WEB EXCLUSIVE: Help Your Customers Be Car Care Aware

by Tammy Williams
NOLN Staff Writer

It’s alarming. Eight out of 10 vehicles on the road today are in need of some sort of maintenance. Not only is this trend dangerous, but it also affects air quality, cost of operation and vehicle performance.

The Car Care Council has set out to bring vehicle maintenance top of mind for the motoring public. April is National Car Care Month, and there has never been a better time for you to ride the coattails of this national awareness, while also helping your customers get their vehicles in tip-top condition.

The results of the 2009 vehicle inspection lanes, which included results from 860 vehicle inspections in 12 states, showed that 80 percent of vehicles need some type of maintenance, and this number has been holding steady for three years.

Here are just a few startling statistics:

• Nearly three out of 10 vehicles had low, overfull or dirty engine oil.
• Twenty-six percent had low, leaky or dirty coolant in the radiator or surge tank.
• More than one in five vehicles had either low, overfull or burnt transmission fluid.
• The washer fluid, power steering fluid and brake fluid needed attention on 17 percent, 17 percent and 13 percent of vehicles, respectively.
• This year an abnormally high percentage of vehicles — 39 percent — were in need of new windshield wiper blades, while rear wiper blades needed replacement on nearly 10 percent of vehicles.
• Belts were another item that saw all-time high failure rates this year. More than 50 percent of vehicles inspected bore belts that were reported as unsatisfactory. In addition, 10 percent of vehicles needed at least one new hose.
• In other underhood maintenance, 15 percent of the vehicles needed new air filters, while one-tenth had their check engine light on.
• Battery cables, clamps and terminals were found to need maintenance on 13 percent of the vehicles inspected, while 10 percent of the batteries were not properly held down.
• Tires are one area of the vehicle crucial to safety. Fifteen percent of vehicles that passed through check lanes had unsatisfactory tire pressure, while nearly 10 percent of tires needed to be replaced because of worn tread.
• Another area of the vehicle crucial to safety is lights. License plate lights were the most common bulbs needing replacement at 15 percent, followed by brake lights at 14 percent.

Luckily for you, and your customers, these items are available at most fast lubes. If you care about the safety of your customers and their vehicles, April is the perfect time to preach vehicle maintenance.

“There are a lot of ways that a business can be involved in National Car Care Month and to celebrate National Car Care Month,” said Rich White, executive director of the Car Care Council. “The highest level is to have a vehicle inspection event. It is a great event and it does a lot to reinforce current customer loyalty and attract new customers. It’s goodwill for the community, and it increases employee morale because the technicians don’t usually get to talk one-on-one with the customers.”

If you are interested in hosting a vehicle inspection event, be sure and check out our Promoting Your Lube article. It explains the events in more detail, and there are stories from other operators who tell how the events affected their communities and businesses.

“However, many shops just don’t have the resources, the time or the folks available to pull something like that off,” White said. “A business could simply put up a banner to celebrate National Car Care Month. They could send cards to current customers telling them to stop by and pick up a free Car Care Guide, or they could add a little something to their inspection program. There are many levels of participation that don’t require a lot of time, a lot of planning or a lot of cost.”

No matter how you wish to do participate, be sure to celebrate National Car Care Month and let your customers know how important vehicle maintenance really is.

“There’s really never been a better time to do things like this to help educate consumers because they’re really hungry,” White said. “Consumers are really hungry for information about what they’re vehicles need and why.”

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