The need to educate customers on why they must check their engine oil…

Do you check your engine oil? How often? Do you meet the manufacturer’s recommendations?

From a recent study conducted by Kwik Fit, here are some shocking stats:

• One in five (19%) UK car owners never check the oil that is running in their car
• Some three million people (8%) admit to not knowing how to check their oil
• 11% admit to knowing how to do it, but never do
• Over three fifths of drivers (62%) say at least 3 months go by between oil checks
• 8% leave at least a year between oil checks

These figures are quite frankly shocking, and they don’t stop there! Comparisons between sexes and age groups clearly identified some obvious differences…

• 2% of male car owners said they did not know how to check their oil, but this increased to one in seven (14%) among female owners.
• 10% of drivers aged 18-34 stated they were unsure how to check their oil level, compared to a lower 6% of drivers aged over 55

The aftermarket industry must do its bit…

Anyone working within the automotive trade knows that checking your vehicle’s oil is essential to a smooth-running performance and is an easy way to monitor the health of the engine.

Whilst it can be easy to blame the driver for not knowing how to perform such checks, as a garage, do you educate your customers on why checking their oil is important?

For many UK drivers (especially those in the younger age groups), that lack of knowledge and lack of experience could be the difference between checking their oil regularly or not. Outlining the importance of the annual service and sticking to the manufacturer’s recommendations is also a great way to get car owners to be more conscious of any upcoming maintenance.

Sharing your knowledge also demonstrates a level of expertise to the driver, creating a confidence in your services and therefore, the driver will more likely return to your garage for future work.

It is that simple!