Is car servicing really necessary ?

anewman

Keleva wrote: »

Apart from consumables expected ina 5 year old car, I have had one sensor replaced (something to do with the air/fuel mixture?) The main dealer wanted mega bucks to do it (but it was cheaper to get them to diagnose the fault) so I took it to my usual "back street" garage who charged half the price.

If oil wasn't changed reguarly enough this could help contribute to killing that sensor.

cowbutt

moonrakerz wrote: »

I think your post just goes to show how much proper regular servicing is a must. The things you mention are simply not necessary if the car has been serviced properly.

I respectfully disagree, at least if you're driving an older car. My first car was 17 years old when I was given it, and it lasted a couple more years before I sold it as scrap. My next car was a rubbish 10 year old banger that wasn't worth the £1800 I paid for it, and it only lasted a couple of years before I sold it for about £600. My last car was six years old when I bought it for £3200, and I'm just getting rid of it now, nine years later (as any true MSE would do, having found one that's in good nick, reliable and kept it serviced!)

Coolant - not necessary if your hoses have been checked
Oil - don't you check it before you set off ?, if you need it after that the car definitely needs a service - or more !

OK, you keep your oil and coolant in your house, I keep it in the boot. What's the difference (bar the tradeoff between petrol consumption vs. being able to make a limp home top-up in the event of a spontaneous leak).

All the (older) cars I've had have needed small amounts of oil top-ups in between services (when I was driving to and from work, they got 6 monthly services), and coolant similarly, even with new coolant pipes and a new radiator. I've never had a car so bad as to need mid-journey top-ups or similar, though!

Spare belts - same comment as for coolant

I've never had one snap, but conceivably they can even when they're nowhere near their expected service life. Carrying a lightweight 3 quid part might enable an RAC/AA engineer to make a repair that they might not be able to if they don't otherwise have the part in the van.

Jump leads - already commented

I've had an alternator diode pack fail, presumably on the drive home. When I went to start it the next morning, it had drained the battery. If the alternator had died on the way to work, it may well have caused me significant inconvenience, whereas being able to get a jump start might well get me home. Admittedly, this was on my last car just after I had bought it; once the alternator had been replaced, it hasn't failed since.

As I said in my last post, if you have the car serviced properly these "most common eventualities" become very unusual rarities.

To repeat myself, my cars (many) have never let me down.

In my twelve years of driving, and three cars, I think I've been let down once (or maybe twice) by a failed alternator, once by failed HT leads, and once by a snapped driveshaft. Given all my cars were being serviced by trustworthy garages every six months, apart from when the last fault occurred, I think that shows that regular servicing doesn't completely eliminate the need to carry spares and some useful kit. I'm well aware that servicing should have caught the corroded driveshaft before it snapped.

From your comment about 'many cars', I'm inclined to think that you've not kept many 15-18 year old cars on the road, and so have never encountered these real-world problems that are typical with older cars.

I'm afraid the old joke about "just putting petrol and water in" is just too true for many cars - and many don't even bother with the water - and some don't even seem to bother with the petrol ! Perhaps that's why you need the Hayne's manual - to find the petrol filler !! :D

Um, no.

I always read the owner's manual whenever I buy a new car, and I'm quite particular about checking tyre pressures and condition, oil, coolant and hydraulic fluid levels regularly. More particular than many neighbours who enquire if I'm having problems when I'm merely doing the routine checks! Presumably, they are the kind of people your remarks are directed at.

The Haynes manual is cheap enough to make it a worthwhile investment for deciding whether to try taking on a job by myself, or whether to leave it to a garage, or even take it to a specialist (recent case in point, my Mk III Mondeo requires removal of the airbag to replace the horn switch; if it hadn't been for that, I'd have been quite happy to buy the part and do it myself). They also sometimes contain tips to make jobs like changing bulbs less a case of trial-and-error for someone who's not naturally mechanically-talented (i.e. gaining access to bolts, knowing where all the bolts are - that sort of thing).

tomstickland

My car is 18 years old, has 210,000 miles and I travel about 20,000 miles per year in it. I did a 1,600 round trip to the Alps in it last month. I've never been stranded in it yet.
I put this down to keeping my eye on the condition of various things. I'll be doing a minor job like an oil and filter change and notice that a wire is a bit chafed or a hose is looking a bit border line, so I'll replace it.

