Car servicing the MS way

BullyCornedBeef

Hello,

I use my car a lot and my daily commute to work can be 2.5 hours a day.

I have a nice car with low mileage (at the moment) and feel I should take it in for a service as its about 6 months away from MOT.

However, I am not a practical person at all and have no idea about cars and always feel at the mecy of mechanics.

Do dealerships offer a better quality service or is it just as good (and cheaper) going for a local garrage?

Thanks in advance.

DUTR

BullyCornedBeef wrote: »

Hello,

I use my car a lot and my daily commute to work can be 2.5 hours a day.

I have a nice car with low mileage (at the moment) and feel I should take it in for a service as its about 6 months away from MOT.

However, I am not a practical person at all and have no idea about cars and always feel at the mecy of mechanics.

Do dealerships offer a better quality service or is it just as good (and cheaper) going for a local garrage?

Thanks in advance.

Some cars require specialist servicing, that said the assigned dealers are probably no better than the keen independant, if the car is still within the warranty period, then go main dealer (just to save any possible later headache) other than that you may find the dealers will match the keen independant.

neil.woos

what car model is it?

Iceweasel

BullyCornedBeef wrote: »

Hello,

I use my car a lot and my daily commute to work can be 2.5 hours a day.

I have a nice car with low mileage (at the moment) and feel I should take it in for a service as its about 6 months away from MOT.


Thanks in advance.

An MOT 6 months away is not a reason to service your car.

Servicing and MOTs are in no way related.

How many miles since the last service and what does the car manufacturer's service schedule say?

Service requirements depend on exactly what make and model it is

jbainbridge

Don't take the car in because you feel like it!

The car will have defined service intervals - what are these?

WellKnownSid

Iceweasel wrote: »

Servicing and MOTs are in no way related.

I have a friend who insists the MoT is the service.

The net result is that she's on first name terms with all the local recovery drivers...

arcon5

I think it's a good idea to have the service 6 months apart from the MOT - it means it gets inspected twice a year unlike those who have a service and MOT at same time then don't bother looking or touching it for the next 12 months

Ectophile

arcon5 wrote: »

I think it's a good idea to have the service 6 months apart from the MOT - it means it gets inspected twice a year unlike those who have a service and MOT at same time then don't bother looking or touching it for the next 12 months

I always try to arrange the service and MOT at the same time. The usual process seems to be to MOT it first. Then if it fails, they can fix any problems while servicing it. Then - if necessary - re-test at the end of the day.

BullyCornedBeef

My car is a 55 VW Passat, excellent condition and low mileage (30k miles).

However, since I have owned it it has never been driven so much... so feel a service is fully justified.

What is carried out on a car during a typical service? How much does the average service roughly cost?

Thanks in advance, Luke.

robbies_gal

a main service willprob be about 150-200 depends where you go

Stigy

BullyCornedBeef wrote: »

My car is a 55 VW Passat, excellent condition and low mileage (30k miles).

However, since I have owned it it has never been driven so much... so feel a service is fully justified.

What is carried out on a car during a typical service? How much does the average service roughly cost?

Thanks in advance, Luke.

Depends on the type of service but on a diesel car for example, a major service would, or should consist of Oil & Filter, Air Filter, Fuel Filter and Pollen filter renewals, as well as a check of the brakes with the wheels off, as well as the whole underside of the car. Petrol engined cars have all of the above changed, as well as Spark Plugs.

There are different types of service ranging from Interim (basically just oil and filter change), full and major. Major servicing usually takes in to account things such as Spark Plugs which typically only need changing once every couple of years on modern cars.

Bearing in mind the mileage alone doesn't warrant it, has the timing belt been changed to your knowledge? The reason I ask is that it needs have been changed at least once by now given it's 10-ish years old. You should have this changed if not already done, as if it snaps you could be looking at a new engine in worst case scenario, or the inconvenience of just being stranded at the side of the road in the best case scenario.