The Daily Room

Another in a long list of why I hate car dealerships

The manufacturer of my Honda Accord recommends an oil change at 30,000 miles. My dealership wanted to change the oil, rotate and balance the tires, disassemble and inspect the brakes, replace the belt, swap out the transmission fluid, re-align the headlights, re-apply the undercoating, replace the air filter, replace the fuel filter, clean the throttle body, clean the fuel injectors, clean the gas tank, flush the power steering, flush the cooling system, lube the chassis, clean and repack the wheel bearings, replace the wiper blades, inspect the airbags, lube the key-lock cylinders, lube the steering linkage, inspect the starter, recharge the air conditioner, install a new air freshener, and straighten my Johnson bar. Since when did an oil change become $1900? It’s enough of an ordeal to survive the initial sale with all those tempting options like paint sealant, color keyed accent stripes, leatherola conditioner, etc. I don’t need the same sales pitch from the service department. Just change my freaking oil.