3068 mile service

took the car in for the first oil change at stevens creek chrysler.

after having to wait on the drive for over 20 minutes (with an appointment), i got served by an overly-gruff service manager. he was effecient, though. got me in and out of their quickly. the change is cheap too, using an online coupon for $20.

[getting it is a little complicated. you:

1. go to chrysler.com.
2. click on "for owners."
3. enter the last eight digits of your VIN. this gives a recall look-up.
4. click on the ad on the page that's brought up "3 great services, 1 great price."
5. enter a zip code.
6. pick a dealer.
7. get a coupon and print it out.

am i willing to do this for a $20 dealership oil change? hell ya. i've got a lifetime riding on it.]

i also have a small piece of trim on the sport bar that is coming loose. i point it out and it's included in the service order.

i got passed on to a hertz rental car representative, carlos. like all rental guys he pushes hard for upgrades and insurances -- acting like i've, oh, NEVER RENTED A CAR BEFORE. (why do they always do this?) i hand him a vouchure that says the rental is $35.

i don't know how much money is changing hands, or from whom, but that car thing is weird -- especially considering that, on paper at least, it's more expensive than the change itself.

when i get the car back i'm told that the piece for the sport bar has been ordered. nothing else has been reported to me, which i assume means the car is fine.

which is great.

i suspect the 'blog gets kinda boring from here. not that i think it's a thrill-a-minute to begin with.

$20.49

yes shirt, yes shoes, no service

now here's a weird thing. you can also buy service contracts ... this is a package deal you can do with chrysler that will give you all the service you need during the life of your car for a flat rate.

you might think this is something dealers would be very eager to sell you, but you'd be wrong. i beg, scream and holler for prices from dealers and places like chryslerwarrantys.com and all i get back is a bunch of confusion and non-answers. i think what the deal is is that people are so reticent to buy it that the dealerships aren't that interested in supporting it.

i call my pal at chryslerwarrantys.com to ask her why people are so slow to offer this.

"well, it's a couple of things. one, dealerships don't always honor the service coupons if they're written by another dealership. they're supposed to, but they don't always. that's why we don't offer them.

"second, they're expensive. not a lot of people want to fork over another two thousand dollars after signing a contract on a car."

"okay, thanks. do you think it would be cheaper for me to just use online and mailing coupons and do it onesy twosy?"

"definitely."

can't really ask any more than that. anytime a dealer says "don't pay me money," that just has to be right.