Dave Rogers, fixed ops director at Piazza Auto Group, stopped following manufacturer maintenance schedules five years ago, and over time, it has helped drive 10% gross profit growth year-over-year across the group’s 30 stores.
Driving the news: "We stopped drinking the Kool-Aid probably five, six years ago with the factory maintenance," Rogers told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli de 'Martino. "There's recommended maintenance intervals that are ridiculous. You can't go a year without changing the oil on a car."
For context: Piazza processes 32,000 to 33,000 repair orders monthly while hitting 90% absorption at premium stores and 86% at volume stores. And the group achieves 60% customer pay work mix across all locations.
State of play: Manufacturers have been quietly extending maintenance intervals for years to reduce customer ownership costs. However, that also means substantially fewer opportunities for dealers to capture business, like spotting brake problems, worn tires, or other repairs during routine visits.
Modern cars compound this with maintenance lights that replace mileage-based recommendations.
"They're not really making a recommendation anymore. They're putting lights in cars and the light comes on,” said Rogers. “It tells the driver that you have, I don't know, 15% to go for your oil change. Well, that's 8,000 miles after you started driving. So at 15% to go, you're probably 35% overdue."
Zooming out: Rogers believes manufacturers set these intervals based on cost optimization rather than vehicle care.
"They're doing it for a cost of, the cost per mile driven. They're not doing it to extend the life of the car. Most of them don't care what happens after 50,000 miles when it's out of warranty," he explained.
Instead, Piazza recommends six-month or 6,000-mile oil changes because of regional driving conditions that exceed laboratory test conditions.
"You'll go to the dentist twice a year. But you don't want to come to the car dealership," he added.
Between the lines: Getting service advisors comfortable with this approach required systematic training. And Rogers has worked with Steve Shaw Training for five years, bringing instructors in twice a year.
"A lot of times [service advisors] are not mechanically inclined. They don't know the cars. They're skittish about selling things for some reason. It's almost like a lot of them just want to be friends with the customer," Rogers said. "They're not there to be friends with you. They want to know what's wrong with your car. Present the facts. And tell me how much it costs."
The key: So, to help present these facts in a more transparent way, Rogers introduced video multi-point inspections.
Technicians shoot and send these videos directly to customers. So, there’s no gatekeeping what actually gets presented.
Today, video MPIs are created for 75% of vehicles.
“The Delta is an extra six, seven tenths in RO [repair order]. The dollars add up obviously… You know, we pay some guys to do it. Other guys, there's just different spiff programs that we've done. But yeah, that's really successful… We took this little Volkswagen store from like 1.5 hours in RO to three hours in RO,” said Rogers.
Bottom line: The Piazza Auto Group is proof that when the fixed-ops department is managed with rigor and intent, it becomes the most reliable engine for long-term profitability.
A quick word from our partner
Are your dealership's marketing efforts stuck in neutral?
It's time to stop wasting ad spend on the wrong people and drive sales with precision. That’s where Experian Automotive comes in.
Our Marketing Audiences give you the power to target customers who are ready to buy right now.
We have the high-quality, accurate data you need to identify the hottest prospects, including:
Vehicle owners nearing the end of their leases or loans, or those with positive equity.
Shoppers with a proven preference for specific makes, models, or vehicle segments.
We also have over 750 ready-to-use syndicated audiences, to help you find and engage your ideal buyers.
Stop spinning your wheels and start accelerating your sales today.
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
No-BS insights, built for car dealers. Free, fast, and trusted by 55,000+ car dealers.
