Dealer Maintenance Schedules: Smart Protection or Expensive Overkill?

Good morning friends, you're tuned to Car Connection

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I'm your host, Niall Motormouth Jenkins,

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Yeah, I had that happen last year.

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Yep, that works.

We're going to need a couple of those today, absolutely.

Well, the snow continues.

We had a couple of major streamers yesterday

come through late afternoon and put down a couple,

just a couple more inches, just to, you know,

kind of let, you know, we're not done yet.

Yeah, we're not done yet here.

So let's see what we got going on today.

Let's have a look you see.

Where are we at?

Where you at?

Here we go.

Partly cloudy conditions expected around 10 a.m.

The lowest feels like temperature will be eight minus eight

around 7 a.m.

And let's go into some further details

so we can get some.

Here we go, precipitation totals.

It's six degrees now and mostly clear wind

is making it feel colder about minus eight degrees,

partly cloudy conditions from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

with mostly cloudy conditions expected

at 11 a.m. this morning.

Today's temperature range will be from five degrees

to 14 degrees and yeah, cold.

It's going to continue to be cold.

So today, overnight low will be five degrees

and the daytime high ready for it.

Can I get a big 14 degrees?

Wow.

And I have a zero on the pre-sip

petition and snow possibly 0.3 of an inch.

And let me tell you on the South Shore's Lake Erie,

that's a lie.

That can happen in just one swoosh.

Anyhow, what are we talking about this morning?

I knew you'd ask, I got it already.

Dealer maintenance schedules.

Helpful or overkill?

I have a lot of experience with that.

So we're going to unpack that.

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I know I do.

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Like the rain just kept coming until the end of June.

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All right, let's jump into this morning.

I had another little tidbit after I got off the air yesterday

and we were talking about why short trip

trips kill engines faster than high mileage.

I just wanted to give you one little tidbit recipe

of why the short trip vehicles kill engines

because I talked about contamination in the oil

and that is unburnt fuel, carbon, and moisture.

Moisture builds up in the oil pan and that ain't good.

So that's a combination.

That's a recipe for disaster

where all the internal workings are on your engine.

Is the engine's not running hard?

Not like you guys out there running 35, 40K

over the suggested speed limit.

Not like that.

Moderation, you know what I mean?

When you're losing weight

and you're working on your physique

so you can get into your favorite Keeney or Mankini

coming this summer, don't send pictures, please.

You gotta have a game plan and everything in moderation.

So while you're doing that,

you have to have what my dietician taught me was

you gotta have one freedom day.

But again, everything in moderation.

And that's the thing is that these vehicles

that do short trips, they don't run long enough,

hard enough to burn off all those things

that I just talked about, contaminants in the oil.

Unburnt fuel, which is knock submissions.

That's the big ticket item that we need to reduce.

Don't know fuel vapors escaping to the atmosphere.

Yeah, but we have two big countries that poo poo

in the sky more than all of us around the entire planet.

Do the math on that one.

It's mind numbing.

Number two, moisture.

The oil warms up just enough

that it's warm like putting, freshly made pudding

that's been cooling for a while.

So moisture condensation builds up

on the bottom end of the motor.

So the oil drops down and lays there.

And then we have an air pocket above that

and there's now moisture building in there.

So moisture's getting into the oil

and corroding things in the workings of your engine.

And then we have carbon.

Because the vehicle's not running hard

for extended periods of time,

we're not burning off the carbon.

So what do we have?

We create an oil bath stew that is acidic

and then it begins to eat the engine from the inside.

And that's where things like bearings,

connecting rod bearings, crankshaft bearings,

main journal bearings start to etch

and wear away regardless of mileage.

That's why short trip vehicles that are just,

in around town, sit in the garage for the most time,

that doesn't save a vehicle actually rots it right out.

Unless you're parking that vehicle

in a thermatically controlled area, rust begins.

If it's not moisture free

where you're parking it in your garage, rust begins.

And here's when rust begins.

40 degrees Fahrenheit with moisture in the air.

That's the recipe for rust.

So that kills the body on these short trip vehicles.

Although they look great from the top down.

And a great example is the Nissan Rogue

that was donated to us.

Thank you to Sandra, longtime listener

of Car Connection Radio, sent it down to us back in September

to look it over against the inspection

it already had at a shop in the Hamilton area.

