A recent report stated that over 80 percent of the vehicles on our roads have one or more service or repair that's needed but hasn't been taken care of. Now that's a lot of unperformed servicing. With over 4 million vehicles on the road currently in New Zealand, that translates into over 3 million vehicles. Some of the neglected items are minor like a blown light bulb, but others are serious safety concerns.
There are several reasons why we hesitate to take care of recommended services, especially services that your automotive service advisor recommends when you're in for something else, like an oil change.
The first issue boils down to comfort with car care. We don't always feel we know enough to make good decisions. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that vehicles are generally so reliable these days. They almost become an appliance. Of course you love your vehicle, but if you don't have to worry about it breaking down all the time, you're not forced to think as much about preventive maintenance.
Perhaps your dad knew a lot about cars and always made sure they were taken care of. He was very comfortable dealing with his local garage or service center. People who don't know as much about cars hesitate to ask questions because they don't want to look ignorant.
It's human nature, but there's so much to know in this world and we can't all be experts in everything. So we specialize. It's very important to ask questions of any specialist, whether it's your doctor, financial advisor or your automotive technician.
Your service advisor at Oil Changers wants to answer your questions. We want you to understand the recommendation and why it needs to be done.
That brings us to the next issue; people say that they don't always know if they really need the service or if they are just being sold something.
At the heart, it speaks to trust. Do you trust your service center and your service advisor? Trust has to be earned, and that takes time and experience. But you can shortcut the process when you realize that most of the recommendations are based on manufacturer's maintenance schedules.
In other words, "You don't have to trust me, you can trust your owner's manual."
Your local Oil Changers service center has computer databases that contain the manufacturer's recommendations for a wide range of vehicles, so they don't need to rummage through your glove box to look for your owner's manual to know what to do.
Basically, the engineers who designed the car say, "Here's when you need to have it serviced." That's who makes the recommendation, not the technician. He's just reminding you.
Now you do need to trust your technician's experience and judgment from time to time. When he inspects your vehicle, he may find problems or concerns. He will explain things so that you can prioritize the concerns and make a good decision about whether or not to have something done.
That brings us to the third issue; money. Often the concern is about spending the money to take care of a recommended service. Our money has many places it needs to go. And we have another list of places we want it to go. Auto maintenance isn't usually on either of those lists.
Look, everyone who works at Oil Changers has a family budget, too. They can relate.
When there is a real budget concern, your Oil Changers service advisor can help you prioritize the work that needs to be done and come up with a plan for taking care of it that works within your budget.
Let's say that the service technician has noticed that you have a problem with your brakes. That's a safety concern, so a technician can't ethically say, well, just put that off for a couple of months. What they can do is recommend getting the brakes taken care of now and address the cabin air filter or transmission service later on.
Ask us for more details.
Oil Changers
www.oilchangers.co.nz