Do I need an annual service?

vaderag

Car is due an MOT and I've usually done the major/minor service schedule with it for the past 3 years.

It's a 2011 Nissan Quashqai and the maintainance schedule is 12months or 15000 miles.
I only do 2500 miles per year!

I figure that there can't possibly be the same level of wear in 12 months as there is in 6 times the miles, so was thinking I might just skip this year... am I playing with fire?

Was thinking I might move to a tri-annual service schedule unless my miles go up...

(side note... I'm not ever planning on selling the car, so service schedule for resale isn't a concern of mine - we bought it with a mind to 'run it into the ground' due to the minimal number of miles that we do we don't need anything better, and besides, when we get to the point that we might want rid, the difference would be minimal)

DoaM

Low miles can actually be worse for a vehicle, particularly the engine, as the oil doesn't get time to warm up and disperse through the multitude of moving parts.

twhitehousescat

fresh cold oil is also damaging

wgl2014

As noted the service interval is based on time or mileage depending on which comes first. For the sake of a relatively small outlay you are avoiding potentially huge bills later on.

National auto centres will do an oil and filter change for under £50 or if you have some basic mechanical skills you could just DIY. An oil extraction pump makes the job even simpler and depending on where the oil filter is located you may not even need to jack the car up. Oil and filter will be about £30 if you shop around.

Takmon

vaderag wrote: »

Car is due an MOT and I've usually done the major/minor service schedule with it for the past 3 years.

It's a 2011 Nissan Quashqai and the maintainance schedule is 12months or 15000 miles.
I only do 2500 miles per year!

I figure that there can't possibly be the same level of wear in 12 months as there is in 6 times the miles, so was thinking I might just skip this year... am I playing with fire?

Was thinking I might move to a tri-annual service schedule unless my miles go up...

(side note... I'm not ever planning on selling the car, so service schedule for resale isn't a concern of mine - we bought it with a mind to 'run it into the ground' due to the minimal number of miles that we do we don't need anything better, and besides, when we get to the point that we might want rid, the difference would be minimal)

If you are only doing 2500 miles a year which is made up of lots of very short journeys then that will be very bad for the engine and you should really be doing an oil change every 6 months.

The most wear is caused when the engine is first switched on and the oil is cold and needs time to circulate. Plus if it never gets up to temperature due to short journeys you can get moisture in the oil which is never able to evaporate which reduces it's life.

vaderag

Most of my journeys are not short, they're ~200 miles. I just don't drive very much.

Everyone is talking about the oil, which is fine - so an oil change is about half the cost of an interim service.

Lets say I get the oil changed (which lets be honest, just because it's 12months old doesnt mean it stops working... as @twhitehousecat says above, new oil isn't going to change the amount I drive), do I need the remainder of the costs?

Takmon

vaderag wrote: »

Most of my journeys are not short, they're ~200 miles. I just don't drive very much.

Everyone is talking about the oil, which is fine - so an oil change is about half the cost of an interim service.

Lets say I get the oil changed (which lets be honest, just because it's 12months old doesnt mean it stops working... as @twhitehousecat says above, new oil isn't going to change the amount I drive), do I need the remainder of the costs?

If your doing infrequent long journeys then that is much better than numerous short journeys. But oil does deteriorate over time and being sat in an engine for a year isn't exactly an ideal place for it.

Personally i would change the oil, oil filter and fuel filter once a year and then remove and check the air filter and pollen filter to see if they do need changing or not. This is something you can likely do yourself so won't cost much.

TheMoonandBack

I think you’ll have to decide for yourself because these threads will always throw up people saying you don’t need it and an equal amount saying you don’t....
For what it’s worth I would get the oil and filter changed once a year even if you’ve only done 2500 miles.
The text book answer will be to have the minor/major service done each year as required. I don’t know how Nissan do it or whether your car is petrol or diesel, but the service schedule will only specify replacement of parts eg plugs/air filter/fuel filter at specified mileage intervals, so you shouldn’t be paying for parts to be replaced unnecessarily.

jimbo6977

TheMoonandBack wrote: »

I think you’ll have to decide for yourself because these threads will always throw up people saying you don’t need it and an equal amount saying you don’t....
For what it’s worth I would get the oil and filter changed once a year even if you’ve only done 2500 miles.
The text book answer will be to have the minor/major service done each year as required. I don’t know how Nissan do it or whether your car is petrol or diesel, but the service schedule will only specify replacement of parts eg plugs/air filter/fuel filter at specified mileage intervals, so you shouldn’t be paying for parts to be replaced unnecessarily.

The problem is that with a lot of dealers they will simply REFUSE to do a schedule service before the requisite mileage is up ("computer says no"), which sounds ridiculous turning business away, but I've had it happen to me and no amount of insisting would change their mind.

sevenhills

Takmon wrote: »

If you are only doing 2500 miles a year which is made up of lots of very short journeys then that will be very bad for the engine and you should really be doing an oil change every 6 months.

I haven't changed the oil in my lawn mower for three years, perfectly ok. If it looks clean, is a good way to judge.
But on a £1,000 car, an oil change should not be skipped, if dirty.

Take it to a local garage and let then be the judge of what your car needs.

Nobbie1967

vaderag wrote: »

Most of my journeys are not short, they're ~200 miles. I just don't drive very much.

Everyone is talking about the oil, which is fine - so an oil change is about half the cost of an interim service.

Lets say I get the oil changed (which lets be honest, just because it's 12months old doesnt mean it stops working... as @twhitehousecat says above, new oil isn't going to change the amount I drive), do I need the remainder of the costs?

As most of the journeys are not short, I'd go with every two years. If it was made up of lots of 2-3 mile trips I would do it more often.