Servicing your own car - FSH

Stoke

Gavin83 wrote: »

I have a question I wish to run by you all.

I'm reasonably good with cars, I'm not a mechanic by any means but I can do the majority of normal jobs. I could certainly service my own cars and have done so in the past. However I have bought a car with a full main dealer service history. If I service this car myself, or even get it done at a regular mechanic would I be hurting the resale value? I'm not even sure I could advertise it as having a full service history anymore.

I would certainly keep receipts, etc but is this enough or should I just pay the extra and get it professionally serviced?

For me, it all depends on what the car is, and how old the car is. If it's a 15 year old diesel, then it wouldn't surprise me to hear a seller servicing it themselves. Older cars were much easier to service. If it was a really new car, I wouldn't like the idea of some muppet with no idea servicing it, so it might put me off yes.

Joe_Horner

Stoke wrote: »

Older cars were much easier to service. If it was a really new car, I wouldn't like the idea of some muppet with no idea servicing it, so it might put me off yes.

Not really true. Standard servicing is, if anything, easier on a new car than older ones. Apart from oil and filter changes, everything else tends to be a simple "inspect" of sealed components now, whereas it used to involve greasing lots of suspension bits and adjusting stuff like points, timing and so on.

To give an idea, this is the current standard service schedule for Fords in America (Ford UK doesn't seem to publish theirs but it'll be similar). Cars start from P.29

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/10frdmg2e.pdf

They don't even inspect the aux drive belt until 90k miles!

Retrogamer

Stoke wrote: »

If it was a really new car, I wouldn't like the idea of some muppet with no idea servicing it, so it might put me off yes.

You might want to reconsider taking it to a franchised dealership in that case. That's where i met most of them.

john_white

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Main dealer stamps aren't proof of service. They're only proof that they've stamped the book.

I never said it was, you reading in to things I have not written. I wrote that a receipt was proof of parts purchase, not proof of a service.

I have not commented on the work dealers do/don't do, do well/ don't do well.

john_white

Nearly_Old wrote: »

I wouldn't disagree - however my Post #29 includes:

So I have a nice stamp in the book, on the worksheet a tick against change brake fluid & brake clean and a receipt - but in reality all I've got is a Stamp in a Book - no more no less.

As above I have not mentioned anything about dealers, only receipts for parts are no proof of service. I have not stated anywhere what would be considered proof of service.

john_white

Joe_Horner wrote: »

That wouldn't have stopped the (suspected, to be confirmed) ring fracture on a 110k mile 1960s design engine

I bet it would, especially if they double stamped the book.;)

Joe_Horner

john_white wrote: »

I never said it was, you reading in to things I have not written. I wrote that a receipt was proof of parts purchase, not proof of a service.

I have not commented on the work dealers do/don't do, do well/ don't do well.

Fair one, although at least with home servicing (asuming a private sale) you can speak to the guy who claims to have done the work and get some idea whether you trust him or not

Retrogamer

john_white wrote: »

As above I have not mentioned anything about dealers, only receipts for parts are no proof of service. I have not stated anywhere what would be considered proof of service.

What is proof of service?

AdrianC

Retrogamer wrote: »

What is proof of service?

Ain't no such thing for any used car. The best there is is proof of a claim of a service, and you can decide how much you trust the person/business apparently making the claim.

Of course, there's the problem of fake stamps, as well as services "done" and charged for but with items omitted. Some manufacturers log all dealer services centrally to the VIN, which resolves the fake problem but not the fraud one.

The other question, of course, is whether spending £100+vat or more per hour at a dealer makes a significant enough difference to the later sale value compared to no traceable history.

londonTiger

Joe_Horner wrote: »

True, although someone who's interested enough in their car (and in saving money) to service it correctly themselves is probably likely to sell privately anyway - why would they want to lose out by only getting trade price?

Same here.

Brake pads bought 06/2012; fitted 03/2013
Engine oil bought 04/2013; fitted 11/2013

I keep a spreadsheet of all the items I've bought and when I fitted them so the next owner knows about the disparity and doesn't change stuff unnecessarily

I just grab stuff when ECP are doing sales, I've cut back now but before I had all the fluids in the shed.