Got a New Car?
A Few Tips That You May Not Have Known

Source: S & S Service Centers

by Jerry Holcomb

In the last two years, the automakers have done whatever they could in order to sell new cars. Zero percent financing, tires-for-life and free maintenance for the life of the vehicle are several of the enticements they have offered to get us to purchase a new vehicle. And needless to say, some of them are very good deals. Heck, I even bought my first new vehicle in 33 years thanks to zero percent financing! But beware of a few things the dealers are doing to keep you coming back:

1. Some dealers are telling customers that they must have their new vehicles serviced at their dealership in order to keep the warranty in effect. This is absolutely false! The Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 expressly forbids manufacturers from requiring you to return to their dealerships for normal maintenance work as long as the parts used in the repair or maintenance equal or exceed OEM (original equipment manufacturers) quality. At S&S, we use top quality CARQUEST parts and Pennzoil lubricants in nearly every repair we perform, and they all meet or exceed OEM specifications.
   
   
2. Several dealers offer a "free maintenance for the life of the vehicle" package to keep you coming back to them. A couple of things I have heard concerning those plans cause me concern. The first is that they only use the manufacturer's maintenance schedule for the "free" service, which means most are offering a "free" oil change only every 7,500-10,000 miles. At S&S Service Center, we have replaced more engines in the past two years than in the seven previous years, and I firmly believe it is because people are actually waiting 7,500 miles before they change their oil! Toyota (which I believe is one of the best vehicles on the road) is replacing/rebuilding engines right and left because they are sludged up. (See this link: http://www.autosafety.org/article.php?did=416&scid=37). The second thing the dealer might do is offer you their "dealer recommended maintenance" for an additional fee. This is usually just the good regular maintenance that we have been offering for years.

So if you have bought or are thinking of buying a new car, please make sure that your new vehicle gets the preventive maintenance it needs and deserves.