And yeah, that car sat for about 11 months.

And so you can go to our YouTube channel

and actually see what we documented on that.

There's quite a number of videos there

doing different checkovers, inspections,

and showing you what's going on, why it's going on.

So all our YouTube videos will teach you

what it is, where it is, how it works, how it breaks,

and what could you learn from the basic fundamentals

of vehicle ownership to avoid those things?

To avoid those things from happening.

So that vehicle, that 08 Rogue is now,

I worked hard on it and we used it as an example

to create some videos so you can learn from that.

And that's one of the videos

where we did break nationals all summer.

That one was the last one, the 08 Rogue,

and it was a brake system, emergency brake system,

disaster from sitting.

There was nothing salvageable in the emergency brake system.

It was done and that was a big job.

It was a lot of work.

Then there were a lot of scabs underneath,

rusty crusties that I had to bang all the heavy rust off

so we could give it a really good coat

of corrosion free underneath and slow the rusties right down.

If that vehicle had sat for another six months,

it would have been over at the back of the vehicle.

There would have been some heavy duty rust

that was not good, not good.

So that's why I just wanted to touch on that

just a little bit more because that's what it means.

And we have some fleet vehicles

that we put together over the years

and every single one, even though they're in storage,

they gotta be gone over before they go out on the road

to fundraising events and local cruise events

to be out there meeting and greeting the people,

seeing the kids, faces light up

and we let them get in with their parents

and have their picture taken

and tell them they can tell their friends that they own it

and we'll hand them the keys.

It's really good.

We have a lot of fun with them.

They're not toys, they're tools,

but they need a lot of work all the time.

So come May, when we gotta start bringing them out,

we have to get them ready.

That means clean them up,

make sure everything is as it should be,

go over everything on the vehicle

because when they sit, they build problems.

So that's where I wanted to wrap that up this morning

with just a little bit more is contaminated engine oil

will kill that engine in no time flat.

So it was lower the mileage

and I talked about it yesterday.

I had received a vehicle from someone, again, donated.

It was parked for years

and it was always short-tripped.

It had very little mileage on it.

I cleaned it out, cleaned it completely inside and out,

did all the mechanicals and I sold it to a chap

who's gonna be commuting from Hamilton, Toronto every day.

Six months later, the motor just,

it developed a knock and it was over.

And the reason it was over was that acidic oil

being in that car for so long ate the bearings

that I just talked about.

Connecting rods, crankshaft, main journal bearings,

it eats them, it's acid.

And the babbit on the bearings just gets licked right off.

And when that happens, tolerances are wider

and things come apart.

So that's the short story.

So I wanted to get that in there this morning.

So we're talking about dealer maintenance schedules

and helpful or overkill.

Well, it's a love-hate relationship

when it comes to maintenance schedules.

And I've been talking about that and fleet maintenance

and how that all ties in together

is all the years working on hundreds

and hundreds of vehicles in huge fleets,

working along the fleet manager himself

to get all the maintenance is done.

And they gotta track every single unit that they have

in their fleet, that's what the fleet manager does.

And those vehicles, we'd have to go pick them up,

bring them down to the shop and go over the whole thing.

And don't miss a single thing

because that makes the difference

between getting the tender next time

when the tender comes up or not.

And I'm grateful that I worked in a shop

where the owner was a military mechanic.

He was hard to work for, but when we played,

he'd always say, when we works,

we works hard, when we plays, we have fun.

And he was a very good teacher.

And so we learned discipline to make sure

that we never missed anything.

And that's how I created

the Car Connection Maintenance Schedule Kit

to help my customers on the Hamilton Mountain

to stay on track with their vehicle maintenance

and you can simply track it on your own.

All age groups, folks,

there's three lines to the instructions, fellas, three.

And then you get different methods of posting it up

and it's laminated.

You even get a dry race marker with a clippy thing.

So you don't have to go looking for something

and you grab a Sharpie and you put marks on there

and they don't come up.

So I send you a, not a Sharpie, but a dry race marker.

And so you get stickies and magnets.

You post it up, it has a checklist

and you go through that checklist

and get everything done from top to bottom.

When you get to the bottom, you erase it off

and you start to pack at the top.

It's not rocket science.

Now, when we take a look at the dealers,

I'm not picking on the dealers.

