GM Throws In Free Scheduled Service
A free-maintenance program introduced earlier this year to get its full-size pickups moving was expanded across the entire 2014 line. For most 2014 vehicles, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC dealers will complete an oil and filter change, four-wheel tire rotation, and conduct a 27-point vehicle inspection based on what’s called for in the vehicle’s maintenance plan.
According to GM CEO Dan Akerson, this plan sells more cars:
“We know that customers who service their vehicles at our dealerships are much more likely to purchase another GM product down the road. It’s all the more important to bring customers to our service facilities for routine maintenance to further enhance the quality and reliability of their GM vehicles.”
Dealers will tell Akerson that such programs are a great way to sell lucrative service, whether it’s paid by the customer or by the company under warranty. Once that car is on the lift, a good service writer will always find something that needs attention, “now that the car’s here, might as well.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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A sampling of new cars I have purchased: US: Chevrolet x3, Ford x2, Isuzu x1, Mitsubishi x3, Volvo x1, Suzuki x1, Chrysler x1. PI: Mitsubishi x1, Ford x1 NZ: Nissan x1, Honda x1 India: Mahindra x1 Of all these marques in different places, I have never run into cheating or over-selling by a service department. All have been professional and showed me respect as I did them. Now there was a little frustration...but that was due to difficult problems to repair, eg: The Ford In Las Vegas because of a bad hesitation from a stop light and the like. A snapped transmission cable on the Suzuki. Other than that, no problems. Really. In Honolulu the Volvo dealer even told me where to go buy wiper blades for far less than their price so it would pass inspection.
This is being done because we're seeing more and more leasing, since that is the ONLY way many folks can afford a new vehicle nowadays, and without proper basic maintenance, lease returns become a real problem when you check the oil and it looks like black molasses, especially now with all these turbos. Ford should wise up and do the same!
Yep, and a smart move. A manufacturer, especially one heavily into leasing gets a steady supply of maintained cars to trade. Me? I'd make the customer fill out a small but carefully constructed questionnaire as the price of the free or cheap maintenance. A good industrial psychologist with a dozen well-crafted questions could probably figure out what kind of car you will want to buy in a couple of years better than you could. At the right moment in the life of your car, the computer in the service area would ding the computer in the sales department and a likely new car would be brought around for a casual test drive while you waited....
Here's GM dealer service: The guy I work for has a 2011 GMC truck, and a headlamp burned out. He bought a bulb for $20, and couldn't figure out how to get his hand in behind the lens assembly to put it in. He took the truck to the GM dealer, and they installed the bulb for $100 labor. I guess it involved taking off the grille and fender liner. When the bulb on the other headlamp goes, he'll go back again for another $100 worth of GM service.