It was recently revealed that GM plans to offer free maintenance on certain models built in 2014 — these models include select ones from Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC. During the first two years, or 24,000 miles, customers will be able to take their vehicle to an authorized dealer for services like tire rotation, oil changes, inspections, and other routine maintenance. What’s the real savings for a program like this? It might not be as much as you think…
Programs that offer free services are usually only made available to the buyers of more premium brands — GM’s Cadillac brand already comes with a maintenance program that pays for dealership services during the first 50,000 miles or 4 years.
This is a part of the effort by GM to gain loyal customers for their brands. GM has also offered cash rebate incentives to customers throughout the current model year, leading to a spike in sales that seems to now be leveling off.
GM isn’t the first of the non-luxury brands to offer free service on new vehicles — Volkswagen & Toyota both offer very similar maintenance programs to their drivers.
That leads many to wonder how this adds up to savings for people who drive the cars with free service & maintenance. One major factor to consider is that the first two years of new vehicle ownership is actually the cheapest.
Consumer Reports shows that the cost of vehicle maintenance over the first five years of new ownership usually averages out to be only 4% of ownership costs — this data is based on their Annual Car Reliability Survey that’s based on responses from surveyed vehicle owners.
Based on that estimate, new vehicle owners who paid $30,000 for a car can expect to pay around $1,200 for maintenance, or $240 a year for the first five years, but again, that’s the first five years and this program only covers the first two of those.
They also show that during the first year of ownership, maintenance only accounts for 1% of the amount you’ll pay to own and drive a car, elevating only slightly to 2% by year three.
It’s also worth noting that a 5-quart oil change with 4-tire rotation and vehicle inspection will run you around $30. If you change your oil every 3,000 miles (which is usually about 2,000 miles too often for newer vehicles), you’ll save $240 over 24,000 miles. The savings for 5,000 mile oil changes (which is what most owner’s manuals for new cars now suggest) and tire rotations would could out to be $144, or a savings of $72 a year for two years.
When combined with a good warranty that covers labor & GM parts, a free service program can guide you through the first few years without having to worry about out of pocket expenses to a certified mechanic. While $72-$144 a year isn’t a huge savings, it is money you don’t have to spend, so programs like these are a slight perk.