So, hey, don't send me any hate mail

or, you know, a dead rat or anything like that.

Leave the rodents alone.

They have a purpose.

Sometimes squirrels, squirrel.

The dealer maintenance schedules.

I'm gonna give you a really big ace card

right out of the gate, okay?

When I closed my shop in 2001 due to health reasons,

I'm okay now, sort of, kind of maybe.

I have to watch myself.

I push myself too hard, but you know what?

That's just the way I'm wired.

Grew up working on farms and fruit farms and stuff.

You work hard and you have fun.

So I got to know my factory rep.

I got snatched up by a European car company

to come take care of a dealership,

get it sorted out because they were gonna lose

their license because they weren't playing right.

Things weren't running right.

And I never set foot in a dealership all of my trade,

not at all, ever.

So this was going to be an amazing experience

that I could share with you.

So it was like going in as a mole.

Yeah, mole, moly, moly, moly.

Yeah, going in as a mole and I learned a lot

and I developed a very good relationship

with my manufacturer's representative.

He was German, I am English.

Yeah, I was born in England.

Oldham Lancashire to be in fact correct on that.

In fact, I just found my birth certificate.

It's like a four by eight sheet.

Stinking huge.

Just going through a totter in my office,

the last one, and I found it.

And I had to send to England for it and it's huge.

Yeah, so we got talking one day

and we developed a really good relationship.

And here's what he said to me.

I can't take him off too well without laughing.

He was from Bavaria, very nice man, very nice man.

And he trusted me because I'm a service tech

and long time business owner

and we're trying to get this place turned around.

And we did.

We did get it turned around in 18 months.

And it was fantastic.

Fantastic group of people I got to work with.

Only had to say goodbye to one person

that wasn't willing to be part of the team.

There's no I in team, but there's a me.

And that's how he looked at it.

And I said, you have to go home now.

So anyhow, in a conversation about maintenance,

my manufacturer's representative says to me,

well, you know, Nile,

it is not the maintenance guide is just a suggestion.

It's not the Bible.

It's not written in stone.

I go, oh, so what are you saying?

He goes, the maintenance items on the maintenance

are just a suggestion.

So there you have it.

Right from a manufacturer, European manufacturer rep.

And they're very, I'll tell you, they were sticklers.

Boy, let me tell you, we didn't mess with anything.

It was their way or the highway.

But I was shocked when I heard that.

So here's the thing.

I have a neighbor that has a very expensive European car

and he freaks out.

I mean, and he's done well.

He's in his life.

Money's not really a problem, but it's a problem.

He says when it comes to these maintenance schedules,

he says $800.

He goes, I'm going in for an oil change

and it's gonna cost me 800 bucks

because they're doing some kind of inspections.

Well, here's what I suggest.

Now, knowing what I know,

that the maintenance schedules from the factory

are only suggestions.

Here's what I do for all the makes and models.

I take a look at what they're doing

on the maintenance schedule that you're due for.

So whether it's eight, 16, 24, 32, 56, 64K services.

And I look to see what are some of the items they're checking

because what that tells me as a tech

is if I see the same items coming up

in each one of those maintenance schedules

that they're just checking,

those may be the items that the factory knows

they have issues with.

So they're keeping an eye on those things.

Just like a great example is the 2008 Nissan Rogue

that was donated.

Now it's, we brought, we rescued it.

It's back to life.

There's a couple of things to do yet.

A door hinge, the shifter thingy is automatic shifter knob

kind of rotates counterclockwise

and clockwise or something in there.

I know what it is.

I got to try and explain that to the dealer

so I can get the pieces parts to fix that.

I've never had to experience that before.

It has areas that are prone for rust

and I see a little surface rust there now.

So we're on that.

The big thing is the CVT transmission sucks

with a big K and a large S.

You got to know, don't be towing with it.

Don't be driving the living daylights out of it

and change the transmission oil with the factory oil.

Not something from a parts jobber

with the factory transmission oil every 30,000 miles

and shut the front door.

Get it done.

Then your CVT is going to go,

ah, I like you, kind of like this guy.

Yeah, you got to stay on top of it.

So those are the shortfalls I found.

I wrote them down, I go,

we need to pay attention to these things

if we want to now take this thing to the next level

and that is get some ROI on all the parts we threw at it

that it had to have.

