Almost all coupon deals are designed to get a car on the lift.  once they get your keys, and your signature, your hooked.   remember, you always have the right to say no to any additional sales

if your suspicious, pick a place where you are allowed to watch your car.  make sure they are doing what they say.

before buying any thing sold to you, do your research.   ex. make sure your car actually has a fuel filter before agreeing to have it replaced.

I have never seen any benefit of a “fuel injector cleaning” unless something happened to get it contaminated in the first place.  same with a trans flush machine.  even though many manufacturers do not schedule a trans service, it is good to do one every few years or so  (watch out for expensive fluids though, some are as much as 50 bucks a quart) but those flushing machines are only useful in cases of contamination.

Gone are the days of “one size fits all” fluids.  every car has its own materials such as ceramics and alloys.  therefore, they each have their own fluids.  There is usually a warning on the hood, or on or near the bottle.  you cant just glug green 6 dollar coolant into your beamer.

You dont get a deal with coupons, you get a corner cut.  I pay between 2.50 and 10 wholesale for an oil filter.  I have heard rumors that some “loonylube” shops pay as little as 19 cents for one.  the cheapy oil filters can potentially damage an engine.  in the long run, they absolutely will. Also, the mechanic that gets your invoice with the “coupon” is most likely getting a lower labor rate for your car.  If he is getting paid less, he will do less.

I have cars in for regular maintenance that have nearly 300 thousand miles on them, that have had nothing but the maintenance called for in the owners manual.  (mostly Toyotas)  if its not in owners manual, do your research.

O BTW,  remember: The guy at the parts counter is not a mechanic.  He is most likely not qualified to diagnose your car. Never go by what he alone says.

Posted on May 3rd, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized