Communicating automotive prepaid maintenance programs

Benefits of Prepaid Vehicle Maintenance Plans for Your Customers

Although no two prepaid vehicle maintenance plans are exactly alike, they all tend to have certain benefits in common. The first one will be important for budget-conscious customers of your dealership: the costs of maintenance are locked in. This helps to prevent unpleasant jolts to the checkbook when it’s time for maintenance to be performed – and, the better that a car is maintained, the more likely it is that it will run smoothly for a longer amount of time, which helps reduce cash outlay for car repairs.

As another option, the cost of the automotive prepaid maintenance program can typically be rolled into the car financing itself, which spreads the cost of the plan over the life of the car loan. This does mean that the customer will be paying interest on the maintenance plan; this won’t appeal to some buyers, but it’s good to have as an option for those who find it beneficial.

When you sell prepaid vehicle maintenance plans to customers, the cost of the maintenance is most likely discounted when compared to what a customer would pay if each individual maintenance appointment was paid for separately. Emphasize that!

Plus, your customers tend to be busy people. Although many to most probably intend to regularly maintain their cars, life gets hectic and non-urgent issues get pushed to the back burner. But, with an automotive prepaid maintenance plan, the customer will be notified when a certain service needs performed on a vehicle, streamlining the process.

And, here’s one more benefit. Some people, budget-wise, need to purchase previously owned vehicles – and a stumbling block to the purchase may be their worry about maintenance costs. Prepaid plans can be a way to put that worry to rest, as there will be a set cost attached to that maintenance.

Selling Prepaid Vehicle Maintenance Plans

As a dealer, you know the ins-and-outs of cars, and so you know that properly maintaining a car makes sense, dollar-wise.  Not all customers will be that car-repair savvy, though, plus they’ve got lots on their minds when deciding which vehicles to purchase.

So, it’s crucial that your sales team clearly outlines the benefits of the plan – and be sure that you’re not taking some of the benefits for granted. For example, perhaps you offer priority scheduling for customers who have the prepaid plan. If so, make sure your customers know that! Time is money – and, for people with hectic schedules, this priority scheduling can be a real plus.

If a customer has come to your dealership’s repair shop in the past, it might be helpful to review with him or her the actual maintenance costs paid in the past, to highlight how a prepaid plan could save money.

Also discuss downtime. If a customer doesn’t regularly maintain a vehicle, then emergency issues are more likely to arise. How challenging would it be to have a car out of commission at a crucial time, perhaps when there was a big work meeting or children needing to be transported?

Fully Customizable Automotive Prepaid Maintenance Programs

The easiest plan to sell is one that your customers really want and need. That’s why Auto Awards program, OwnerZONE, is fully customizable to fit the needs of your dealership, your brand demographics, your cost structure and your geographic marketplace.

Discover more about OwnerZONE, our automotive prepaid maintenance program, today.