We didn't get out the parts can

and we knew exactly what we were doing.

So with that, you can use the dealer maintenance schedules

to look it over and see where I see check and inspect

and things like that.

They charge you for that.

Mm-hmm.

So I go like, check glove box.

Okay, doors closed.

Oh, but if the tech grabs the handle on lowers,

let's that thing lower down and close it,

that's probably just cost you 30 bucks.

That stuff bugs me.

It's like, come on.

You know, even when we were doing fleet maintenance

for checking stuff, we check when that vehicle ends up

in your stall, your deal is you inspect it.

It's your checklist and if you miss something,

it's coming back to you.

You're the guy, not the man.

You're the guy that it's gonna come back to.

And there's gonna be a what for and how to.

Let me tell you.

Yeah.

So here's where I see that stuff

and you're paying for it, check, look, it's visual.

Right, I go down the checklist and I see everything

in each maintenance and I don't want ones are visual.

Which ones are hands on?

I don't like the idea that we're billing the customer

through the teeth for the looky see eye spy, I call it.

That's what my boss used to say.

Do an eye spy on that and be thorough.

That meant don't miss anything

because then we get in trouble.

So when I see things like check this, check that,

check this, they're billing for doing nothing but look.

Just look.

That's it.

Like a little dog, you know?

Like a Jack Russell Terrier in a bounce house

filled with balls.

He's looking all over, like 360.

His head's rotating like Linda Blair in the exorcist.

I just gave my age away maybe.

But anyways, that's the stuff that ticks me off.

The ticks in the tech box, they're billing it for that.

If they're doing something hands on, that's different.

But in my opinion, a lot of that stuff,

I would not bill my customer for it and never did.

We would, well, an oil change going on,

I would do a complete look around on the vehicle,

looky see, check in over, do a show and tell,

make sure I don't miss something

that could put them on the side of the highway

or bring their vehicle in on a flatbed.

That was embarrassing.

So that's what our goal was.

We had a comeback rate of less than 1%.

And that doesn't come by as a gift.

You gotta work on it and you gotta make sure

you cover your customer's vehicle.

So when I'm checking stuff, check wiper blades,

check lights, check tire pressures,

check, check, check, check driver's door handle,

in door handle, blah, blah, blah.

When I see all that stuff, I'm like, come on.

That's nickel and diming the customer.

So that's where I don't, that's what I don't like.

Let's get into the meat and the potatoes

of fleet vehicle maintenance.

The check things, you can do that

as you're going around the vehicle

and working on other pieces of the vehicle

and not hitting the customer for every little looky see,

oh, I touched the lid of the glove box, 0.1 per hour.

That's the stuff, no, no, no, no, times no,

divided by no, plus no, is no all day long.

So I say that to say this.

They say you have to do the factory maintenance schedules

at the dealer or you have no warranty.

I did a lot of dealer services at my shop

and filled out their book, gave them a copy of their bill

so that it was all on there,

that the vehicle was serviced as per the manufacturer's

outlined maintenance schedule

for the mileage is currently at.

So I made sure I covered my customer's butt

and that all the information was properly recorded

because I did warranty work as well at the dealer

and it's dot the I's cross the T's

or your claim gets bounced back.

You have to be thorough.

So I totally know and understand the paperwork

and documentation at dealer level.

It was four and a half years of hell working 80 plus,

80 plus hours a week, but going in as I was willing

to go in as a mole to learn the politics

and stuff goings on behind the curtain at a dealership

and I learned a lot, I learned a lot

and there's stuff that I will never speak of

because then I would probably get a dead rat

or a chocolate x-lax pan of brownies

and I don't want that.

No, no, we don't do that stuff.

So I'm not here to hurt people.

I'm here to teach you what I know for,

I just calculated it out yesterday.

Long time, 50 years, 50, I've been around

the automotive business 50 years and license since 1988,

my license and I just got the bill today, thanks.

Yeah, I got to pay for my licenses again.

So they're due and never stop learning folks.

Never stop learning, read everything

so you don't miss anything.

So that's what I want to wrap up

with the dealer maintenance schedules is,

a lot of shops that are organized can do

your dealer maintenance schedules, record it properly

and make sure that all your documentation's filled out,

the book in the glove box gets filled out and stamped.

