To Be Or Not To Be?

[Zee09]

Like many here I'm a life long oil changer and a non tire rotator.
Set in my ways. Although no longer super uptight.

I only go to a dealer for warranty repairs or adjustments within the warranty period.
Prefer never to go back.


Found a dealership that up until this point has been flawless. I'm ready to buy, just waiting
to pull the trigger. One of their competitors lists 50 rebates. A bunch of nonsense. The best one was >

"Bad Credit History" gets you a rebate of $1250.00 Wow- yes it is true!
The dealer I went to has a certified price that you pay- guaranteed. No B-S. I prefer that and the
deal is super fair!

The issue.

They offer the lifetime powertrain warranty with free oil changes and rotations and car washes.

The rules are conventional is free- FS is an upcharge. You have to get it done every 5000 miles or every 6 months.

Fine! Same for the rotations. This has to be done at the dealer from day one. Do your own once and it is over.

I feel like I'm being foolish but I don't do rotations, don't want others working on my vehicles, and not a fan of 5K
changes. I like my own brew and filter.


It is a take it or leave it deal.
What would you do?

I can see where some folks would die for this. I do understand it also is geared to the upsell and future business.
That is always the case.

 

[bullwinkle]

What are the terms of the "lifetime powertrain warranty" & what does it cover? I honestly can't believe there isn't an added cost there somehow, a lot of modern cars have ridiculous prices to replace parts (like my work Transit's $5000 rear brake job & torque converter). I'm a little confused on the rotations, too-is there some kind of tire warranty reason?

 

[billt460]

Buy the car for the best deal you can get on the price of the car itself. Forget about all of the silly fluff designed to get you back into the dealership. It's all nothing but a game to get you to come back with your car and wallet. All this nonsense about "free" tire rotations, washes, oil changes are all a gimmick, nothing more. Dealerships do nothing for "free". Work on the best possible out the door price. Nothing more based on nothing else.

My dealer gave me the whole song and dance about the, "free washes for the life of the car". I told him I'm not going to drive 27 miles one way for a car wash, or a tire rotation, or oil change.... "Free" or otherwise. These people are so caught up in their gimmickry, they lose possession of any common sense. That dealer will never see my car again, unless something breaks.

 

[Kira]

"To Be or Not To Be" is one of the BEST movies ever made. I was hoping that was the subject of the thread.

#1) You like the dealership but know everything they do is a lie or an upsale trick. Keep that in mind.

#2) As mentioned above; determine what the warranty's details are. Is it a manufacturer's warranty or a bogus "3 fold flyer" deal in a holder in the waiting room?

#3) Do you hate others working on your car so much that tire rotations constitute a violation. Maybe get over that for rotations.

#4) Regarding NOT doing rotations. Are you one of those people who thinks rotating tires is bad? Tell 'em not to rotate them if you go for the package deal.

#5) What oil and filters would they use? I assume the full synthetic deal is an upsell. Go for the conventional oil deal and drain it out when you get home and refill with whatever you like. Give the conventional oil to the paper boy.

#6) If, after you qualify all this stuff, you see no value in it DON'T BUY IT. If that means buying the car someplace else, do that.

Torture yourself....let them torture you....juggle the elements of the simple deal they offer you and make a decision. I'd be real wary of any lifetime warranty.

 

[raytseng]

dont be a slave to this warranty or let it cramp your style. its just a car and all modern cars are generally reliable.

Just evaluate that warranty as having no value to you and if the price is still good then buy it for that price.

It seems like the hoops you have to jump through are stressing you out.
A service package like this are supposed to reduce stress not add stress.

 

[benhen77]

Read the lifetime warranty carefully. The dealer I bought the Kia from offered it too, but there were tons of conditions, including bringing the car in to the dealer for every major service (IIRC it was every 15-20k). Oil changes were free for first three years, and beyond that, it didn't matter where the oil was changed. Plus there was a deductible for any claim through the dealer warranty. Essentially, they're well-covered if they have to pay out a claim, as they made plenty off of you already with each major service in the hundreds of dollars- some of them just being them poking around and checking fluid levels/brake life/ etc. Went to the dealer for the free oil changes up until a tech left the oil cap sitting atop the engine instead of screwing it back in, then decided it wasn't worthwhile to have someone else work on my car.

 

[Zee09]

Agreed.
To guys like us this only sours a good deal.
This sucks in the something for nothing crowd but you really aren't getting anything.
Their prices are great and I'll leave the freebies for some other sucker

I'm sure it is fine but I'm not a bulk oil and a econo filter kind of a guy.

 

[Wolf359]

I wouldn't bother.

 

[SnowDrifter]

I wonder if/how the magnuson moss warranty act would apply here

 

[Vikas]

Are you the person who asked about wanting to purchase $25K to $75K car? If so, something is not computing with that topic and this topic.