It's a fair question, and the honest answer is that both things are true: a multi-point inspection with every oil change is standard practice and genuinely catches real problems early, and some shops do use that list as a sales opportunity. The trick is learning to sort the list, not to distrust all of it.
Ask the adviser to put every item into one of three buckets. Bucket one: safety-critical now — brakes, tires, steering, suspension parts that affect control, lights, exhaust leaks, fuel leaks. Bucket two: maintenance that's actually due — things your owner's manual specifies at a given mileage or interval. Bucket three: "monitor, no action yet." A good shop will do this sorting for you without being asked; if everything on the list comes out as "urgent," that itself tells you something.
Second, ask for evidence. Modern shops often have photos or video from the inspection, and that's the single best filter you have. For brakes, ask for the measured pad thickness in millimeters and compare it to the wear limit in your manual or a model-specific source. For tires, ask for tread depth in 32nds of an inch at the wear bars. For fluids, ask what test was run and what the result was. "It's dirty" isn't a measurement.
Third, pull out your owner's manual and look at the maintenance schedule. Many "flushes" and additive packages sold at quick-service shops aren't in it at all. If a recommendation doesn't appear there, ask which schedule they're working from and why — sometimes there's a good answer (severe-service conditions, a known issue with your model), but you're entitled to hear it.
Watch for pressure language: "unsafe to drive," "we can't let you leave like this," a discount that expires today, or a price given as a lump sum with no line items. Those are the classic markers. A calm "what happens if I wait six months?" usually gets you a straight answer from an honest shop, and a defensive one from a shop that's selling.
For anything beyond a few hundred dollars, it's completely normal to say "let me think about it" and get a second opinion in writing. That's not an insult to the first shop, and reputable shops expect it. Note that most states require a shop to get your authorization before performing work beyond what you approved, though the specifics vary — worth checking your state's rules if you ever feel work was done without your consent. Records help too: keep your invoices and the declined-items notes, and decline non-urgent work in writing so it's documented.
