Everything You Need to Know About Booking Your Vehicle in for a Service
Booking your car in for a service sounds simple enough. But one of the first questions you might be asked is: what service is due?
The answer isn’t always simply a minor or major service.
Every vehicle manufacturer sets out a recommended servicing schedule for its vehicles. This tells us how often the vehicle should be serviced and which components should be inspected or replaced at different stages of its life.
Whether your car is still under manufacturer warranty or is well over ten years old, understanding that schedule is a good place to start.
How often should my car be serviced?
Service intervals are set by the vehicle manufacturer and can vary considerably between different makes, models and engines.
They are usually based on:
- Time, such as every 12 or 24 months
- Mileage, such as every 10,000 or 20,000 miles
- Or a combination of the two
Where both an age and mileage interval are given, it will usually be whichever comes first.
So, for example, if something is due every 5 years or 60,000 miles, a five year old vehicle with only 35,000 miles may still be due for it.
This is why knowing your vehicle’s age, mileage and previous service history is important when booking.
A service isn’t just an oil and filter change
Engine oil and the oil filter are important parts of servicing, but they are only part of the picture.
Depending on the vehicle and where it sits within its manufacturer’s schedule, servicing can include the replacement or inspection of items such as:
- Engine oil and oil filter
- