Is it sensible to delay getting a car serviced to save money, if it has low mileage?

Ron246235

I have a 2018 petrol Honda Jazz and the manufacturer says 

Your car should be serviced every 12 months or 12500 miles.

https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/faqs.html#headingone 

But my car only does 3000 or 4000 miles a year and it seems unlikely that it would need servicing as regularly as one that does 12,000. So is it OK to delay each service by six months or a year?

Would the resale value be affected? I would have thought that if the mileage is low, that shows good reason why an annual service was not needed. 

I found this page with various reasons in favour of getting regular services:
https://www.protyre.co.uk/car-help-advice/vehicle-maintenance/what-happens-when-you-delay-car-servicing
But they don't mention low mileage. And MSE doesn't seem to have any advice at all:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/car-check/

cymruchris

Oil & filter should be changed annually - whether the car does 10 miles or 10000 miles. Things age even if they're not used a lot and should still be checked. You have to balance how long you'll keep the car, how you'll sell it as to what impact delaying servicing will have on value. Being a 2018 - are you now using a good quality independent service centre rather than a main dealer? If you were to buy your own car off yourself in 3 years time with 3 missed/delayed services - would it make you think twice?

fatbelly

I also do low mileage. 2013 car. My slight compromise is to service every 15 months. When i sell, they will see a book with regular services every 6-7000 miles.

If i was a buyer, I'd be happy with that

400ixl

Anything outside of the maintenance schedule means you cannot advertise it as have a full service history.l Not having a FSH will put off a large number of potential buyers, making it less desirable and as such less valuable.

As a buyer I would see it as an owner who doesn't want to pay for the basics, what else are they not bothering with.

For example brake fluid changes need doing to the schedule regardless of mileage. The fluid draws in moisture regardless.

It would be a big avoid.

Stubod

As a minimum I would always get oil and filter changed every 12 months regardless of mileage.

badmemory

I don't do many miles & get mine serviced a couple of months before the MOT is due.  An MOT fail now would be worse than having it regularly serviced.

born_again

In someways the likes of brakes need more attention with less use, as they are more likely to rust/cease up on pins etc.
Same with oil, if car is not fully getting up to temp, can lead to moisture not getting burned off & mayonnaise forming.

prettyandfluffy

It's worth having it done as per the stated service intervals and by a Honda dealership if you intend to trade it in or sell it on, it adds a lot to the value and ease of sale.

Bigwheels1111

My car was 7 years old in September and only done 22,500 miles.
I get main dealer services as was quite cheap, Years 1-5 £13.46 a month.
Years 6-10 £14.99 a month.
If nothing else get Oil & Filter change.

Ron246235

Thanks. These answers are really helpful. 
Even if the value of the car goes down, this might be offset by the money saved by not having it serviced so much. Maybe I will follow fatbelly's slight compromise of doing it every 15 months. I will have to think about it.  

cymruchris said:

Being a 2018 - are you now using a good quality independent service centre rather than a main dealer? If you were to buy your own car off yourself in 3 years time with 3 missed/delayed services - would it make you think twice?

I have used a few different service centres - do you mean an independent one is better because it is cheaper?
If I was looking at buying a car with several services delayed by 3 or 6 months, I am not sure what I would think. Maybe I would look on MSE Forum to see if it matters. With any car I would probably pay someone to check it. 

400ixl said:

As a buyer I would see it as an owner who doesn't want to pay for the basics, what else are they not bothering with.

For example brake fluid changes need doing to the schedule regardless of mileage. 

But what else is there that they might not be bothering with? Brake fluid is part of servicing. Petrol, road tax, insurance, MOT are impossible to avoid (with this kind of car). If it is dirty or dented, you can see that. 

cymruchris

Ron246235 said:

Thanks. These answers are really helpful. 
Even if the value of the car goes down, this might be offset by the money saved by not having it serviced so much. So maybe I will follow fatbelly's slight compromise of doing it every 15 months. I will have to think about it.  

cymruchris said:

Being a 2018 - are you now using a good quality independent service centre rather than a main dealer? If you were to buy your own car off yourself in 3 years time with 3 missed/delayed services - would it make you think twice?

I have used a few different service centres - do you mean an independent one is better because it is cheaper?
If I was looking at buying a car with several services delayed by 3 or 6 months, I am not sure what I would think. Maybe I would look on MSE Forum to see if it matters. With any car I would probably pay someone to check it. 

400ixl said:

As a buyer I would see it as an owner who doesn't want to pay for the basics, what else are they not bothering with.

For example brake fluid changes need doing to the schedule regardless of mileage. 

But what else is there that they might not be bothering with? Brake fluid is part of servicing. Petrol, road tax, insurance, MOT are impossible to avoid (with this kind of car). If it is dirty or dented, you can see that. 

Yes - an independent - usually a specialist in the brand/type of vehicle.

There'll be some decent Honda or Japanese car specialists no doubt in your area that can offer decent servicing, sometimes with OE parts at a fraction of the dealer labour charge. 

I have a Mercedes SLK that's about 17 years old now, and there's no way I'd pay Mercedes their labour charges on a car this old. I do about 4-5000 a year at the moment and use a local Mercedes specialist that uses Mercedes original parts, employs ex-Mercedes technicians and has a labour rate of approximately half that per hour of the dealer. They also have access to the Mercedes database that updates all the service records on the MB central system, so although it's not Mercedes doing the servicing, the records are there of a decent service having taken place. I get the quality of service, the quality of parts, but a reduced labour rate.