People think of the service advisor (also called a service writer) as a mechanic but basically, they are salesmen. They're even paid on commission. That means that the more work they convince you that your car needs, the more money that puts in their pockets. Another problem is almost no one reads their owner's manual, so they really don't know what's best for their car. See, the manual was written by the company that built your car. It is the most accurate description of how to care for it. But when people go to the dealership for routine maintenance, the service advisor pushes the "dealer recommended service" on them. Basically, this calls for oil changes and transmission flushes more frequently than the owner's manual. For instance, the dealer might recommend changing the transmission fluid every 12,000 miles, whereas the manual recommends changing it every 60,000 miles. If you followed the dealer's recommendation, that means you'd have four transmission fluid changes that were unnecessary. And transmission fluid changes aren't cheap — they can run $200, so you might be spending as much as $800 unnecessarily.
At the dealership, customers pull up in the driveway and are greeted by the service advisors. As the customers line up, service advisors develop a sixth sense of who needs what, and thus which customer to go to, to make the most money. They look for the people who have old-looking cars and who also look rich; they figure they can afford superfluous work. The way they handle customers is via a carefully controlled interaction. The company even produces videos detailing exactly what they're supposed to do and say and sell. There are phrases they use to sell services. For example, they can get people to go for early fluid changes by saying, "While you're here, let's get this work taken care of," because people hate the hassle of coming to the dealership and waiting around. They also play up the safety issue. If you want someone to agree to a brake job, just say, "There's less than 50 percent of your brake pads left." That sounds bad but actually it isn't time to get a brake job until that number is much closer to 15.
Service jobs are priced according to the "flat rate" book, which has the times it takes to perform each repair or service procedure. For instance, an oil change takes 0.3 hour according to this book. The mechanics, however, try to beat these times to make more money for doing less work. Unfortunately, that incentivizes speed and overselling, which is the built-in problem with most service departments. Let's say that someone comes into the dealership for a simple oil change. They immediately become a target for the service department to "upsell" them as much additional work as possible. First, the advisor will ask how many miles are on the car. If there is close to, for example, 20,000 miles, they will say, "Well, you're just about ready for your 20,000-mile service. Here's what we recommend." They then whip out a sheet with a laundry list of services that are offered for a package price. But if you look at what is actually done to the car, it is just inspections or fluid checks and fills. When you start getting more miles, the service writer will say, "We're going to do all services recommended for that mileage, but we'll also check for other problems." So, you agree to a "full inspection," which is one of the biggest scams. Later in the day the service writer will call and say, "Everything looks OK, but we recommend you have some other work done: transmission fluid, air-conditioning, differential fluid." By the way, most manufacturers don't recommend ever changing the diff fluid. So, you go in for an oil change and end up dropping $600.
Dealerships don't profit on extensive operations like replacing engine blocks, transmissions or other large components. These require expensive parts, and the mechanics take longer to finish them. So, while you pay a lot for these operations, the service department doesn't make much off them. With the smaller operations, on the other hand, you don't pay as much, but they're making a very high percentage of profit. In many cases, dealer-recommended service and the owner's manual have a vast discrepancy. Dealer's will almost double the service frequency from the manual. That's true of parts, too. The prices of most parts you buy through a dealership are doubled. Some service advisors recommend brake jobs that aren't necessary. Some also recommend turning the rotors on the brakes when it's not really called for. Turning the rotor involves putting the disc part of the brake (the rotor) on a lathe and cutting a thin layer of metal off to make the surface flat. Garages typically charge $50 to turn each rotor. However, it isn't always necessary to turn the rotors. Turning makes the rotors thinner, which could eventually lead to warping. Most brake pads come with a small metal strip buried under the brake pad called the "wear indicator." When the brake pad wears down to about 15 percent of its thickness, the metal contacts the rotor and causes the brakes to screech when you hit them. That's when it's time to change the brake pads.
Service departments take advantage of the fact that there's not as much mistrust of them as there is of car salesmen. They play the role of "I'm on your side," the friendly mechanic. Often, they have some mechanical experience but actually, their strong suit is that they have good public relations skills. Their job is to be the counselor to the customer, to tell them what they need and don't need. The service managers call meetings and tell the writers, "You made this much but you have to try to make more." They wanted them to boost profit so that they themselves would get a bonus.
ALWAYS read the owner's manual before you go see the dealer. Or go to an online chat and share the knowledge of other owners. Also, it helps to do a visual inspection of your car. You don't have to be mechanically minded — just look to see if the oil is dirty or not. But the most important thing, don't trust the dealer's recommended mileages; use the manufacturer's guidelines in the manual. This is probably the best way to deflect the service guys when they try to upsell you. Copy that page in the manual, hand it to the service advisor and say, "Here's what I want you to do."
One trick with service advisors is to go in and find the oldest one you see, because he's survived by being honest, ethical and by building up a base of loyal customers. Then say, "Oh yeah, I think I dealt with him last time I was here. I'll talk with him." The other thing to remember is that service advisors are wary of customers who look like they know what they're doing. So, take some time to learn a little about your car. You might find it interesting — and it will save you money the next time you go in for service.