Appreciating good after-sales service

Owning and operating a motor vehicle involves not only the acquisition cost, but also the cost of maintenance and repair. Most new car buyers have the Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS) performed at the dealership where they bought the car, then go to auto service centers other than the brand’s authorized dealers for PMS after the warranty coverage has expired. But experience has taught me that even after your car’s warranty has expired, you save money and avoid hassle in the long run by continuing to bring your car to the dealership for PMS and/or repair.

 

While horror stories abound about bungling and overcharging by authorized dealers’ service centers aka the “casa,” I think these incidents are the exception rather than the rule. The fact remains that only the authorized dealers offer factory-trained technicians, the latest equipment and tools, an inventory of fully certified genuine parts and a clean, roofed, safe and secured workshop area to service your car. Many of the smaller auto repair shops, on the other hand, have mechanics who learned their trade “oido” (by ear) without any formal training, incomplete or obsolete equipment and tools, no genuine warranted parts and a generally messy, oil-streaked, unsafe, unsecured work area that sometimes spills over to the sidewalk or soil outdoors.

 

RISK. True, a few of these “informal mechanics” may be really talented in problem-solving and the cost of service or repair may be one-half that of the casa, but you run the risk of ending up with imitation or worn-out parts that soon break down or a botched repair job. Or your car while waiting to be serviced is used, without your knowledge, to ferry parts or run errands. Or the genuine parts of your car that are in good condition are surreptitiously replaced with fake or worn-out parts although such replacement is not in the job order. In one case, the relatively new tires of my cousin’s car were replaced with old, balding ones.  Not being knowledgeable about cars, my cousin didn’t notice until it was pointed out to her by her brother.

 

When I was in my late twenties, I could only afford to buy second-hand or used cars which are now euphemistically called “preowned” cars. I would bring my car for tuneup, replacement of fluids, filters or belts, etc., to an auto repair shop in the Quezon City neighborhood where we lived or to a friend of a friend. I discovered later, after my car stalled, that in an auto repair shop owned and managed by someone I trusted and considered a friend, the fuel pump of my car had been replaced with the old fuel pump of another car brand.

 

JARRING. In another case, a friend of mine, thinking she would save money, had her 6-year-old car’s shock absorbers replaced at an outside auto repair shop instead of bringing it to the casa. The shop’s manager assured her that he had looked for and found genuine replacement shock absorbers for her car. But after the job was done, the ride was still jarring and noisy as ever over uneven pavement and road humps. The manager offered to refund her payment, but she declined and instead decided to sell the car.

 

Premises considered, I am convinced that for PMS and sensitive repair work involving the engine, transmission or suspension, the casa is still the safest bet. For example, after Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. launched its Hyundai Jet Service Premium last April, I tried it out for the 15,000-kilometer PMS of my 2011 Elantra GLS. The Hyundai Jet Service Challenge is a one-stop fast lane for PMS where the service is done in 60 minutes or it’s free. At the reassuringly clean, modern and fully equipped Jet Service Premium Bay of Hyundai Alabang, a three-man team of auto technicians completed my car’s 15,000-km PMS in 26 minutes while I waited, reading newspapers, in the air-conditioned customer lounge. At one point, I went downstairs with the service manager to the workshop area to observe my car undergoing Jet Service. I was told that since July 2013, over 10,000 vehicles have passed the Jet Service Challenge that is now available in 25 Hyundai dealerships nationwide.

 

Another auto maintenance service that has proved satisfactory for me is the Ziebart rustproofing done by Car Savers in Makati. Ever since I could afford to buy a brand-new car, I have always brought it to Car Savers for Ziebart rust protection, paint protection and engine shampoo. The Ziebart Guarantee is annually renewable for the lifetime of the car. Many years of experience as a car owner have shown me that a Ziebart-serviced car looks better, lasts longer and commands a higher resale value.