Excerpt:
My father was a marine in World War II, and he had a reputation for scrupulous honesty. I learned from him that you had to level with people. Later on, that got me into trouble in the service business.... That didn't go over too well in the dealerships.
I grew up working in the service department of a Chevrolet dealership in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. My father and uncle started the franchise about the time I was born. As a kid I was always down there washing cars or pricing parts. At that time, GM probably made the best product in the world.
After I got out of college, I moved to California and got a job as a service writer at a domestic dealership in a wealthy area. Later, I went to work at a specialty car company that was building high-end cars, and I was their national service manager for years.
What I learned over the years always put me at odds with my bosses. They wanted me to sell more, to recommend service that wasn't needed and to overcharge for the work being done. Ultimately, I concluded that the fundamental incentives built into the system were dishonest. I couldn't do it anymore so I got out of the business.
So here are a few things I learned that will save you a whole lot of money.
link here:http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/maintenance/articles/152366/article.html
My father was a marine in World War II, and he had a reputation for scrupulous honesty. I learned from him that you had to level with people. Later on, that got me into trouble in the service business.... That didn't go over too well in the dealerships.
I grew up working in the service department of a Chevrolet dealership in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. My father and uncle started the franchise about the time I was born. As a kid I was always down there washing cars or pricing parts. At that time, GM probably made the best product in the world.
After I got out of college, I moved to California and got a job as a service writer at a domestic dealership in a wealthy area. Later, I went to work at a specialty car company that was building high-end cars, and I was their national service manager for years.
What I learned over the years always put me at odds with my bosses. They wanted me to sell more, to recommend service that wasn't needed and to overcharge for the work being done. Ultimately, I concluded that the fundamental incentives built into the system were dishonest. I couldn't do it anymore so I got out of the business.
So here are a few things I learned that will save you a whole lot of money.
link here:http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/maintenance/articles/152366/article.html
