Greetings!
I’ve heard some misconceptions from clients that I wanted to clear up. It seems our 1998 and newer policy may not be well understood.
Welcoming new clients with 1998 and newer vehicles, and servicing our existing clients’ vehicles of any year.
We limit accepting new clients to those with 1998-or-newer vehicles, but some of our
existing clients with older vehicles may be worried that we will stop servicing their vehicles when they get too old. NOT TO WORRY! If you’re an active Tom Dwyer client, we’ll continue to service your vehicle!
We have many longstanding clients with older vehicles, and we plan to keep them happy for years to come! We started maintaining those vehicles when they were newer and continue to service them as they age. We’ve developed relationships with these clients, and both parties know and accept the responsibilities for the vehicle’s current needs and conditions. We will continue to service these vehicles as long as it makes sense, but years of experience has taught us not to start new client relationships based around older, often challenged vehicles.
Older vehicles, especially those lacking regular service can be a “house of cards” due to their age, service history, or condition. Often after thorough inspection the list of needed service can exceed the value of the vehicle, a situation we call “economically totaled”. It is very difficult establishing a new service relationship based around a vehicle in this position. New clients don’t have a basis of trust to work with us, and often will not take responsibility for the problems they may face and we don’t like being in the position of prioritizing repairs on vehicles that may be beyond economical repair.
One of our biggest values is letting clients know when the economic viability of their vehicle has passed and it’s time to move on; not just fixing the current failure and getting back on the road. Once we’ve built a trusting service relationship with a client, they listen to us if there is a glitch in a repair or we tell them it’s time to part with their vehicle. It’s difficult to build that kind of relationship around a vehicle that is already worn out.
Our maintenance programs will extend a vehicle’s lifespan, but it’s rarely worth playing “catch up” to get an older, poorly maintained vehicle running safely and reliably. We hate to say “no” to a potential new client, but we have too much respect to start a relationship that is not mutually beneficial. Vehicles should come and go, but the service relationship should last for generations.
If you are an existing client and you have a vehicle older than 1998 that we have not serviced, there are options. If it is a good model with less than 150,000 miles we can do our Comprehensive Inspection to document the actual needs and conditions of the vehicle. If, after our inspection, the vehicle is found to be in a condition we can support; we will.
Make a great day,
Tom
