Bob Rohrman Toyota general manager Zac Kinch is charging customers $50 (no gimmicks and no tricks) for a full-synthetic oil change on any make or model, and three weeks in, he says it’s doing wonders.
Driving the news: Kinch launched the promotion after exhausting every conventional tool to drive customer-pay ROs—third-party vendors, lead sources, and social media—but nothing moved the needle.
So he stripped the offer down to its simplest form and let price do the talking.
"It's $50 bucks; trademark pending…," he told Daily Dealer Live host Sam D'Arc.
The strategy: Kinch frames the concept as a way to acquire more customers, not a way to lose money on a cheap deal.
"I don't think dealerships look at this to make financial sense. I'm looking at this as customer acquisition for three years, five years, ten years."
Zac Kinch
First: He started with internal marketing by asking staffers to schedule their personal cars for service. (Kinch said he was shocked to learn many got theirs serviced elsewhere).
After that, paid local advertising followed, but Kinch kept it close to home, targeting a 5- to 10-mile radius.
The group also leaned on its heavy social media presence, something Kinch has helped build over the years.
The fine print: First-timers get a red carpet tour of the dealership, where someone walks them to their seat in the waiting area, shows them the facilities, restrooms, and refreshments, and introduces them to everything the store has to offer.
Every vehicle also receives a full video MPI, a practice that Rohrman Toyota has maintained since 2021.
In addition to the MPI, Kinch noted that customers have access to a portal to watch their car while it's in service.
"If you would've shown up last week and paid full price, nothing has changed," he said.
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
Get insights trusted by 55,000+ car dealers. Free, fast, and built for automotive leaders.
The early results: Kinch says the promotion, now three weeks in, has paid off so far.
Customer pay RO count is up 13% compared with the prior six months.
Customer pay hours per RO are up 18%.
At least 16 employees have brought in their personal vehicles for oil changes.
And two first-time oil change customers were converted into two new vehicle sales.
Digging deeper: Kinch shared that tech pay remains the exact same in this setup.
And that’s because he believes the moment compensation drops, the experience drops, too.
In fact, Kinch told his team that to keep the program funded, they needed to grow customer pay RO count and CP hours per RO.
The downside: Half of Kinch's LinkedIn audience told him it was a waste of money. But as he sees it, there’s value in the long game, where the deal earns long-term, repeat customers.
Plus, not everyone dunked on the idea. One of the commenters on his page supported it, comparing the move to Costco’s $1.50 hot dog. (And, yes, he confirmed he meant it as a compliment, not a diss).
Bottom line: The $50 oil change, from what we can tell, follows a logic similar to that of mobile service and other fixed ops strategies designed to build a base that feeds all five profit centers over time. And the early numbers, at least, suggest the bet is already paying off.
A quick word from our partner
AI is everywhere right now—but not all AI is created equal.
Many dealerships are running bolt-on tools that answer questions but don’t convert or drive measurable revenue.
Podium delivers AI built to perform, consolidating sales, service, and voice into one platform that manages conversations end-to-end and books more appointments.
If you’re investing in AI, make sure it’s driving results.