You don't have to go to the dealer.

That's, as long as all that information

is recorded properly, that on the work order performed,

dealer, manufacturer maintenance according to blah, blah, blah.

And that's all on the RO, the repair order,

the mileage is recorded in your book, it's stamped,

it's dated and then I would always put an invoice

reference number right in the book as well.

So if there's anybody who's saying,

oh, you're warranty's void, oh, it's void.

No, it's not, sorry buddy.

Try again.

Door number two in the rice errone for the rest of your life.

Yeah, no, no, it's not.

It's like the manufacturer's saying,

well, you had your vehicle rust proofing earlier,

it's a warranty's void.

No, no, no, it's not.

That annual rust proofing will not void your factory warranty.

Yeah, so I'm your man.

When it comes to that stuff, I know every dot,

every eye, every tittle.

When it comes to working behind the curtain in a dealership.

When I had 27 adult children to take care of,

and we were good, we had a good crew and I miss them.

Because we worked our butts off to go from number 12

at the bottom.

That doesn't mean you're number one.

We were number 12 in a district of 12 dealerships

about to lose its license and in 18 months

working together as a team with the vision

being the customer to service the customer.

That's why we're all there.

We went number one in Ontario and Canada

for parts and service and we got all kinds of accolades.

The VIP box at Toronto Maple Leafs, it was crazy.

We got all kinds of gifts for doing so

and we were a great team.

We did pool parties at So-and-So's house

and So-and-So's house and went out

and watched the movies together.

We were a team and new owners came in

and that just blew it all to hell in a hand basket.

But yeah, it was awful.

It was awful.

I think the first ones to go.

Yeah, they told me I didn't know what I was doing.

Yeah, I had all these awards.

We had all these awards.

I had awards and everything right from the factory

but I didn't know what I was doing.

We turned the dealer from number 12 to number one

and I just said, okay, I'm ready to go anyway.

82 hours a week total every week.

No holidays, no sick days.

Couldn't even escape for lunch.

I made them too much money.

So anyways, I know a dealer inside and out dealerships

and they all run pretty much the same.

Yeah, pretty much the same.

They're all departments.

There's Mothership, which is the dealer.

Then there's the F&I department

where they sell you stuff you don't really need

like fabric protection.

Go buy yourself a $23 can of Scotch Guard.

My 3M, there you go.

Do it yourself, 23 bucks.

Might be 30 now, but it's not like 300 bucks.

And then paint protection.

Don't go there, the electronic rust buster.

No, got one down in the shop there.

We call it the rust buster 2000.

Yeah, so that's that department.

Sell you stuff you really don't need.

The cleanup department, that's the detailing department.

Then you have the service department.

Then you have the parts department.

Then you have the sales.

There's new car sales, used car sales.

They're all separate businesses working under Mothership.

That's how it works.

Yeah, so I think we'll clean it up there

and wrap it up there.

Coming up tomorrow morning,

I hope you'll come back and join us again.

And we wanna thank our certified financial planning

professionals for sure.

Tony Mealy and Larry Tietro helping you

get answers to your questions.

That's what they're there for.

I've worked with these guys for 20 years.

They are myself and some of my personal friends,

financial planners, and they've helped them to make money

once they got their investments out of the bank.

Yeah, they're making good money and they're happy.

They're like, motor mouth, freaking love you, buddy.

Do not hug me.

Yeah, so get your questions answered by those

who have the fruit on the tree.

Period, I can't say it any plainer.

If you got an investment portfolio with the bank,

you need to get some questions answered, my friends.

If you're into debt, up your eyeball,

and you have intense moments of fellowship with your wife,

because if Mama ain't happy, the whole house ain't happy.

She's the thermostat, man, she's the thermostat.

You gotta get that under control.

And if you think it's not, you just can't do it.

Yeah, there are ways, there are ways.

Estate planning, you got kids, you got a house,

you got a car, you got a checkbook.

I'm speaking to the young generation.

Yeah, we don't get out of this thing called life without death.

Yeah, you don't get out of it alive.

That's right, and you have to think about that

and plan for that.

We don't all plan to die,

but it's gonna happen at some point.

That's what the young generation,

moms and dads, grandparents, whoever's listening,

you gotta help them to learn this,

because I've heard that so many times.

