By Jack Bulko, AutoAid
“They did what?!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. A new client came in the other day. She was a referral from a steady customer. The young woman had just purchased a used 2014 Hyundai Elantra from a local dealer and needed her 15-month service. The dealership quoted her an astronomical price, explaining that they had a checklist of items that had to be inspected.
She had just graduated college and needed the vehicle to commute to and from her new job. She thought she would pay a couple of hundred dollars tops, but was quoted hundreds of dollars at the dealership, and was told it could take hours. She didn’t have the money or the time.
“I didn’t think it was going to be so complicated or expensive,” she told her friend who referred her to us. It shouldn’t be. Maintenance should be simple.
Beware of Those Long, Expensive Words
I’ve been in the automotive industry a long time and my experience is that salesmen at car dealers sell words. The fancier the word, the higher the cost of purchasing or repairing the automobile. Unfortunately, many consumers have no idea this goes on so they unknowingly take it as gospel and pay dearly for it.
Automobile manufacturers provide a laundry list of items to be inspected, thus raising the cost of maintenance checks, with little return for the consumer. Here’s an example of items they list for inspection or service:
INSPECT: A/C refrigerant
INSPECT: Air cleaner/element
INSPECT: Battery
INSPECT: Brake hoses and lines
INSPECT: Brake pads, calipers and rotors
INSPECT: Driveshaft boots
INSPECT: Exhaust pipe and muffler
INSPECT: Rear brake drums/lining, parking brake
INSPECT: Steering system (gear box, linkage and boots, lower arm ball joint, upper arm ball joint)
INSPECT: Suspension bolts
INSPECT: Vacuum hoses
ROTATE: Tires
ADD: Fuel Additive
The dealer wanted $700+ to inspect everything on the list. All that she really needed was to have her car’s tires rotated, and the cabin air filter and the engine oil and filter inspected.
AutoAid Uncomplicates Your Automobile Repair Experience
The first thing we did was to give her car our complementary 38-point visual inspection for the grand total of $0. That’s right, it’s free. As part of this service we checked her car’s filters, oils, fluids, belts, hoses, tires, brakes, wiper and washer system, exterior lights, AC, battery, steering suspension and more. We provide this digital inspection service every time you bring your car in for maintenance. We even send a copy of the results to you via email or text. This gives us an overview of what is going on with the vehicle and when you’ll need to have things checked again. You will only sustain a cost if we find that further inspection needs to be conducted, and we will tell you about it before going any further.
AutoAid has built our reputation on being the honest car repair shop. Located in the heart of Van Nuys near major freeways, we offer good old-fashioned customer service and take much pride in our work. That’s why we offer a three-year, 36,000-mile nationwide warranty on most of the repairs we do.
We service European, Asian and American made models of automobiles. Our customers love how we treat them and take care of their cars, as shown by the positive reviews they post on Google and Yelp. AutoAid is also a AAA Approved Auto Repair and Customer Service Award winner going on 35+ years.
Schedule the next maintenance repair on your car with the automotive professionals at AutoAid. You’ll be amazed at how neat and clean our shop is compared to other car repair places and how phenomenal our technicians are, including an ASE Certified Master Technician. We are here to serve you!