Why I Pay More to go to a Car Dealer for Service Work

Yesterday in my post titled What My Second Credit Card Does for Me, I promised to tell you why I plan to go to my dealership to get my car serviced even though it costs more than other options. But before we do this, let's look at the facts:

• Servicing items: Oil change, grease, tire rotation
• Price at my "old" place: $14.95
• Price at dealership: $34.95

Ok, so my dealership is $20 more. And while $20 is not a fortune, there's no need to pay extra for something like this, is there?

Well, here's what my brand new dealership offers that the old place doesn't:

• Individual work cubicles with internet hook-up
• Free flavored coffee and treats (muffins, doughnuts)
• Clean, spacious, conveniently located rest rooms
• Lounge with big screen TV (in case I wanted to watch TV while pounding on my laptop and drinking my free coffee)

Now while all these add up to make for a pretty enjoyable "wait" at the dealership, it's the first one that really convinced me it was worth the money. Why? Because I can work/do something productive in comfort for the hour or so it takes to finish my car. The "old" place has a few chairs, an old TV (that you can't get away from if you want to think), no desk, no internet connection, etc. The dealership makes the hour I wait much, much more productive. And is my time worth more than $20 an hour? You bet!

As I've posted before, time is the most important asset in the world and it's easily worth more than money. So I'm willing to pay $20 more to get an hour's worth of productive time. Besides, it doesn't really cost me $20 more since my "cost" of that $20 is really only $11.20 because of the way I use my credit card rebates.

How about you? Is there anything you pay more for in order to save yourself time?

FMF recommends Emigrant Direct.

Comments

[Michael]

My dealership offers the same "benefits" to our waiting customers. However, our oil changes are a bit less -- $28 plus change. And you can shave that down to $12 (labor only) if you bring your own oil and filter, which you could get cheaper pretty much anywhere else.

Worth considering, yes?

[Gary]

I watch my mail and regularly receive coupons from the manufacturer to get my cars serviced at their dealer for $22.95 instead of $34.95. This puts them in the range of the discount places. I also have the feeling that if I have them serviced regularly at the dealer, when I have a problem, there will be no question of whether I have diligently taken care of them.

Gary

[jayfer]

I'm willing to pay a cleaning service once a month to scrub the place from top to bottom while I'm gone at work. I live in a 2 bed/2 bath condo, so it would only take a couple of hours to clean the place. But I work full time and go to school part time. Given the choice between sleeping in an extra hour or two each Saturday morning and cleaning, I'd choose sleeping any day. It's really the only thing I pay more for to save myself some time.

[Sarah Leon]

But if you eat all those free doughnuts, won't you gain weight? And I thought I remembered an article here about how losing weight could help save money :D

[Dale Ford]

I've got a 12-year old Saturn that I still routinely return to the dealer for service. Similar reasons as above (free coffee, internet, clean rest-rooms, etc.), but additionally, for several years, it was the only car that Saturn produced (albeit with 2 engine options). Mechanics seem to stay there for a while, so they should pretty well know the car inside out. The folks there are very courteous and always remind me of discounts, coupons, etc. With the likelyhood of trading for another vehicle there, all my info on keeping it maintained will be there as well.