How do you minimise car servicing costs?

lifebegins

We need to cut back massively to get on top of things.
I've gone through everything, made a budget, changed gas/elec/ phone/ broadband/ insurance etc.

The big expense which really stands out is cars. We live in the countryside and both need our cars for work. They are 5-7 years old. We've tried to take them to local independent garages for servicing but looking at this years costs, one car cost £400 for MOT/ servicing and the other an eye watering £400 for a small hatchback.

OH now says his brakes need doing and it will be £250.

Martin goes on about cutting the cost of motoring but it seems to be about MOT/ Insurance/ fuel etc. which are less money than our maintenance costs.


I'm tempted to just miss services and pay for oil and tyre changes.
Is this a big problem? We intend to keep the cars until they are no longer economical so aren't bothered about service stamps and resale etc.

What does everyone else living on a very tight budget do? Thanks for your help!

sourcrates

I service mine myself, cars these days only need the oil and filter changing, occasionally the air filter, likewise the spark plugs.

Virtually everything else looks after itself now.

All easy DIY jobs, garage service costs are stupidly high.

Depends if your handy with the spanners or not.

leespot

I suppose service costs depend on the make of car - Audi / VW / Ford etc? £400 is a lot for the MOT - what did it need for that?

MrsTinks

If you're mechanically minded and the car doesn't have 50 billion computers then there is nothing stopping you doing most of it yourself

Alternatively try asking around for friends who are mechanics and might be willing to do it for you - them doing it on your driveway might be a lot cheaper as ultimately you're paying parts and their time - but their time will be cheaper as there is no business overhead to cover in the cost and their hourly rate will be more than they normally make, but less than you would normally pay IYSWIM?

It's not without risk I guess as you would have little come back like you might with a garage that did a shoddy job, but that's a risk decision you need to make.

Both the husband and I are mechanically minded, however neither of us have the time or inclination to do services on our cars even if we could (50 billion computers...) - and service stamps sadly are still important to our cars as they're newish. The issue with needing new cars for the line of work we're in.

Brakes are silly easy to do though - is it pads and disks? Or just pads? And do all of them need doing?

Google youtube videos of how to change brakes - depending on your car this is actually a very easy job

MrsTinks

leespot wrote: »

I suppose service costs depend on the make of car - Audi / VW / Ford etc? £400 is a lot for the MOT - what did it need for that?

Audi master tech is about £140 p/h cost to the customer... Insanely high but then the franchise costs are also nuts high and they need to cover it somewhere

For MOT's I'm always suspicious about motive of some garages... Mainly because I've had ones try to convince me of work needing doing for and MOT that I knew was rubbish (I may be a blonde female, but I know how to strip an engine and gearbox, I have even changed drive shafts on landrovers lol SO when someone tells me a bunch of rubbish I will usually know )

sourcrates

MrsTinks wrote: »

(I may be a blonde female, but I know how to strip an engine and gearbox, I have even changed drive shafts on landrovers lol SO when someone tells me a bunch of rubbish I will usually know )

Music to my ears, did you say you were married ??? Lol

MrsTinks

sourcrates wrote: »

Music to my ears, did you say you were married ??? Lol

LMAO yup

I used to off road an Series IIA SWB 2 1/4 petrol Landrover - If you break it you fix it. Oh and years of being super skint meant I even know how to take an alternator apart and clean the brushes (yes I was so skint I couldn't even afford the new brushes LOL)

Will admit I'm in no rush to do another full engine rebuild though - especially in the middle of winter outdoors :rotfl: Lesson learnt: If you do any engine work then always check ALL your seals including to your gear box... because you can loose a LOT of oil that way on a VERY short drive! :mad::mad:

iolanthe07

I may be a blonde female, but I know how to strip an engine and gearbox, I have even changed drive shafts on landrovers lol SO when someone tells me a bunch of rubbish I will usually know

You're one in a million, Mrs Tinks. Good on you.

EssexHebridean

LOVE this thread! I'm going to answer from the perspective of one who while she probably "could" do a lot of the stuff on the car herself, has no access to a drive etc, and doesn't really want to start trying to do such things at the roadside.

