Service Items Priorities

optimus_primera

Oil and filter as mentioned, bare minimum.
Then do a good visual check on everything else,and bearing in mind MoT and the time of year,check all the vehicles lights.

vaio

another vote for oil & filter

jjonesy

oil service with checks at Kwik Fit for £79 - although given the watchdog coverage last week that may not be one you want to take http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/09/kwik_fit.html

www.Blackcircles.com/servicing
Will do an oil service with some checks for around £55 - includes synthetic or specialist oils where recommended by manufacturer

Mr Clutch will also do a oil service for less than £55 - although think they charge more for synthetic / specialist oils

MOT will pick up any major issues, so best just to go for the oil service for now.

Hammyman

Strider590 wrote: »

the rest of the checks really are for numpties who never check or care for the condition of their vehicles.

So checking for leaking shock absorbers, broken springs, worn wheel bearings, split CV gaiters, split balljoint bushes, worn track control arms/ball joints, worn suspension bearings are only for numpties?

benham3160

Hammyman wrote: »

So checking for leaking shock absorbers, broken springs, worn wheel bearings, split CV gaiters, split balljoint bushes, worn track control arms/ball joints, worn suspension bearings are only for numpties?

A broken balljoint bush(?) I assume you mean boot, is not an MOT reason for rejection.

I think you're both right, yes, some items on a service should be checked by owners (ie. It shouldn't be a shock to anybody they're out of screen wash) however a lot of the items you've mentioned wouldn't neccessarily be picked up on a standard schedule service in reality.

Just take cars of your vehicles peeps!

Regards,
Andy

Strider590

Hammyman wrote: »

So checking for leaking shock absorbers, broken springs, worn wheel bearings, split CV gaiters, split balljoint bushes, worn track control arms/ball joints, worn suspension bearings are only for numpties?

Hmmm? sorry im not sure what your getting at?

We both know how many idiots out there just turn the stereo up when they hear a strange noise coming from their cars. These are the "numpties" who rely on services and MOTs to tell them what's what, these are the people who end up with huge bills once year (MOT time).

If I notice ANYTHING amiss with my car, it gets investigated very quickly, I could recognise most of what you list purely from the way the car sounds/behaves and in fact i've experienced most of those. But as I say, a lot of people just turn the stereo up even louder to drown out the sound of their car falling apart!

bigjl

I am sure that a split rubber on a ball joint is a fail, in the same way as a split CV gaitor is a fail.


As already stated, Oil and oil filter, and an air filter are the absolute minimum, if it is a petrol most plugs these days have a much longer lifespan than, at least if you buy the decent ones. My Subaru Legacy had one set of spark plugs in over 100k.


I also avoid pattern oil filters, as they sometimes don't have the valve in them to stop all the oil draining to the sump, leading to rattly start ups, especially in some VW's.

I used to get original Subaru oil filters for under £10 from a main agent, though this was 3 years ago. My Mondeo Tdci oil filter is around the £10 mark, from local Ford main dealer.

benham3160

bigjl wrote: »

I am sure that a split rubber on a ball joint is a fail, in the same way as a split CV gaitor is a fail.


As already stated, Oil and oil filter, and an air filter are the absolute minimum, if it is a petrol most plugs these days have a much longer lifespan than, at least if you buy the decent ones. My Subaru Legacy had one set of spark plugs in over 100k.


I also avoid pattern oil filters, as they sometimes don't have the valve in them to stop all the oil draining to the sump, leading to rattly start ups, especially in some VW's.

I used to get original Subaru oil filters for under £10 from a main agent, though this was 3 years ago. My Mondeo Tdci oil filter is around the £10 mark, from local Ford main dealer.

It's only a RFR (at class IV anyway) if there is play in the hub-joint mount, the actual rubber boot itself isn't a rejectable item, there is no visual inspection in the manual, only a pry-bar/shaker plate check.

I agree with everything else you say though.

Regards,
Andy

bigjl

You may well be in a position to know more about that than I do Andy, though I have had cars fail an MOT due to surface cracks in the balljoint rubber, I suppose it may come down to the individual tester. This happened over 10 years ago, and it isn't unusual for some testers to be a bit OTT. Luckily I have a good MOT bloke near me and he is spot on.

My Dad once had a car fail it's MOT due to some tiny crack in the tyre sidewall, caused mainly by the harsh climate near the sea in Scotland, no sidewall damage, would have disappeared if he had used tyre shine or good old fashioned boot polish.

Hammyman

benham3160 wrote: »

A broken balljoint bush(?) I assume you mean boot, is not an MOT reason for rejection.

Really? Thats news to me and pretty much every MOT tester. The reason being that the grease gets lost and the dirt and water gets in causing failure.

You have not been charged for this lesson.