Jerry's Chevrolet Inc

Do I Have to Get My Car Serviced at the Dealership?

The short answer: No, you don’t have to. But, there are plenty of reasons that you should. Here at  Jerry's Chevrolet Inc, we want to clear up some of the confusion and mystery around the dealership service drive, both at our own store here in  Leesburg,  VA as well as in any service drive around the country.

First and foremost, we all know any car requires the proper maintenance, and on a consistent basis. Otherwise, that great new car investment goes right down the drain. So, taking your car in for regularly scheduled appointments anywhere is a step in the right direction.

But, why a service drive specifically? Here are the top three reasons.

1. OE-Trained Technicians

If you’ve never heard it before, the term “OE” refers to the original manufacturer of the vehicle. For example, an original manufacturer can be any large name car company, like Chevrolet, Ford, or the like. These manufacturers have special standards for training technicians, and also train specifically for their make of vehicle.

 In order to keep up with the latest techniques and trends, dealerships ensure that their technicians are consistently taking manufacturer-specific classes and brushing up on their knowledge.  This means that anyone who works on your car will not only be specially trained to work on your car make, but also will be more familiar with that car and its potential problems or details since that’s the type of car they work on 90% of the time.

2. Personal Relationships

Most people assume that car dealerships are all about new car sales. Although this is a big part of their focus, service repairs make up billions of dollars in revenue for the automotive industry. So, dealerships are absolutely incentivized to keep you loyal to their dealership, from your new car sale all the way through your car’s lifetime.  Staying loyal to that service drive means not only are you more likely to form a stronger relationship between certain technicians and advisors (which means they’ll have more familiarity with your car), but it also means your value will increase for the dealership.

3. Warranty Work

A dealership is required by its original manufacturer to perform warranty work, often times for free if your car is still covered by its warranty. Because dealers are paid for this work, it also means that technicians must report on and verify whatever problem you’re having with your car—meaning they’re much less likely to take on jobs that they have trouble confirming.

All in all, the most important thing for you and your car is keeping it running well—and that means taking it in for a checkup and performing the recommended maintenance. If you ever have any questions about what exactly “recommended maintenance” means, go ahead and give us a call! We’re always here to help.

Sources: Nerd Wallet, Edmunds