DealersEdge Professional Forums

Just had a meeting with ASM he just explained that we need to re-do our mainteance schueldule no more 3000 mile oil changes on units with oil life monitor's we need to get on the same page as GM and stretch this out to roughly 5800 miles,
has or does any one really push this or do you use the 3000 mile rule

I had this same meeting last Friday. Even though I knodded my head a few times I'm not sure I'm on-board with this program. The premise of this program is to bundle all of the checks into what ammounts to an LOF and Rotation. So how do I justify charging my customers more for what they are already getting? Makes no sense to me. Consumers are not stupid. They'll see through this like clean glass. What is the marketing advantage of this? You sell cars with the idea that they are less expensive to own and then they turn out not to be. I too would like to know if anyone is having success with this program.

COME ON GUYS THEY SAY IT'S GONNA SAVE ON OIL.

Oh...well that makes all the difference in the world. I'm in!!!!

I revised our Recommended schedule to GM's format. We have set every "scheduled" service up and explain to the customer that this is GM's "recommended" schedule and if they want to continue with the 3000/3 mths, we will be happy to help. Our services start at $28.95 LOF to $78.95 syn & diesel.
The other services will range from $286.00 to $866.00 for most of our vehicles, and this is to GM's schedule. I then added our "A la Carte" (our recommendations) to the bottom and we sell real good off of this Menu. I put it on an EXCEL program which makes it real easy to modify. The advisors have this on their desktops and print it out on plain paper and give it to the customers. So far, most customers are still using the 3/3 time for lof and will buy the other as they reach their miles.



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Tom Edwards

Maybe oil can really last longer and still provide the protection needed; but, how many months do you really want to go between fluid level checks, brake checks, tire pressure checks, and all the other things that go into a "service?"

We tell our customer what GM says, and let them decide. For our used car customers, we ask one question - How would you feel if the used car you purchased only had it's oil changed 4 times in the last 37,000 miles?

Most of our customers stick with the 3000 mile service interval.

[This message has been edited by zekensted (edited 05-23-2007).]

Your ASM's name isn't on the sign out front, and they aren't even your customer that you are trying to do the right thing for.

GM shoved this hair-brained idea out and then wonder why their dealers aren't profitable and dropping like flies in some areas. Look at Jeep and some other Chrysler products - they allow the dealership to set good sound recommendations.

Actually it isn't about the better oil or less maintenance. I really wouldn't think it horrible if they stretched the interval to 5k or 7.5k - at least then we could get schedule and habit installed. They can say BMW uses it, but new flash to GM - BMW customers are very different than ours.

I just don't think simplified maintenance properly maintains a vehicle. I really don't care what GM says - simplified maintenance is not the right thing to do for customers. Even if you could charge $125 for a service I and not lose a dime, it still isn't right.

Plus, there are some areas of the country that I would never go more than 18k without having the throttle body cleaned out.

But with the extended powertrain warranty we'll see in 2-3 years whether GM sees the effects of "simplified maintenance."

we also had a meeting, it's just plain stupid! Customers are not going to pay more for a LOF & rotate just because you call it Maintenance 1 or maintenance II, it seems they are doing everything they can to to drive our business away!

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!"

i see a few problems with this maint 1-2 program. by extending the intervals, and raising the price, the customer's perception is that "every time i have to come in to this dealer for maint., i spend a hundred dollar bill." what really matters to the customer is not the frequency of services as much as how much money am i taking out of my wallet at each service. a large reason people hate going to walmart to shop, is because " i can't get out of there without spending 100-200 dollars." they don't really think about how many items they get, just what they spent.
gm recently came out with a new web site "to educate" us on how to promote the maint. system, and a "calculator" that shows how much more money the dealer will make using it vs. the 3/3000 rule. what they fail to put into the calculation is the cost to the dealer to perform a free "pit stop" check up, as they call it. the video in the web site says to perform maint 1-2, and have the customer come in, in between, for this "pit stop" where we are to do a host of inspections for the customer....for free.
yes, engines are much more efficient and oil is better than it used to be, so maybe slightly longer intervals are ok, but to tell me i'll make more money with this program is a flat lie.
PREVENTATIVE maint. is more than just an oil change, it's a concept that seems to have been forgotten.
unfortunatley, gm has spent way too much money on this program/technology to go back now. they will attempt to force it down our-and the customer's throats.