Car Servicing

Thanks geoff,  but I don't need one.

It just felt like I would do. 

The place where I take my car will usually flag up the problems they notice, but not carry out the wor until it's necessary.  E.g. If there is about 3000 left on the brake pads that is what they will tell me - they won't change them there and then.  Furthermore, if the car needs to go in for a scheduled repair, they are quite happy for me to get the parts off eBay,  or wherever, and they will fit them.

David 

My car is always serviced in July so if advised that 2k wear left on brakes of tyres, change straight away as hol maybe 3000 miles and I don't take a chance with tyres and brakes particularly towing the van

Got mine back from tne service and they did say brakes were 50% worn which is useful. They did say the front tyres were new but that came as no surprise as I had just paid the bill for them.

Never had my cars serviced at main dealers. Local garages( as long as you know the mechanics are sound) do a great job and much cheaper. I do all the oil changes and filters myself but I dont do brakes. Just took the tow car in today for brake check- new front pads, rear brakes stripped, cleaned and lubed etc - I'll know I'm OK for Wales now! 

The company offering the online servicing was serviceistop.com. They have regular offers and tell you exactly what is done and included. They collect your car from home or work and bring it back to you. They use independent local garages and claim to service to manufacturers specs using genuine parts. As I said a full wheels off service for my Peugeot 307 was £85 on a summer servicing promotion. Have the service but beware they are expensive on anything not specified so let them do the service but anything else may be considerably cheaper elsewhere. If you are at work you do need Internet access to pay the bill prior to the car being returned to you. 

Before I decided to keep my car and just run it and run it, I did get quotes for part exchanging it from a number of different garages, including the main Mercedes dealer that I bought it from and had always serviced it on the dot.

So what was the point of looking after it so meticulously, and spending top dollar on its maintenance?  When it comes to trying to part ex it for a new or newer one, the only thing that seemed to matter was what the book said.

I agree on this point with cars. We're now trying to run both cars until they drop. I always keep them immaculate and fully serviced but when it comes to trading in sometimes they don't even look at them. I could trade in a skip for all they care. 

I run a 2012 Jag XF that has got 28k on at present so if I can get another 4 or 5 years out of it or more l'll be happy. I have always used Jag servicing and so far they have been OK always advising me but never knowingly taking advantage. 

Incedentially, the Jag needs a service every 12 months anyway (the dash light comes on) and I always have my wife's car done at a local garage every 12 months. I know oil might be better than years back but somehow 2 years seems just too long.

As a family we run two cars, one (Volvo 70 - tow car) is serviced by the main dealer. Not cheap, but not as expensive as you might expect. I find the quality first class. The car is collected and returned to my place of work. Valeted and comes with 12 months free Volvo assist. Interestingly, I needed two tyres as part of the service. Their price fully fitted was better than the fast fit outfits - that did surprise me.

My other car is a 20 year old MX5 with 185,000 miles. This is serviced by a local garage. No bells and whistles but a reliable service and reasonable. 

I don't believe that one is better than the other, it is what you are looking for and best suits your pocket and convenience.