Lack of maintenance killing cars

System

stator wrote: »

My car is 17 years old but with 70,000 on the clock.
Should I bother servicing it with annual oil changes and doing the cambelt every four years?
Or should I just stick to the basics like brakes and fluids, since it's 17 years old.

Do you want to keep it for any length of time? Servicing it will see it last longer than not servicing it and will leave you less likely to be stranded at the side of the road broken down but ultimately the worth of that depends on how long you envisage keeping it for. Remember that if you choose not to service it and leave it for the MOT to find any problems that the MOT doesn't check everything that a service would.

System

motorguy wrote: »

Far better, surely to promote the above approach rather than scare mongering about how bad all garages are in your experience and quoting nigh on 20 year old surveys as "evidence", which IMHO is going to do little other than make people less likely to maintain their cars?

This and if Gas Safe is anything to go by it isn't a guarantee you're going to get a proper job done.

fred246

National tyres do an oil change for approx £50. Air filter, spark plugs, pollen filter, fuel filter can all be done easily with just a few tools without jacking the car. Regular MOT, Nationwide oil & filter & your own air filter, spark plugs & pollen filter would be reasonably clever & money saving.

silverwhistle

I suspect that's what I might do next MOT time as I'll only have done another ~5000 miles due to a change in circumstances. I've no expertise though so it'll be a Youtube tutorial first! I've got a jack in the shed for when I change to my winter wheels, which seems like a good task for tomorrow, even here on the south coast..

motorguy

fred246 wrote: »

National tyres do an oil change for approx £50. Air filter, spark plugs, pollen filter, fuel filter can all be done easily with just a few tools without jacking the car. Regular MOT, Nationwide oil & filter & your own air filter, spark plugs & pollen filter would be reasonably clever & money saving.

Any mechanic will do those bits for you for a few pounds when you're getting your car serviced anyway. No need to bother yourself. If i trust them to do the oil and filter i'd trust them to do an air filter, etc too. None of them need done every service anyway.

£50 sounds about right for an oil an filter in a standard car from a small garage, unless a car has specific requirements.

fred246

The point is that you never pay for a service. A service is basically an oil & filter change plus a few checks. The checks are normally part of the MOT. So an MOT and oil & filter change is nearly enough. You would then say "what about the air filter, spark plugs & pollen filter? They are dead easy to DIY.

AdrianC

fred246 wrote: »

The point is that you never pay for a service. A service is basically an oil & filter change plus a few checks. The checks are normally part of the MOT. So an MOT and oil & filter change is nearly enough. You would then say "what about the air filter, spark plugs & pollen filter? They are dead easy to DIY.

Remind me never to buy a used car off you...

motorguy

fred246 wrote: »

The point is that you never pay for a service. A service is basically an oil & filter change plus a few checks. The checks are normally part of the MOT. So an MOT and oil & filter change is nearly enough. You would then say "what about the air filter, spark plugs & pollen filter? They are dead easy to DIY.

I pay for an oil and filter change, and i pay around £50. The last car we got serviced was my FIL's 2015 Nissan Note. Oil & Filter change and MOT check, clean brake pipes, etc for £80. I did the wiper blades myself as i like Bosch Aeros and i just order them online.

If i want spark plugs, fuel filter and air filter changed then i ask for that too. I dont just wander in and ask for "a service".

Good to see we're now on the same page RE: getting a garage to do the oily bits though.