How do you know what needs doing each year at a service?

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OasisFan79

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Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice.

How do you find out what type of service your car needs each year?

I only do about 6k miles per year and when I drop it off at the garage each year for a service I tell them how many miles it’s done and leave it with them.

I’ve always assumed that a decent garage will know what needs doing based on the age of the car and how many miles it’s done since the last service.

But what about things like timing belts, brake fluid, spark plugs etc. Do mechanics just know when this sort of job also needs doing?
 
How recent is your car? In other words does it has a service book? That should guide you.

But of course there are two schools of thought :- those that say only service according to mileage, so if the book refers to service every (typically) 12000 miles now matter what the annual mileage is, usually 'much' less; Or those that service every time period or mileage which ever is sooner according to service book.

Servicing only according to low annual mileage means that the oil is 'mucky' and likely to have large amounts of water in it (Don't forget modern oils are High Detergent which absorbs the water). Should be changed more frequently.

I'm very much in second school of thought and practise.

Items such as Brake fluid is 3 years no matter how many miles.
Cam belts worry me (having had 2 fail in heavy traffic) So I'm very much change much more frequently than the service book recommends.
Modern cars seemingly have 100,000 mile plug change intervals and I think you can keep to that.
Pollen filters are something that many garages forget about but are a necessity for Hay Fever sufferers.
 
I also do not do many miles - usually around 4000 but I have a really great mobile mechanic whom I would trust with my life. He comes every two years and looks at all the important bits and advises accordingly. E.g. Brake fluid - "It's still clear and the hydrometer says it's good - give it another year." "Your timing belt is good for around 100 kmiles ignore whay Skoda says but we'll have quick look if you are bothered." " Your oil looks good to me,maybe we'll change it in a couple of years." These are all things that the dealer would charge for and often unnecessarily, he charged me £78 for two cars last time around!!!
 
Thanks all. Much appreciated and very helpful.

I think like you said if you take it to a decent garage/mechanic they should/would know what needs doing. Especially if you tell them how many miles you’ve done since the last service.

This puts my mind at rest. Thanks again.
 
Eccles said:
I also do not do many miles - usually around 4000 but I have a really great mobile mechanic whom I would trust with my life. He comes every two years and looks at all the important bits and advises accordingly. E.g. Brake fluid - "It's still clear and the hydrometer says it's good - give it another year." "Your timing belt is good for around 100 kmiles ignore whay Skoda says but we'll have quick look if you are bothered." " Your oil looks good to me,maybe we'll change it in a couple of years." These are all things that the dealer would charge for and often unnecessarily, he charged me £78 for two cars last time around!!!
Click to expand...
Worrying. Does he do that for a living or is it his hobby?
 
OasisFan79 said:
Hi all,

Just after a bit of advice.

How do you find out what type of service your car needs each year?

I only do about 6k miles per year and when I drop it off at the garage each year for a service I tell them how many miles it’s done and leave it with them.

I’ve always assumed that a decent garage will know what needs doing based on the age of the car and how many miles it’s done since the last service.

But what about things like timing belts, brake fluid, spark plugs etc. Do mechanics just know when this sort of job also needs doing?
Click to expand...
Do you have a service record or a service schedule for the car? What car is it?
 
Eccles said:
I also do not do many miles - usually around 4000 but I have a really great mobile mechanic whom I would trust with my life. He comes every two years and looks at all the important bits and advises accordingly. E.g. Brake fluid - "It's still clear and the hydrometer says it's good - give it another year." "Your timing belt is good for around 100 kmiles ignore whay Skoda says but we'll have quick look if you are bothered." " Your oil looks good to me,maybe we'll change it in a couple of years." These are all things that the dealer would charge for and often unnecessarily, he charged me £78 for two cars last time around!!!
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utter carp. Does he pay you for listening to such stupid advice?
 
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I can just tell what his reaction would be if the timing belt goes after 98k and the OP asks him to reimburse the cost of the rebuild.

If your only doing short journeys its even more important to stay on top of oil changes and other maintenance.

Manufacturers give recommended service intervals for a reason if you choose to ignore them then thats down to you.
 
Mottie said:
Do you have a service record or a service schedule for the car? What car is it?
Click to expand...
We’ve got a couple of Fords in the household and with both you just get the service portfolio that the garage stamps after each service. Nothing extra printed in the book though that says what Ford recommend.

Oil and filter are a given each year for sure.

I would guess the average Joe would take the car to the garage for the service and hopefully trust what the garage says needs doing based on its age and mileage.

Unless you take it to a main dealer of course where they would have a specific schedule of what needs doing. You’d pay a lot more for main dealer service though, so it’s swings and roundabouts.
 
Your manufacturers instructions probably say "service every 12,000 miles or 12 months whichever comes first" or something similar

So you will be on the 12 month cycle

The manufacturer will specify in the handbook which items are to be done and if is preferable for the garage to give you a checklist each time saying what has been done. If not, you might get repeated minor services meaning some things never get done, or repeated major services costing you extra.

Probably there is a cycle of minor service one year and full service alternate years

Or there might be an intermediate oil change. If you do mostly short journeys you may need that, especially if it is a diesel.

The minor service includes less actions so should be cheaper.

There will be some things that need doing less frequently, such as transmission fluid, fuel filter, differential oil, and might not be shown in the handbook, and without a checklist you will not know when they were done or if they are due

On one of my cars the electric wing mirrors need to be cleaned and lubricated every five years or so, or they will jam, and the suspension rubbers last about the same. This is not listed.

In a sunny region the wiper rubbers may last less than a year. On an old car some of the bulbs get dim with age and need changing.
 
The lower the annual mileage, the more necessary it is to change the oil and filter - to remove the condensate that gets absorbed.
The volume of condensation could be seen as mayonnaise on the oil filler cap on petrol engines, diesels don’t suffer the same way.
John
 
Eccles said:
E.g. Brake fluid - "It's still clear and the hydrometer says it's good - give it another year."
Click to expand...

It's absorbed moisture that becomes a problem - you can buy a little gadget which checks the electrical conductivity, to indicate whether much/any moisture has been absorbed.
 
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