Marinucci: Put maintenance cost, timing into perspective

Successfully promoting automotive maintenance requires putting the cost into perspective and then performing the work while the vehicle is healthy.

Years of field experience have convinced me that paying lip service to these mandates is very easy.

But actually accomplishing these two steps is challenging, to say the least. Based on my observations, a relatively small percentage of service sales people promote maintenance consistently and successfully.

Some tire dealers and service shop operators may agree with this assessment. Try observing the service sales teams at various automotive service facilities throughout the country.

Let me know how maintenance service sales are going. If sales are brisk, take notes.

In previous columns, I have said I "cut my teeth" in the traditional, full-service service stations of the late 1960s. Back then, oil company representatives stressed that selling maintenance did more than increase customer satisfaction,; it strengthened customer loyalty.

Performing regular maintenance also presented a golden opportunity for technicians to inspect each car visually for legitimate repair opportunities. Being the first ones to identify these opportunities gave them a sizable advantage over their competition in a cutthroat marketplace.

Some tire dealers and service shop operators treat this approach as if it's some well-kept secret — an auto service epiphany. I call it an age-old but undervalued method.

To me, the overall value of selling maintenance is as valid today as it ever has been. Sadly, however, some service sales pros and techs just don't embrace it. Instead, they behave as if promoting maintenance was a shameless hustle of the motoring public.

A recent example of this distrust of, and discomfort with, promoting maintenance came from the mouths of a shop foreman and techs at a large new-car dealership.

For instance, they were especially skeptical of selling regular fluid replacement on automatic transmissions.

What's more, I saw a posting on an online forum that seemed to thoroughly discredit a motorist's estimate for fluid replacement out of hand — as if automotive fluids lasted forever.

Field experience strongly suggests that routine maintenance usually is the cheapest work a motorist ever purchases. This is particularly true when we're discussing regular replacement of the vehicle's fluids.

The cost of changing vital fluids such as motor oil, transmission fluid, engine coolant, etc., always is a pittance compared to the consequences of neglected maintenance.

Savvy sales pros have the ability to communicate this experience convincingly to their sales prospects.

The results are the same today as they were in the 1960s: Some motorists will heed the advice and others will not.

Here's an enlightening exercise. Visit a variety of reputable transmission specialists throughout the country. Closely examine, for example, the next 10 failed automatic transmissions that their techs remove from vehicles.

Next, carefully inspect the fluid from these transmissions and note the maintenance history on the vehicle. For one thing, let me know how many of them have had regular trans-fluid replacements.

For another, let me know how many ruined transmissions have obviously burned, badly discolored and thickened fluid. Let me know if the fluid you inspect sparkles like metal flake paint due to metal debris from prematurely worn transmission parts.

I predict that, typically, there will be no record of regular trans-fluid replacement for these failed transmissions.

Once again, I urge readers to put the cost of maintenance in perspective for the lay person on the other side of the service counter.

During my high-school years, I often saw coworkers install a reputably rebuilt automatic "tranny" for a total price of $400 or less. Back then, realistic labor times were in the range of 60 to 90 minutes.

Today, the front-drive format has overtaken those simplistic, rear-drive vehicle designs. Replacing an automatic transmission on a front-drive vehicle today easily may run $4,000 or more. Labor time could be five hours or more.

For the sake of discussion, let's consider some numbers. Suppose a motorist has a $20,000 vehicle that he or she must keep running indefinitely during these tough times.

To me, periodically investing $350 in an auto-trans-fluid replacement is cheap insurance against a catastrophic failure on the vehicle. This may be an overly simplistic example. But the cost of a fluid-exchange job truly pales compared with the price of a new transmission.

Remember that automotive maintenance procedures are — and always have been — preventive medicine. The time to take preventive measures is while the vehicle still is running normally.

Convincing motorists to invest in a car while it's running fine was a challenge back in the 1960s; it's still a challenge today. But normal conditions are the best setting for replacing vital fluids.

Unfortunately, both motorists and service personnel tend to treat fluid replacement like some sort of corrective surgery. For example, they don't consider a fluid exchange service until an automatic transmission is acting up.

To be fair, I have seen a thorough flush with new transmission fluid fix a variety of automatic trans ailments. But an oil change isn't designed to repair a damaged and/or worn-out engine.

Likewise, replacing automatic trans fluid is not intended to repair a worn-out or damaged transmission — period. Rather, the damaged or worn-out gearbox needs reconstructive surgery with the trans out on a workbench.

Let me wrap up by repeating tips I have stressed in previous columns.

First of all, always review the vehicle manufacturer's maintenance recommendations with a motorist. Patiently acquaint yourself with how the person actually uses the vehicle.

Secondly, watch for any asterisks or "qualifiers" among those OEM recommendations. All too often, you see, the car owner's driving actually defines severe duty usage rather than standard usage.

For example, an OEM may stipulate something like 150,000 miles for auto trans fluid under normal driving conditions. But the fluid replacement interval for severe duty usage may be only 50,000 miles.

Finally, keep me posted on any sales techniques you and your team have found to be particularly helpful when selling automotive maintenance.