We budget £155 per month for our two cars - they are both diesel, both around average mileage, Both get serviced once a year, usually at MoT test time. This means they run slightly over on their service increment miles, but not enough to cause a problem. That £155 per month covers tax, insurance, servicing, MoT tests, tyres, wipers and other consumables. Occasionally something big comes up that has to come from contingency money, Mine needed a new alternator and belts a couple of years back, and will need a major belt change next year - that will be subbed from elsewhere, but generally speaking, that monthly sum covers what is needed. Mine is 9 years old (57plate Clio) and MrEH's is a couple of years older. (55 plate C3). We took recommendations to find a good local independant garage and have stuck with them - we trust them, they get all our business, plus my parents - again for 2 cars. It's a lot of money for them to lose if they should try to have us over, so they simply don't. They have no issues with me asking questions, and are always happy to get a mechanic over to explain things/chat about the work etc. They will put in the effort to source best prices on parts etc, and are good as gold when we need something like our devilishly fiddly headlamp bulbs (Small French cars - flipping nightmare!) changed. For general stuff their labour charge is £60 per hour, but they will happily charge down to 15 minute intervals. Silly jobs like other bulbs, wipers etc we always do ourselves.

For tyres we use another local independant place - a tyre specialist. I pricecheck online to see what the likes of ATS, Kwikfit etc will do, and they are pretty much always cheaper. If you have a safe place for the work to be done there are companies who will come to you to fit tyres and they are often cheaper than those who have premises. Wiper blades can be bought online a lot cheaper than the high street stores will charge.

Look after your cars - wash them by hand occasionally as that way you see any damage, rust spots etc that need attention. Drive with the radio off once a while - that way you get used to what sounds are "normal" and will pick up on anything out of the ordinary - if you hear anything odd, or the car starts handling strangely, or just feel a bit odd, get it checked sooner rather than later. Do an occasional walk around with the engine running to listen out for any odd rattles or squeaks. Service when needed, and keep an eye on oil and coolant levels at other times.

MrsTinks

Driving with the radio off is actually a very good point...

The car I just traded in had a bit of a murmur from the front passenger wheel - if it was what I suspected then it's pothole damage (grrrr) and probably a wheel bearing that's been damaged. Only audible with radio off and at speeds over 60mph... it was a factor in changing cars, albeit a minor one It was btw missed both at a service and for it's first MOT - so don't always assume everything is perfect even if it's been serviced

(also to save on tyre costs check your pressure regularly! Likewise uneven wear on the treads. If you think there is uneven wear and you don't have a heavy car (they're more prone to this) then get it tracked. It will save you money in the long run on tyres as uneven wear means quicker wear as well as potentially unsafe )

BTW we found Tyres on the drive (google them) have worked out cheapest for our tyres for a few years now... Added bonus they come to you and do the work

lifebegins

Thanks everyone.

My car is a 5 year old Fiat 500- I don't think it has many computers.
OH's is a 7 year old BMW 1 series- he seems think you can't really do anything much yourself on it because of the computers. The £400 for the BMW was for the MOT, service and 2 tyres at a BMW specialist independent garage. He now needs just the front brake pads doing, but was quoted £250 which seems a lot and just wipes out what I've been trying so hard to scrimp and save from elsewhere.

He's happy to have a go doing the front pads himself though but apparently they have to have electronic wear sensors as well. The £400 for my car included 2 front tyres, and the MOT, but (?? coincidence) the driver's handle broke just an hour after I got it back and that cost almost £200 to fix. Your budget for 2 cars is impressive Essex

We don't have any mechanic friends sadly and I don't know much about cars (kudos to Mrs Tinks). Maybe I should try and remedy that.

I guess I'm looking for some reassurance that having the oil and tyres done and making sure the levels are okay will mean I'm not compromising on safety. Obviously I wouldn't want to risk something awful happening e.g. the car seizing or brakes failing etc. when driving my kids around but the servicing costs do seem horrendous.

Will look at tyres on the drive- thanks.
Do you need the balancing/ tracking stuff they add on, and if so , can that be done on the drive too?