Long-term relationships aren’t built around short-term vehicles
We’re very proud and grateful about our stellar on-line reviews, but we do have a few bad ones. Of these, one issue stands out- our older vehicle policy for NEW clients. We have many EXISTING clients with older vehicles we’ve cared for for years, and we’ll continue working on those vehicles as long as it makes economic sense to the client. However, we won’t take on a NEW client if their client is 15-years-old or older. Most people calling our shop for the first time understand and accept this business decision with no problem, but a few take it as a personal insult. If anyone is confused or upset by this policy, it’s up to us to explain…
First of all, we should reassure our EXISTING clients that our older vehicle policy applies to NEW clients ONLY! If you’re a Tom Dwyer client, your vehicle won’t “age out”. We’ll continue keeping your vehicle safe, breakdown-free, and operating at its best as long as you choose to work with us. But why won’t we do the same with new clients? Because it’s not about the vehicles, it’s about the relationships.
There are people with older vehicles who care for them meticulously; all the oil changes on time, maintenance schedules followed religiously, and every part replaced as it failed. These people aren’t the norm. The vast majority of older vehicles have a laundry list of problems, known and unknown, that are either failing or are about to fail.
We recommend our Comprehensive Inspection for every new client on their first visit. This involves 2-4 hours of an ASE-Certified Technician evaluating every accessible system on the vehicle, measuring brake pads and spark plug gaps, testing fluid pH, and over a hundred other points. This is designed to document the vehicles’ complete mechanical condition when we first see it… what’s working fine, what’s failing now, and what’s likely to fail soon. We use this evaluation to build a list of service recommendations prioritized by safety issues, break-down prevention, and maintenance. On older vehicles, especially neglected ones, this list of needed services often exceeds 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. A new client presented with an extensive list of expensive repairs is rightly suspicious, and may not listen when we tell them we don’t recommend ANY repairs on economically totaled vehicles. They don’t have a basis of trust with us and may worry we’re trying to deceive them. If we DO just perform the highest-priority services, they’re still left with second-and-third priority issues that will fail soon and guarantee more expensive trips back. We don’t like being in the position of prioritizing repairs on vehicles that may be beyond economical repair because it’s not a good basis for a service relationship of any kind.
For our existing clients with older vehicles, we started maintaining those vehicles when they were newer and have continued to service them as they age. We’ve developed relationships with these clients, and we both know and accept the responsibilities for the vehicle’s current needs and conditions. 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 services 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 any potential new clients, but we’ve learned from experience that trying to start a service relationship based on a challenged vehicle almost never works. Vehicles should come and go, but the service relationship should last for generations.
+++++++++++++++++++
As hard as we try to explain this policy, one of our clients may have done it best. Here’s a 2012 review from Robb W. on Yelp that puts it very succinctly…
“Tom Dwyer’s is solid as hell across all fronts. They know most makes and models and bend over backwards to make your experience there the best you could ever imagine…seriously. Is your car less than 15 years old? Then they will be able to take care of you in all likelihood. Why 15 years? Their philosophy is that after 15 years, your money is better spent on a newer car…that the repairs will mount and it is no longer cost effective to continue to fix your old hooptie. And no, they don’t sell new cars as a side business…it’s just smart thinking and they’re not trying to take your money doing a bunch of avoidable repairs.
Hell, sometimes they’re not trying to take your money at all. I have been there on two separate occasions where they have put my car up on the lift, actually done some work and refused to charge me…not a single thin dime. This after taking me to work in their shuttle.”
Thanks, Robb!
