OREANDA-NEWS. July 06, 2015. Recently, Ford Vietnam launched its “Smart Choice, Smart Owner” program for Ford’s car owners at City Ford in Ho Chi Minh City. The purpose of this annual event is to interact and engage with customers, as well as to raise owner awareness and improve their skills in car maintenance, especially for new car owners.

Majority of people only calculate the initial cost of buying a car without including the many other expenses involved in car ownership, which can cause difficulties in the long-term.

According to Ford’s service experts, such components that should be factored in car ownership costs are: depreciation, taxes and fees (registration and inspection), fuel, insurance, maintenance and repair, credit costs (if any), parking or road use fee, etc. Among these components, some are objective to the general policy of the market, while others are subject to the needs and usage of each driver.

According to periodic maintenance schedule, Ford’s customers are recommended to maintain their car in a 6-month cycle / 10,000 km, which is two times longer compared to other car manufacturers on the market. Some spare parts do not required replacement during the first five years or 100,000 km. Additionally, the average price for Ford’s spare parts are 5-10 percent lower than that of the competitor’s in the same segment.

Ford’s experts also gave tips on how to drive smart, how to minimize the amount of fuel consumed, how to read the symbols on a car control panel (i.e. damaged car tires, overheating engine and coolant leak) and solutions to common real-life problems. Attendees also got a chance to practice and improve their skills through some fun games and activities, including Warning Sign Puzzle, Brake Fluid Check and Water Pump Windshield Washers.

This year, the success of the "Smart Choice, Smart Owner" program at Ford City became a model for Ford’s agents to apply and implement into the framework of the program—consulting and guiding customers on the best car maintenance practices across the country. Ford is the pioneer in building and raising Vietnamese consumers’ awareness on smart car ownership.