Now I am no car guy, the extent of my car knowledge has been during my 20s and what needed to be replaced in order to save money on a low wage. Anything from oil change, brake pads, coolant flush, headlight replacements, battery, and even a failed attempt at replacing my alternator that left me stranded. Even though I haven’t a few things like this, I can still be left open to scams tossed out by the dealership. Of course they have to make money, but that doesn’t mean it has to be mine. As well if you are like me and don’t like paying for things that you may only need to do once in a car’s lifetime and then never need again. I would like to know the frequency in which a certain fix will be needed to be done. Especially if it is going to be $800 dollars out of my day.
Now dealerships have their way of selling you things they don’t need. Life is a constant of businesses trying to get money out of you. Don’t worry, you just have to look for the signs. One thing is that knowing that it does not take a million different things to make your car last a really long time and get a good life out of it. Of course, it is always mechanics that we see have shit cars because they know what to do and how to make them last. Reader’s Digest has 74 things to make your car last forever.
15 Ways To Make Your Car Last Longer – Electric Car Converts
10 Easy Tips to Make Your Vehicle Last Longer | AutoTrader.ca
5 Easy Ways to Make Your Car Last Longer | Casual Car Guide
Now some of these are ridiculous. Reader’s Digest goes as far as lightening up the number of keys on your keychain. If you don’t believe me this is what they said, it is number 6 on their list:
“The weight, combined with bouncing while you drive, can wear out the tumblers inside the ignition and eventually lead to ignition switch failure. To add years of service to your ignition switch, purchase a lightweight keychain that allows you to separate your ignition key from the others.”
Just like this over exaggeration, especially if you have a push button start, is just a way to instill fear in consumers about being too hard on their vehicles in order to be at the mercy of the automotive industry and conceding to a consumer mentality. As a consumer your job is to think what I can afford while a salesman will always try and phrase it to you “how can you afford not to.” Nothing against salesmen, it is their job and specifically what they are hired to do. My advice to you consumers is to develop a backbone and learn to say no.
Scams come in all forms and fashions and the slimier a person talking to you is the more convincing they can sound. I’ll give you these top 3 according to Consumer Reports only because just within the last year I have been told by a mechanic before selling my vehicle that 2 of these were needed. For your car gurus who need details my vehicle had 65,000 miles on, and I was downgrading from a truck to a small SUV.
1) A transmission flush was the first one that was told to me and given the age of my vehicle it makes sense. In doing my research I gathered around the 60k mark of your transmission you should be doing a transmission fluid change, but I thought I am selling it so not going to spend the money considering the dealership said they would change out all fluids. If you watch the video, you will be entertained to know that some dealerships are advertising that the fluids are good for the life of the transmission. Well of course if your transmission only lasts 60k and then breaks then legally they may not be liable because you bought as advertised. I thought surely, they could not be telling people this. Interesting enough a week later looking at one of my friend’s vehicle service manuals on when the best time would be to change transmission fluid and at what mileage. We were shocked to find out that it did not exist. The handbook for the Nissan Rogue did not give a mileage for changing the fluid. Interestingly enough classaction.org tells us that the transmission lawsuit has been won in cases against the Nissan Rogue, Pathfinder, and even the Infiniti QX60. Comments given by the same article report people having issues as early as 4700 miles. Scroll down the article to see some of the issues reported by customers.
2) Brake pad replacement and fluid replacement. Now this is a 2020 Toyota Tacoma we are talking about here. I am going to leave that up to mechanics to ponder in their head about it needing to be replaced. Mechanics I have talked to say you may need to do brake pads and they have told me that brake pads dependent on how you drive are easily used after 50k miles. Clear signs are squealing, grinding, shaking or your dashboard tells you. Bleeding your brakes can cost anywhere from $60-$200. Now this is where even researching you can get mixed reviews of what and when it needs to be done. Talking to my mechanic friends they tell me you could have your car for 10 years and never need to do that as long as you just top off the fluid. Unless you have a leak in the line just replace the pads and you are good. Simple enough but I will leave that up to each of you to choose. If you are asked every oil change to transmission fluid change, then you can probably bet it is just to squeeze money out of ya.
3) Now this one is just when you have it happen to you. You don’t really have a choice and you can’t expect it not to happen at another place. Not saying it is not sleezy but remember everyone you go to a service for is trying to find out ways in order to get as much money as they can out of you in as few meetings as possible. When you go to a mechanic shop for something as simple as an oil change and they come back with a list that adds up to thousands of dollars with what could potentially be wrong with your vehicle, just know you probably don’t need any of it other than the oil change. So, say no to all until it becomes an issue that is keeping you from utilizing your vehicle. Here are Consumer Reports again saying to say no to dealership extras.
What a business will do to get money out of you for things you may not need is all dependent on how creative they are. Countless hours of how to sell you something here or there in order to bring more money in. This is how they make money. The best way to shield yourself and your wallet from them is to do a little bit of research and remember that you can just say no whenever you would like. Finding someone reliable to tell you what you need to hear about what is really going on with your car is just finding people through your social network and connecting with people who know cars. Hopefully the next time you need to take your vehicle in for something, it will be in your mind to say no the first time around and research what you may need without being at the mercy of the mechanic. Drive away and don’t come back till you know you may need it. Also always ask for the copy of what was being charged so you can show others who may know a little more than you. Don’t be taken advantage of. Knowing about the second biggest expense besides your house definitely pays off when you know what to say no to. Bangov Actual, out.
Please Comment and share