The importance of having your car serviced should never be underestimated. According to the RAC, a high percentage of roadside breakdowns are a result of neglecting basic maintenance on a vehicle.
Services can help spot potential problems before they arise, and although servicing comes at a cost, it can end up saving you money in the long run. Un-serviced cars tend to consume more fuel as they are not running at their most efficient. Even seemingly minor issues like needing an oil change, can have a big impact on fuel consumption.
Services will pick up on these details and rectify them, making the whole car run more efficiently and in turn saving you money in unnecessary fuel. Basic maintenance such as checking tyre pressures and levels of engine oil and screen wash are things that you can do at home, but there are also many parts of a car service which cannot be carried out at home and which require the skills, expertise and tools of a manufacturer-trained technician. Modern cars can be complicated machines, and people who are not trained technicians cannot possibly be expected to know everything there is to know about the inner workings of their vehicle. Trying to service your own car could result in damage being caused to your engine which in turn, could be dangerous or considerably expensive to fix.
The length between services varies from car to car. To find out when your car is due, check in your owner’s handbook.
An increasing number of cars offer a digital display which counts down the number of days or miles, or a light which comes on when a service is due. What happens during a service will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and the type of service required on your vehicle at the time but there are several aspects which will be checked every time, by every workshop.
These include:
When it comes to selling your car, prospective buyers will be reassured to know the car has a full service history and it will generally be worth more than those without, as they show that the car has been properly maintained and should give more trouble-free miles.
If you're ever in any doubt about when your car needs servicing, what it entails - or have questions about general maintenance, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.