ADDING UP IN A HURRY
DOLLARS SAVED MAKE COST OF AOCA MEMBERSHIP A REAL BARGAIN
How’s it going, eh? I hope everyone had a busy summer with increased car counts and sales.
I wanted to talk about my recent experience with the AOCA Government Affairs Program that really put
the value of membership into perspective in a short time. If I was to tell you that I paid $395 this year for
my membership to save $14,000 or more, would you not be interested in being a member? That means my
membership has now been paid for over 35 years.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
I had two customers who experienced problems, one with a Kia and one with a Hyundai. You guessed it,
the engines failed. The dealerships tried to give them the song and dance about the oil filter, not being
serviced at the dealership and, of course, using “bad oil.” Really? The last time I checked, the oil I use is
from a multibillion-dollar company.
I armed my customers with all of the information available from AOCA on these engines, including
information about the recalls and class action lawsuits. After they presented that to the dealerships, lo
and behold the dealerships replaced both engines under warranty. What could have turned out to be long
battles on who would pay for the engines, small claims court suits, insurance claims or money out of my
pocket turned into savings of over $14,000 on two engine replacements, and I now have two customers
for life for something that is not a quick lube operator’s problem. Thank you Joanna Johnson and AOCA
for all you do behind the scenes.
Speaking of behind the scenes, AOCA is busy working on other issues that I will mention briefly. AOCA
is working on the development of a Recommended Practice for Customer Management of Oil Change
Intervals. The pros of this recommended practice are that it:
1. Sets the record straight as the leading industry experts on oil changes.
2. Creates the opportunity to educate consumers with every oil change service so they get the intervals
needed to avoid harming their engines and voiding warranty coverage.
3. Demonstrates the professionalism of our industry to regulators and legislators who have been led
astray by anti-competitive slander.
4. Adds protection against allegations of recommending service intervals too soon or too late.
We would like to get our members to have their customers take the Customer Warranty Rights Survey, which
is online at https://aoca.site-ym.com/page/MMWASurvey. New Jersey members used this successfully
to get Magnuson Moss Warranty Act mandatory dealer disclosure legislation A2612 passed by the New
Jersey Assembly. Consumer data is the way to show legislators, regulators and courts that automakers and
dealerships are violating the MMWA prohibition against tying branded product and service requirements
to warranty coverage.
“ You could be the
next member to get a
$14,000 return on your
membership and make
the job of running your
store easier. ”
There is power in numbers, and AOCA has added another franchise group to our membership. I would
personally like to welcome and thank Valvoline Instant Oil Change for joining our family. This adds a lot
more stores for us to represent in our everyday battles at the field level and make this industry stronger.
We also need more smaller store operators like myself and Walden Lake Car Wash & Service Center in
Plant City, Florida (AOCA’s newest 1-2 location member) to join and see the value of what AOCA brings
to running your business. From online technician training to manager training classes, iFLEX, government
affairs and so on, you could be the next member to get a $14,000 return on your membership and make
the job of running your store easier.
Once again, thank you for putting your trust in me to lead this great organization. If you have any questions
or suggestions or you would like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to contact any of the board members
or head office.
We are here for you!
Dave Jensen
AOCA PRESIDENT
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