Oil Change. You be the judge

OK ask this question. How much mark up is there on a brand new car? Then ask how much is on 60,000 miles of service and maintenance.

There's your answer.

 

My understanding is that the heavier the iron that a dealer sells, the bigger the profit margin. (Not a joke, I've seen the analyses, it's one of the reasons Detroit nearly gave up on small cars.) Some years back I tried to test drive a Ford Focus and found the same stuff you did: A showroom full of SUVs and pick up trucks. They had some Ford Focuses across the street in the back of the lot and they wouldn't show me or my wife any of them until they had a sales critter free from hawking big iron.

Not all dealerships are like that, but it's obvious when one finds one. The ones around here aren't shy about putting the Priuses out front where one can see them, looks like you've got a poor one out that way.

KBeck

 

Yeah all those rich guys got together and spent millions building beautiful buildings with huge storage lots in town and non stop expensive tv & radio ads and monster new car floor plans and huge sales staff and then rubbed there hands together and said boy oh boy were gonna make a fortune fixin' them cars.

Where's my oil filter wrench at?

 

Oh........your a troll. Now I get it. Bye Bye.

 

That might explain why many Nissan dealers appear reluctant to sell the Leaf. How do you make money out of a car that doesn't need oil changes, filter changes, require new exhausts etc.

 

Calm down Ed.

I don't think the point is you must have the dealer change the oil. The point is you must have the oil changed on a schedule and be able to document it. Whether you do it...or the dealership.

Nobody is saying the dealership MUST change the oil, the debate all along within this thread has been as to intervals between changes.

And with a new car, if you don't follow the recommended intervals, it could "hypothetically" become an issue if you needed any warranty work. But I don't think anyone is saying you can't do it yourself.

 

I would love Grumpy Cabbie to give his opinion about removing the AC cabin air filter… stinks the damn car up. My last car was a 94 Honda, no cabin air filter, no moldy smell, still runs well. After one year my PRIUS stinks when turning on the fresh air fan -- what is that??? Many used priuses had this moldy stink from their AC/air circ system when I was shopping for this car...

 

I don't remove my cabin filter but I do change it every 10,000 miles (not the 20k stipulated in the UK service schedule). Some people like to remove them completely but that just clogs them up with dust after a year or so.

 

Oh Emm Gee...so much misinformation I lost track of who I wanted to quote about what.

First off, someone said that early-adopters of the Gen III still had to change their oil every 5k or the warranty was voided.
--NOT TRUE Toyota sent out updated wording for the owners' and warranty manuals.

Someone from the UK said we're being fleeced by dealers here in the US because of the shorter OCIs.
--WITH RESERVATION The reason vehicles operated in the UK and Europe have the longer OCIs is due in part to the different formulations of oil and gas to which we are not privy here in the US. So, while a UK or European Prius may go longer between oil changes, it's not on a US oil formulation.

Someone said there's much profit to be made in oil changes by dealerships.
--WITH RESERVATION Oil changes are loss-leaders. Service departments lose money on every oil change that comes through the door. However, it gives them a chance to inspect the vehicle and make recommendations for other services and repairs. That's where the money is made; not with the oil change itself.

Multiple people mentioned the longevity of the filter vs. the oil itself.
--TRUE My concern lies not with the oil itself, but the tuna-can sized filter charged with holding 10k miles' worth of contaminants at bay while still providing effective flow rates.

Someone mentioned changing the oil at 1k miles to remove all the "stuff" from the new engine.
--NOT TRUE Engine blocks are cleaned after machining and before assembly. Just ask Chrysler what happens when the guy who's supposed to be doing the cleaning calls in sick at their 3.6 liter plant and nobody notices (true story).

My '86 Mazda or '90 Fiasco 400 would go 40k between oil changes. I got 500,000 miles on the motor and it was still running strong when I sold it.
--TRUE I'm sure they did. They also didn't have the tighter tolerances that today's engines do. They also typically ran cooler than today's engines do. They also didn't have to operate within the tighter parameters that today's engines do. That's like saying I'm not going to buy a house because it's $150k and my dad got one for $3600 back in the '60s. Who cares. They're both houses, but the circumstances are vastly different.

A car is typically the second-biggest financial transaction the average person makes.
--TRUE So, why cheap out on maintaining it? (note: I didn't say "take it to the dealer")

[\endthread]

 

Yeah, RIGHT!

I believe everything! NOT!

For years I worked in the aircraft industry and did FORENSIC test of parts and wear. They can really clean and match the parts perfectly. Impossible, even in the best clean rooms available.

 

It is not a warning to change your oil every 5,000 miles. Tire rotation at 5,000 miles and oil change at 10,000 miles.

 

I agree with the conclusion that service is a lucrative business for dealerships, but GC's argument is weak:
The car costs say $25,000, while the service is say $250
So the mark-up on the service would have to be 100x that of the car for equivalent gross profit.

A dealership has to keep a staffed and operational garage. That is a huge fixed cost. Service helps the dealership put that garage to use.

 

New car sales is the lifeblood of the American economy. Not servicing your vehicle. TV stations survive on new car commercials and not one mentions the service center.

There is a very big mark up on a new Prius like any other new car. Enough to pay the salesman $300+ a pop and still make a killing.
Why do you think there's so many salesman at a new car dealer. What do you think is paying for all the car commercials?

The best $$$ part of a dealer maintenance plan is to get you in the building and walking around the show room looking at all the new shiny cars and smelling the new interiors while some guy who cant speak English wails on your car. Meanwhile your in the lobby measuring the quality of the service on your car by how tasty the donuts and popcorn is.

 

I'm not saying they make NO money on a new car sale but doesn't anyone actually know how much money is made on a base Prius?

Say it's $1,500. That's fine, but how much profit is made on servicing every 10,000 miles? Whilst not as much over 5 years as a new sale it is still worthwhile and significant and if that was to be lost, then that's a significant loss of profit.

 

Lucky for me, I was not drinking anything when I read this. Thanks for the long laugh