner, transmission, or engine repair that can cost several thousands of dollars, get bids from more than one service department. Often just suggesting that you will do this will keep the cost down from the dealership you prefer.

(8) Introduce yourself to the service manager. This falls along the same philosophy as developing a good personal relationship with your service advisor. It can’t hurt to know the “boss”. If you are on first name basis with the service manager, it just might earn you a slightly higher level of treatment from those that work for him.

(9) DO NOT BUY ANY SERVICE THAT IS NOT RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER. Modern cars require far less maintenance than cars built ten years ago. Car dealers and independents are suffering from the small amount of factory recommended maintenance. To supplement this, they are inventing unneeded maintenance under the guise of dealer recommended maintenance. Be sure that you carefully review your car’s owner’s manual each time you bring your car in for routine service. Be especially careful not to buy “FLUSHES” of the radiator, transmission, fuel system, power steering, engine oil and brake fluid. These are inventions of the dealer and independent service departments to make money and are not recommended by your car’s manufacturer.