Don’t eat off this menu!

Why mileage-based “Service Menus” are not for you

Many people think that sensible auto ownership demands trips to the Dealer (or your local independent shop) for the dreaded 30-, 60-, or 90,000-mile services.  That’s a reasonable idea because of course your vehicle wears with mileage, most components have a predictable service life, and it makes sense to prevent or repair damage to critical systems as (or before) they fail.  These major mileage services are very useful guidelines, but they are NOT the best service for your or your vehicle and it’s important to understand why.

Where do milege-interval services come from?

Selling millions of copies of a product gives manufacturers a very good idea of how those products perform in use.  Toyota knows their vehicles typically have a service life of 200-300K miles while Kia expects 150-200K on average.  Parts manufacturers have this same knowledge; an alternator is good for 80-150K miles, tires are good for 50-60K miles, batteries are good for 3-5 years, on average.  You may get more or less service from your particular vehicle or part but real-world experience has zeroed in on their realistic lifetimes.  On average.  If you do nothing other than change parts (or vehicles) on the manufacturers’ schedules, most likely, on average, you’ll probably do OK.  But none of us are average.

Your personal situation affects service life

Your individual driving habits and the environment you drive in play a huge role in how well your vehicle performs, and for how long.  If your vehicle is a daily driver that occasionally makes long trips, then you’ll probably be in-line with the wear schedule or maybe even ahead of it if you’re really careful.  But if you’re driving the washboard roads of eastern Oregon, your shocks and struts may fail sooner.  The heat of the Southwest can hurt your battery, hauling trailers up Mt. Hood can take a toll on your transmission, and the salted roads of the Northeast can destroy your entire vehicle.

What’s in a typical mileage-based menu service

Manufacturers and Dealers use these average vehicles’ and parts’ lifetimes to create a mileage-based “menu” of services for 30, 60, and 90,000 miles.  They group things together that are likely to need attention at these “major milestones”.   The specifics vary wildly by manufacturer, but according to AAA this is what you should expect at the big three intervals…

30,000 miles-

• • Oil and oil filter change
  • Tire rotation, balance and inspection
  • Fluid checks and replacements including coolant/antifreeze, brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering
  • Air filter inspection and change
  • Engine air filter replacements
  • Cabin air filter
  • Battery test and inspection
  • Belts, wiper blades and hoses inspection
  • Suspension and steering system evaluation

60,000 miles-

• • Everything done at 30,000 miles, plus
  • Timing/serpentine belt inspection
  • Transmission fluid and filter change
  • Brake system maintenance including pads, shoes, and fluid
  • Fuel and ignition system including PCV valve and fuel system cleaning

90,000 miles-

• • Everything done at 30,000 miles again, plus
  • Timing belt and water pump replacement
  • New spark plugs
  • New battery
  • Inspect engine mount and suspension components
  • Wheel bearings, CV joints, and drive line
  • Full brake fluid replacement
  • Power steering and differential fluid change
  • Coolant flush and replacement

How these menus are used

Again, you won’t go too far wrong if you follow these recommendations, but it’s the way they’re used in shops that can be problematic.  If you go to most shops and ask for a 30, 60, or 90K service (and certainly the Dealer) they’ll do everything on the list WHETHER YOU NEED IT OR NOT and only then tell you about other problems they ‘found’ while working.  These will often come with a ‘while we’ve got it up on the rack’ upsell, sometimes a more high-pressure suggestion of safety concerns, or even the most aggressive ‘we can’t release a car in this condition’ pressure tactic.  These are rarely done with your vehicle ownership goals in mind, they’re almost always done to benefit the shops’ bottom line.

Why service menus aren’t for YOU

There are many reasons we think these menus aren’t the best way to deliver vehicle service.

