Car hardly used due to coronavirus. Do I need a service?

Super_Stomper

My car is usually serviced and MOT'd in February just prior to renewing my road tax. This year I have travelled less than 3,000 miles (instead of my usual 10,000) so I'm not convinced I need to spend £180-ish to have a service if it's not necessary. Handbook suggests 20,000 miles or 12 months. It's a Vauxhall Astra, 14 reg, and I take it out for a spin every week to 10 days to keep everything running smoothly. Any thoughts, please?

dogshome

You are doing the right thing by servicing once a year at 10,000 miles, despite the handbook saying 20,000.

However, when engines only get frequent cold starts, followed by short journeys, the acidic compounds which are normally burnt off on long runs, build up in the Oil - Not Good

Get an oil and filter change only this time round

AdrianC

"or 12 months".

tacpot12

I would say that you are fine to extend the time between services by a few months, so have it serviced when lockdown ends, assuming this is before May.

Grumpy_chap

7 y.o. Astra is unlikely to be under any warranty in which case, it is entirely the OP's risk to accept a longer gap between services.  
If the car had the Vauxhall "Warranty for Life" that was marketed several years back, that might affect the decision.

Scot22

For safety and avoiding inconvenience I would never miss a service.

cymruchris

Oil still needs to be changed regularly in time segments - if the mileage segments are not met - that's why they say X miles or Y months - whichever comes sooner. So if you haven't met X miles, and you've reached Y months - it's time for a service. If however you choose to extend it by a couple months based on the age of the car, I don't see that being a major issue, as you have no further warranty cover that you'd need to claim on.  Also keep in mind that using things less can sometimes mean they seize up more, so it's worthwhile for peace of mind to have safety items checked regularly. 

AdrianC

Grumpy_chap said:

7 y.o. Astra is unlikely to be under any warranty in which case, it is entirely the OP's risk to accept a longer gap between services.  
If the car had the Vauxhall "Warranty for Life" that was marketed several years back, that might affect the decision.

Ah, yes... the "1st ownership from new or 100k or 10yr, whichever expires first" "lifetime" warranty.

JustAnotherSaver

I do 7k per year.

The wife does probably 3.5k - 4k per year.

I change the oil every 6 months regardless.

My theory being it doesn't cost the earth and plus (especially in my wifes case) it is likely to need an oil change with the short journeys she does more than not needing one. Whether that theory is correct or not I don't actually know but like i said, for the price of it I just get it done and do it myself.

The other filters get done on their service schedules. Air filters and pollen filters aren't that dear.

Ectophile

I always get cars serviced every 12 months, whether they are in warranty or not, and however few miles I have done.

That service could be a "minor" or "intermediate" service, but at least the oil will have been changed, and other things checked.  Independents may be a lot more flexible in what they do, compared with main dealers.

jimjames

I did 900 miles last year but car still had oil change service. It's a false economy to miss them when oil is one thing keeping the engine running smoothly. It might be overkill but if it helps keep engine clean long term it's worth it.