car servicing

kitchpoo

Robinsons are great arnt they! One arm doesnt know what the other one is doing.

If you are in Norwich, try Nationwide at the back of Halfords (waits for torrents of 'oh god not them!') - BUT - my previous company vehicle (new) was serviced solely by them, and they understand the need to maintain the warrenty. And the service as a customer was reasonable.

Other Nationwides though are not so good according to other company members.

The other advantage of using the one in Norwich is that if you do insist on using genuine parts - it is really only over the road.

Wig

Pssst wrote: »

What do you mean "service"? If you mean oil an filter ive just done mine. Genuine VAG filter & sump washer £3.50 (GSFcar parts) Oil, 4 L of GTX Halfords,£180. Tome to do 45 mins.

I hope you meant £18 for oil :eek:

As well as oil and filter there is other things, usually visual inspection of various things and belts, changing them as necessary.

What I would recommend people to do is to read the car service schedule, and get an idea of what should be done if you were to take it to a dealer, and to do all those things yourself or with the help of someone who understands the basics. The only time IMHO that you should allow the dealer or other garage to service the car is when the service includes a recommended timing belt change, then let them do either the whole service or do the service yourself as usual and take the car to a professional for a TB change. Personally I'd do the TB change myself aswell, but that's because I'm not afraid to learn these things and I'll "have a go". But I accept that a TB change is a step too far for a lot of people, and that's fine, you should always do what you are comfortable doing and no more.

Pssst

Wig wrote: »

I hope you meant £18 for oil :eek:

As well as oil and filter there is other things, usually visual inspection of various things and belts, changing them as necessary.

What I would recommend people to do is to read the car service schedule, and get an idea of what should be done if you were to take it to a dealer, and to do all those things yourself or with the help of someone who understands the basics. The only time IMHO that you should allow the dealer or other garage to service the car is when the service includes a recommended timing belt change, then let them do either the whole service or do the service yourself as usual and take the car to a professional for a TB change. Personally I'd do the TB change myself aswell, but that's because I'm not afraid to learn these things and I'll "have a go". But I accept that a TB change is a step too far for a lot of people, and that's fine, you should always do what you are comfortable doing and no more.

yes indeed. The only thing is that people with new or almost new cars are trapped in this stamp in the service book loop.
IMHO the most critical thing if you dont do anything else,is to change the oil and filter at the recommended intervals. My car has done nearly 100k and when i dip the stick,the oil is still almost amber clean.

Too many vehicles are sealed for life and then owners wonder why they have problems.

If you happen to have a german,swedish or french car you need to get your bits here..

http://www.gsfcarparts.com/

They are really good value and the counter staff have excellent product knowlegde AND they actually serve you immediately instead of wandering round letting you wait and ignoring you!