• Menu services don’t consider the impact of your personal situation. You may be harder on some systems than the average driver, so they may need more attention sooner and neglect could cause damage elsewhere in your vehicle.  On the other hand, if you’re more careful than the average driver then you may have lots of life left in any particular part and replacing it ‘on schedule’ may be a waste of your money.
• Menu services don’t prioritize the recommendations. For instance, ‘brake pads, shoes, and fluid’ are all due at 60K miles, they’re all pretty spendy, and they all WILL be done if you bring the vehicle in for menu service!  But replacing them is a waste of your money if you also need a leaking oil gasket repair that’s worth more than the value of your car.
• Menu services don’t look at your vehicle as a whole. Your vehicle is not a pile of parts, it’s an intricately connected system that functions as one unit. Menu services limit the Technicians’ focus to just the items on the menu and not the whole vehicle.  The ‘courtesy check’ they include in most service packages does look at off-menu items, but only in the most superficial way.  Our Comprehensive Inspection is a deep check of all those other systems that aren’t ‘supposed’ to be failing at any particular mileage interval.
• Menu services can give a false sense of good maintenance. In writing this article we saw several questions on Reddit with a similar theme, “I’ve only done oil changes, but now I’m due for my 60K service.  How much is it?”  Those people thought they were taking proper care of their cars but they weren’t because your vehicle can develop a wide range of serious problems well within the 30,000-mile windows of menu services.  Being blissfully unaware of a problem isn’t the same as not having a problem, and these issues can kill your vehicle very effectively well before the menu says you’re due to come in.

How Tom Dwyer is different

In our professional opinion, good service is not delivered by a menu designed for some fictional ‘average’ driver or vehicle.  YOU are an individual, your vehicle has individual problems, and both you and your vehicle deserve INDIVIDUAL service.

Our process is to inspect each vehicle (90-point for light lookovers; Comprehensive Inspection for a full, deep look), diagnose any problems, identify solutions, prioritize all our recommendations, then review them with you to make sure everything fits with your plans and budget.  Then we do the repairs you authorize at the budget you authorize and return your vehicle at the time we promised.  The result is simple, effective, budget-conscious auto service precisely tailored to your needs.

Of course we use the menu service guidelines, but we use them as just that… guidelines.  If Toyota says your spark plugs are good for 60,000 miles they probably know what they’re talking about so we’ll definitely be checking, but we won’t just replace them because they’re on the list.  We’ll pull a plug and measure the gap to see if they’re wearing according to schedule.  If they are then we’ll recommend the change, but if not then it’s money saved for you.

Another example is your timing belt.  The soft rubber serpentine belts and other exposed belts are easy to check rather than replace by time, but your timing belt is different.  This belt is good for around 80-100K miles and MUST be changed BEFORE it breaks because when it does it can severely damage or even destroy the whole engine.  But your timing belt lives deep inside your engine where it can’t be inspected without hours of labor to just get to it, and it doesn’t give any warning before it breaks.  In this case we MUST rely on manufacturers’ recommended interval.  We’ll start preparing you for a timing belt change around 70-80K miles and gradually strengthening our recommendation as you get near the 100K mark.  We’ll be very loud in recommending it if you go past 100K miles!

Let’s talk price

“How much is a 60K service for my car?”  Our Advisors hear it all the time, but as we’ve explained we don’t know because we don’t offer pre-packaged menu services.  But we realize that your time and money are valuable and a bargain-priced service package can sound attractive.  How does our process stack up, price-wise, to the Dealers’ menus?

Apparently no one else really knows how much a 60K service is either!  We checked prices for a pre-packaged 60K service on a 2020 Toyota Camry.  The InterTubes showed us a range from an extreme low-ball $168 to an extortionary $1600.  ConsumerAffairs put the range between $746-$919.  YourMechanic.com put it at $374.  A local Dealer gave us a price of $334.

If we were to do our Comprehensive Inspection, a Minor Interval Service (Lube, oil, filter), changed the cabin air filter, and rotated the tires we’d be right around $380.  If this was your first time with us we’d only charge half for the Comprehensive Inspection and you’d be out the door for about $300.  So, as usual, we’re lower than some and higher than others, but right in line with what you’d expect to pay for quality automotive service in Portland.

The bottom line

Auto manufacturers base their service recommendations on real-world experience with millions of vehicles and billions of parts.  There’s real value in their experience!  But good auto service requires more than blindly applying those general guidelines to specific vehicles.  You’re and individual, you deserve individual attention, and your vehicle benefits from individual examination.  If that level of tailor-made service is available to you at off-the-rack pricing, we think you should take the tailor-made!  Over the long term you, and your vehicle, will appreciate the difference.