Well, I don't plan on dying.

Well, what are you gonna do?

Get an estate plan and powers attorney

when you're already gone?

Come on, that's all gotta be taken care of.

All age groups, estate planning, powers attorney,

you do not do it yourself.

The fellows take care of that.

Setting up a mortgage, I haven't had a mortgage

with a bank for almost 20 years.

I'm done with the banks.

They don't treat you right.

Especially when you're self-employed,

you're like dirt, dog poopy.

In fact, I had a bank manager look at me and say,

Nile, I hate small business.

See ya, and I did.

I got out of there, went back to the credit union.

They treat you like people there.

And more, there's so much available to you

through Tony Malley and Blurry Teacher,

you'll love them.

Pick who you wanna work with, book that hour in a coffee,

complimentary discovery meeting, at home, by Zoom,

in person, whatever you're comfortable with,

but connect, connect with them.

They're not selling you anything

and they do not need any more clients.

They've been in the biz combined 50 years.

They know what they're doing.

They absolutely do.

They're two of the best decorated CFPs in Canada,

but you'll never hear them say that.

Connect, connect with them.

City Auto Sales and Leasing,

you're shopping for cars, we can help you.

Prevent from buying somebody else's junk

and taking it home and having to fix it.

City Auto Sales and Leasing, low mileage,

quality vehicles at fair prices.

That's how they've earned the title of Greater Toronto Areas,

premier pre-owned auto store.

Check in with their own Louise Grant,

husband and wife team, amazing people to deal with.

They are car people.

They love what they do.

They do in-house financing and leasing.

Check in with them.

They got a good inventory inside and outside,

but if they don't have what you're looking for,

let them do the legwork.

They have the resources.

Let them take care of that.

They're not gonna sell you any junk.

Thank you to Rainbow Motors and Garage up in Scarborough,

Rita and Ramiz, Shenouda are the brothers up there.

They have a small car lot as well.

Again, they're not gonna sell you any junk.

Some of their vehicles they sell,

you can get an extended warranty package with that as well.

If you need that sense of security, sales and service,

you can trust to all years make some models,

including light commercial vehicles.

That's Rainbow Motors and Garage.

Been a part of car connection for decades

and we love those guys up there.

They take care of our peeps very, very well.

Trust, that's it.

Sales and service, you can trust.

So till tomorrow, what are we talking about tomorrow?

Well, we'll prep the pump or prime the pump

or poke you in the eye one or the other and wake you up.

How to make any vehicle last 300K,

the 400K Club and the 600K Club.

I don't have a vehicle yet, the 600K.

I'm pushing for 400K on the 07 FJ Cruiser.

I was out in the snow yesterday.

What a beast, we got into some road drifts and stuff.

I went with Stevensville area and it was fun.

Yeah, there was nobody else on the road.

I was smashing drifts.

That thing is a beast in four wheel drive.

But you gotta keep it on the road.

There was a moment there, but we handled it.

We handled it very well.

So drive according to road conditions,

keep an eye on the weather pattern

because yesterday we had a streamer come out of nowhere

late afternoon that put down like two and a half inches

of snow in like half an hour.

And it was almost zero visibility.

I just backed in, I went to do a service call,

put a battery back in a single mom's van, everything cool.

Shoveled out her driveway to get the van out,

turned it around, got it out of the wind, parked it

and all was good.

I just backed into the driveway here at the studio

and I'm like, where did that come from?

And now I got all the gear down low.

Cheapers man, that part stinks.

But anyways, we got it looked after.

So be safe, keep it under 100.

Watch out for the other guy.

And remember, happy, healthy motoring,

peace, patience, kindness always.

We'll see you tomorrow morning for more

of the MotorMouth Morning Drive.

Dealer Maintenance Schedules: Smart Protection or Expensive Overkill?

About this episode

Jeep Wrangler

Nissan Rogue

Freedom Automotive

oil contamination

bearings

thermally controlled area

rust

moisture

40 degrees Fahrenheit

emergency brake system

contaminated engine oil

short-tripped

acidic oil

connecting rods

crankshaft

Nissan 2008 Nissan

automatic shifter knob

CVT transmission

dealer maintenance schedules

repair order

Nissan Leaf

F&I department

fabric protection

Toyota FJ Cruiser

four wheel drive

Renault Wind

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