service or not (6yrs old and low mileage)

mutley74

My dad's car is 6 years old - diesel Citroen C3. It has around 30k on the clock and only used less than 2,000 miles since last service and MOT - last year in May 19.  It had an interim service then with oil and filter change. 
Just questioning as the car is hardly used and even less since the virus measures.....does he need to pay for an oil and filter change this year, as well as service? 
It needs an MOT soon. 

oscarward

Not sure if it has changed but back when we had a 307 and 407 the service interval was 20k miles or 2 years. My wife had a 307cc for 5 years and only had it serviced twice!

AdrianC

Sub-2k/year in any modern diesel is just asking for trouble from the DPF. It's also very harsh use - the engine is never up to temperature, so the condensation and other similar contaminants in the oil never get boiled off. So, yes, service. But I'm not sure what you mean by "oil and filter change as well as service" - any service worthy of the name will include oil and filter.

It might be a good opportunity to help him decide if he actually needs to continue owning a car.

mutley74

AdrianC said:

Sub-2k/year in any modern diesel is just asking for trouble from the DPF. It's also very harsh use - the engine is never up to temperature, so the condensation and other similar contaminants in the oil never get boiled off. So, yes, service. But I'm not sure what you mean by "oil and filter change as well as service" - any service worthy of the name will include oil and filter.

It might be a good opportunity to help him decide if he actually needs to continue owning a car.

Agree about the DPF usage (or lack of it here) I told my Dad when he bought the car, he would be better of with petrol engine - but could not convince him. Plus he had big plans to tour the UK to visit family and friends - but it never happened!  
Citroen service interval is 10k miles. It is out of warranty. 
Just thinking is it worth paying for a service and just ask them to do a visual when undertaking the MOT then get it serviced next year?  He usually uses a local independent garage. My parents still need a car for hospital appointments etc.

Mercdriver

I would still be inclined to get it serviced rather than relying on someone at MOT time who has aa queue of vehicles to get tested.  

MinuteNoodles

mutley74 said:

Citroen service interval is 10k miles.

Or 12 months, whichever is sooner. There's a reason why as AdrianC outlined above. I used to service my MX5 every year even though it only did 2000-2500 miles as it was a weekend car and every year there'd be one or more brake calipers that needed sorting as they'd seized or the caliper sliders had due to being sat there unused.

Herzlos

It's more important to service a super low mileage car annually, as it's spending a lot of time sitting around rusting and evaporating.

2000 miles in 14 months means it's presumably rarely been running long enough to get up to temperature.

I'd be getting it service and then trying to convince him to trade it in for a petrol car (or an Uber account). He'll save a fortune and have a nicer experience.

AdrianC

mutley74 said:
My parents still need a car for hospital appointments etc.

Taxi or lift, given half a choice...

Cars are a right PITA for getting to hospitals, with the parking shenanigans and cost.

mutley74

AdrianC said:

mutley74 said:
My parents still need a car for hospital appointments etc.

Taxi or lift, given half a choice...

Cars are a right PITA for getting to hospitals, with the parking shenanigans and cost.

true, but they have disabled badge. My mum uses the car to visit friends occasionally. But with the insurance coming in at £400 plus breakdown and service costs etc..it  all adds up quick. 

AdrianC

Now add in ALL the costs, including fuel, including depreciation. Bet it's closing on a quid a mile.

Ectophile

Herzlos said:

It's more important to service a super low mileage car annually, as it's spending a lot of time sitting around rusting and evaporating.

I have had several cars go rusty on me over the years.  But I haven't yet had one evaporate away.