Regular servicing for car not intending to sell anytime soon?

fred246

I don't get why you need an automatic tailgate but still have to open the doors. Surely they all need to be automatic too. I am sure that will be the next feature that I won't be buying. I have never had an electronic handbrake. Why do they help when sitting at a junction on a steep hill? My handbrake just stays on until I take it off. Don't all handbrakes do that?

molerat

You don't have to take it off, just pull away as if you were on a flat road with the handbrake off - it releases itself. Another bit of tech is hill start assist, holds the brakes for 2-3seconds after you take your foot off the pedal.

AdrianC

molerat said:

You don't have to take it off, just pull away as if you were on a flat road with the handbrake off - it releases itself.

So, basically, a layer of utterly and expensively fallible technology so that the driver doesn't have to move their hand a little bit.

Another bit of tech is hill start assist, holds the brakes for 2-3seconds after you take your foot off the pedal.

Another electronic bottom-wiper to take over the kind of basic foot co-ordination that everybody who ever passed their driving test has already proved they know how to do.

fred246

Useful if you aren't a good driver.

ontheroad1970

fred246 said:

I don't get why you need an automatic tailgate but still have to open the doors. Surely they all need to be automatic too. I am sure that will be the next feature that I won't be buying. I have never had an electronic handbrake. Why do they help when sitting at a junction on a steep hill? My handbrake just stays on until I take it off. Don't all handbrakes do that?

bags of shopping in the hand, get put in the boot, and then your hands are free to open the doors.  Essential?  Of course not.  Useful?  Yes, to many people, up to you whether you buy the convenience.  

Grumpy_chap

fred246 said:

I have never had an electronic handbrake. Why do they help when sitting at a junction on a steep hill? My handbrake just stays on until I take it off. Don't all handbrakes do that?

My handbrake does not do that.  Irrespective of whether the handbrake is on or off, the car will roll with the gradient of the road unless foot hard on the brake pedal.

fred246

Grumpy_chap said:

fred246 said:

I have never had an electronic handbrake. Why do they help when sitting at a junction on a steep hill? My handbrake just stays on until I take it off. Don't all handbrakes do that?

My handbrake does not do that.  Irrespective of whether the handbrake is on or off, the car will roll with the gradient of the road unless foot hard on the brake pedal.

I think you need to get your handbrake checked. Have you had an MOT recently?

AdrianC

Grumpy_chap said:

fred246 said:

I have never had an electronic handbrake. Why do they help when sitting at a junction on a steep hill? My handbrake just stays on until I take it off. Don't all handbrakes do that?

My handbrake does not do that.  Irrespective of whether the handbrake is on or off, the car will roll with the gradient of the road unless foot hard on the brake pedal.

Sorry, your handbrake doesn't hold the car on a gradient, unless your foot is on the brakes?

It's broken, and will fail the MOT. Fix it.

How on earth do you park on a hill? Do you rely on the gearbox to do the job of your broken handbrake? If so, then your box is taking stresses it was never designed to. Leaving it in gear should be a back-up in case of failure on serious gradients only.

Grumpy_chap

I keep chocks in the car.
I will adjust it for the MOT which is this month.  It has only been the past week or so I noticed it.  Think the cable stretched during lock down?

Mickey666

I drive an automatic . . . what's a handbrake

Back to the topic though, which is about servicing, I agree with the poster who said forget the main dealer and find a local garage for annual oil & filter changes.  That's what I've always done (except when I had company cars) - buy a 'newish' car (1-3 years & 30k miles old) and keep for at least 100k miles.  Change the oil & filters every year and then just do whatever is necessary to pass the annual MoT test - mostly just the 'wear' items such as tyres and brakes.  By the time the car is over 10 years old a main agent full service history will be pretty much worthless anyway.

Modern cars are amazing pieces of machinery, completely unlike those of Britain's 'industrial heydays'.