Here's part 2 of a money saving article written backwards from Money Central. The title is "20 Ways You Waste Money on Your Car", but it really offers 20 ways to save money on your car. Here are the tips for this time around:
- Using the dealer’s maintenance schedule instead of the factory’s.
- Using a dealer for major services.
- Using a dealer for oil changes.
My thoughts on each of the tips above (in order):
1. I go with the manufacturer and the car's manual, not the dealer/garage. It's worked well for me so far.
2. I use the dealer on this one. Why? First of all, I have a strategy that saves me a good portion off the list price. Second, when you factor in the cost of my time into the equation, my dealership is a MUCH better alternative. Third, there's just something about having people who work on your make and model all the time doing the work. Fourth, if anything needs replacing and is under warranty, they take care of it for free (free to me, that is). Finally, if anything major goes wrong, they know I've taken good care of the car and tend to give me the benefit of the doubt. This helps out on some of those "gray area" warranty issues.
3. Same as #2 above. See this link for my rationale.
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