I've actually done very little to the car. I do drive it hard though, and I can only do this by keeping it in good condition.

I would agree that the prices charged by some garages for basic servicing are on the high side and that the manufacturers treat it as a major source of revenue. There are good independant garages around though.

I love the assumption people make that old cars must be knackered heaps.

cowbutt

pingu wrote: »

i was told by an insurance estimate man(the ones who come to check your car when you had an accident)

that as long as you change oil and filter regularly you don't need service etc...

i understand that for new cars its different!

Well, yes and no.

Looking at the service schedule for my Mk III Mondeo, the 6250 mile service is pretty much just that; oil and filter change.

The 12500 mile service is pretty much the kind of pre-MoT checks any decent garage would do on a annual service.

If I remember correctly, the next biggie is 37500 miles, at which point, one may well have sold on the car already...

tomstickland

Certainly, if you want to do the minimum servicing on a car, then regular oil and filter changes are the most important.

maniac886

My local indie charges £50 for an interim service and £120 for a full service for my focus. However he checks the car over thourougly, including the brakes,clutch etc and when I come to pick the car up he takes me through everything he has checked!

I would never consider not getting my car serviced as I feel I have a duty of car to other drivers on the road. The MOT checks are very basic IMO and not enough to check if the car is roadworthy.

I remember a while back on my old w reg punto the wiper motor went and my local garage wanted £200 to fit a new one. I didn't really know much about cars except doing the basic checks(oil etc) but borrowed a haynes manual, bought the motor for £70 and fitted it myself...even though it took me 6/7 hours but saved £130! I may start doing the interim checks myself , also the mechanic said he doesnt mind showing me next time I take it in.

Anyway thats my take on things! :-)

anewman

tomstickland wrote: »

I love the assumption people make that old cars must be knackered heaps.

:T Have been reading a thread on a Skoda forum about how people and even dealers were eager to scrap perfectly good Estelles back in the late 80's. It's a shame what people think of a car kills them off rather than the car's ability to do what it should. There's very few of them around now and they're becoming classics and value of good one's is about £1000.

in2deep_2

Conor wrote: »

If I take my 1995 import Mitsubishi that doesn't have rear foglights fitted (as they're not a legal requirement in Japan) in for an MOT, will it fail for the lack of foglight or will it pass?

And if it fails, why would it fail?

It doesnt matter where its from if it was built after 1980 and you want a UK MOT test doing on it then it needs a fog light fitted to the rear.
This also applies to american cars with red flashing indicators they must be retro fitted with amber(depending on date)...

..you should have a fog light retro fitted to your import.

If you have got away with it so far then your very very lucky.

Gallovidian

We get ours done by a local guy who has a repair business, he takes cash
and has never yet let us down. Each of our two cars gets taken in for a
routine pre-MOT service annually and if anything needs done he asks
first before spending any money. We pay cash. His standard of workmanship
is better that the main dealer we used to take the big car to when it was
under (approved used) warranty. Ask around for friend's recommendations
and if you can find a reliable reasonably priced mechanic then stick with
them. This guy does a service for less than I could get the bits to do a
service for.:j

Ephemera

I have worked as a service and repair technician for many years.

Although not in the car industry, I can attest to the value of regular servicing of any mechanical instrument, a car being a very useful example of such.

Changing the oil, plugs, filters, checking moving parts for lubrication or damage, etc, is essential, and can prevent compounding of problems further down the line.

You could get away with not servicing your car, and it probably would run fine for a while, even a few years. However it is likely to gradually become less efficient, reliable, and fun to drive.

It's your choice....