If your car’s going down a money pit, don’t follow it in.
Back in the days when $5000 could buy a reliable used car, our Service Advisor was delivering bad news to a client after their Comprehensive Inspection. “We found a long list of issues,” he said, “and just fixing the most important things will be over $3000.” But he wasn’t finished. “The Blue Book value of your car is only $3500, and I really don’t think it’s worth it for you to do these repairs… I think it’s time to move on to another vehicle.” The client decided to think about it and called back the next day. “No, this is my baby”, he said. “I’ve been driving this car for 15 years and I really love it. Let’s go ahead and do the repairs.” The client went back and forth a little with the Service Advisor until Tom himself got on the phone and said “Sir, when the man who’s going to make $3000 from you tells you not to do it, LISTEN TO HIM!” The client sold the vehicle and we’re glad to say he’s still a client (though with a different vehicle) today.
Now, Tom Dwyer Automotive Services is not a charity. We like profit. It keeps our staff and their families happy and allows us to continue as a business, but not all profit is created equal. Tom has always been crystal clear about precisely what kind of profit we work for. We could have profitably made the repairs to this client’s vehicle, made him happy, and profited even more as his car continued sliding downhill, but that wouldn’t have been in the client’s interest. Profit from needed services, performed quickly and well, in the clients’ long-term interest, is an exchange that’s fair to our company and our client. We’ll gladly do that all day! Profit that only benefits us is predatory and we want no part of it.
Sometimes it makes perfect sense to spend big on an existing vehicle and with used car prices in 2024 averaging over $25000, ever larger expenses can still be valid. A $6000, $7000, or even $8000 bill for a new transmission or engine might be justifiable if the rest of the vehicle is mechanically sound enough to continue for another hundred thousand miles. $200 for a new alternator is a waste if the vehicle needs thousands more just to be safe to drive.
Your ownership goals drive our advice. Our default position is that you intend to keep reliably driving the vehicle for the foreseeable future. But what if you want to sell it? Unless the repair will pay for itself in increased resale value we’ll say don’t do it. Often, it’s better to put a vehicle up for sale on Craigslist as a “mechanics’ special” (with any faults clearly listed) than put a dime into making it better. Suppose you want to give it to your kid in college? We’ll push safety and breakdown-prevention recommendations, but if the AC is wonky or there’s a strange rattle from the back we’ll suggest they live with it. Just want to drive it on the weekends as a farm truck? The oil seep that would have been a priority for another client can safely be ignored for you.
Our service is designed to “keep your vehicles safe, breakdown-free, and operating at their best”, which isn’t the same as doing whatever our clients want. Sometimes a customer is just wrong and as professionals it’s our job to say so. Even if it upsets the person in front of us. Even if it costs us money. Please, when we tell you “no”, LISTEN TO US! Because that, above all else, is what you pay us for.
