Secrets Mechanics Won’t Tell You!
Posted: December 13th, 2010 | Author: Joe | Filed under: spending, Tips | Tags: Saving Money, Tips | No Comments »You probably figured that most auto shops don’t make any money on oil changes, but you might not have known that the conventional wisdom of changing your oil every 3,000 miles is no longer true for most cars. The fact is that the oil change is a loss leader. It’s mostly provided as a means to get you into the garage and sell you a new air filter or fuel system cleaning or tire rotation or … well, you get the point. Air filters alone are a big profit maker – they’re mark up is over 50%, and they take next to no time to install.
It’s similar with the fuel system flush or transmission fluid flush. Services like those are typically left to run on their own for 20 minutes while the service man “work” on another car. Once again, high markup – low time committment and they’re often recommended long before needed. Many cars only need a transmission fluid flush every 25-30,000 miles and some are good for 50-60,000.
Another gratuitous service is tire rotation. Tire manufacturers recommend rotation anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 miles depending on the tire, so auto shops may be recommending a rotation before its time. Many customers figure that a $20 tire rotation is a pretty cheap service and may be happy to leave it at that, but those $20 and $50 services add up quickly.
The fact that many services are low effort makes it all the easier to pile on more services for your visit. If you’re not careful, before you know it you left your $30 oil change visit with a $175 worth of additional maintenance services.
Lastly, one of the biggest secrets for some mechanics is that the final price is open to change. Some unscrupulous mechanics may fish around for some idea of what you’re comfortable spending and adjust the labor to meet that figure.
Visit websites like Edmunds.com, MotorTrend.com, 2carpros.com and 10w40.com to brush up on your general car knowledge. Mix up your service stops by going to different mechanics or service stations and get an idea if they are all telling you the same thing, or if one is feeding you a line and trying to take you for a ride.
