Service

Getting your car serviced properly, for a fair price, need not be difficult Like the meaning of life, or the relationship between the sexes, car servicing is a subject whose fundamentals seem to be beyond the understanding of mere mortals.



You take your car in for a service. It’s running nicely. You get a bill for hundreds of pounds. Why?

Servicing entails a relationship of trust. You give your car to an expert, who decides what will be done and how much will be charged.

Unless you’re a mechanic, you have no way of checking in detail whether in fact the work has been necessary, or properly done, or if your bill is accurate. You take the experts’ word for it, pay up, and drive away.

However, many car owners don’t.

Getting your car serviced properly, for a fair price, need not be difficult. As a consumer, the usual rule for ensuring satisfaction applies: knowledge is power.
Is servicing really necessary?
Yes.

Any machine needs regular adjustment and lubrication. Certain parts also inevitably wear out.

The servicing intervals for your car are determined by the engineers who designed and built it. They are expressed in kilometres or months – whichever occurs first – and are the minimum required to keep your car running normally.

Usually, service intervals are 10,000 or 15,000 miles/six or twelve months. You will find them in your owner’s handbook.

In severe conditions your car will need more frequent servicing. Cold weather and frequent short trips – a common car usage pattern in the city – constitutes severe conditions because the car’s engine rarely reaches its normal operating temperature.

Servicing may be expensive, but the payoff comes at trade in time. A car with a complete, documented service history is worth much more that one which comes with no evidence of maintenance. This applies whether you’re selling privately or offering it as a trade in.

If your car is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty and develops a problem, you risk losing any claim on the warranty if you have not had the car serviced according to the manufacturer’s recommended intervals and specifications.
Should I get my car serviced by the dealer I bought it from, or an independent workshop?
In new car territory, you’re on very solid ground with a legitimate warranty claim if you have had your car serviced by the selling dealer. The manufacturer can hardly argue with you either.

The notion that you must take your car back to the dealer you bought it from to get “looked after” for servicing is a myth. You are entitled by law to fair treatment and competent work – wherever you go.

That said, franchised dealers have access to the latest technical advice, training and equipment from the manufacturers whose cars they sell. The manufacturer has a vested interest in keeping its customers happy, so if you have a problem with the dealer’s servicing the manufacturer will usually help sort it out.

However franchised dealers tend to be relatively expensive. Their workshops don’t exist as a sideline to new car sales – they are often the business’s cash lifeline.

A franchised dealer’s spotless, high tech workshop is no guarantee of competence or knowledge of the concept of customer service.

Car manufacturers are not legally entitled to make it a condition of your warranty that you get your car serviced at one of their franchised dealers.

Let’s say you have been using an independent workshop for several years and are happy with their work and charges. You can still use them when you buy a new car, and preserve your warranty rights, as long as:



* You adhere to the manufacturer’s servicing schedule;
* your preferred workshop is correctly licensed; and
* Genuine or approved replacement parts are used.