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Which Makes/Models Offer Free Scheduled Maintenance?
Which manufacturers make your life easier in the first few years of ownership? Share your experiences here.
kirstie_h
kirstie_h
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I am trying to research potential vehicles for my mother-in-law. She always pays for all the regular service intervals, even the overpriced 'checks' and 'inspections.' She feels the need to have a new vehicle and therefore leases rather than buys. She also pays very little attention to her vehicle, rarely checking oil or tire pressure etc.
Becuase of all that, she'd be a great candidate for leasing a vehicle with the scheduled maintenance included. I know some of the luxury brands offer free scheduled maintenance, but I'm not sure which ones. Some mainstream brands also have branched out into this - I'm aware of Mitsubishi offering 3 yrs / 45,000 miles free scheduled maintenance on its 2005 models.
Sounds good, though.
From the standpoint of my mother-in-law, who always pays for every service the dealer tells her to do, she stands to save a lot of money by choosing a vehicle that includes free scheduled maintenance. Yes, I know the dealers sometimes recommend more services, and more often, than the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule.
Here's a hot tip: While many models don't "offer" free scheduled maintenance, it's negotiable just like any other item. Neither of my vehicles had advertised free scheduled maintenance, yet I do have it. When we bought the vehicles, we weren't in a need-to-buy situation, and therefore had a payment price/monthly payment in mind, or else we didn't really want to buy at that time. When negotiating the price & trade, we couldn't quite get to the place we planned to be. The dealership offered to throw in the scheduled maintenance, and presto! We took the vehicles.
I guess the benefit to the dealership is that, if you're in for scheduled maintenance and your vehicle has one of many inevitable non-scheduled repair needs, you're more likely to just get that done at the dealership while you're there.
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I knew this was a negotiable item, and in some ways it is easier for the dealer to give you $x value of maintenance than to drop the vehicle price another $x. A drop in price is actual lost revenue, while the dealer is not necessarily losing service revenue by including scheduled maintenance, since the customer may do that maintenance elsewhere if it's not free. Plus as you said, it's a chance for the dealer to sell you other products and services that aren't included, while you are at the dealership.
It has the possibility of a win-win.
Why YOU do, of course! Simply built into the price of the car!
If Audis or BMWs have a high lease percentage (I think this is true), than all this free stuff is a good idea. It would encourage the lessee to get all the proper maintenance done and turn in a car in better shape. Seems like a good idea to me.
Sounds good though.
Does she go off road much? The current AMG H1 (the original Hummer) has servicing included for 4yrs/50k. :shades:
the 'free' 30k service resulted in the front pads and rotors being replaced(not included). after arguing, i paid for the labor to replace the pads, but not the parts (or labor on the rotors). the rotors were fine, the pads needed replacement based on how much brake dust the produced.
Should I buy the OEM warranty at the time of purchasing the car, or wait until the initial bumper to bumper warranty is close to running out?
Have you bought an OEM warranty in the past, and what was your experience like as far as cost, what type of coverage, length of coverage, etc. ?
You did not say which domestic vehicle you are purchasing!
Ford, GM, Chrysler???? Make, model??? You have to do some back track reading.
That is, I am sure, only part of it, I imagine that it is also an incentive in order to move product.
As far as suggestions, the only thing that comes to mind is something a friend told me about BMW having something of that nature.
I know this is old but just wanted to let people know in general.
You do not have to buy the Service Contract at Point of Sale, but! If you don't you incure a few things, one is a $100 surcharge if you wait until after the 12/12 has passed, plus the Service Contracts normally increase in price each year. So if you wait 3 years you pay possibly through 3 price increases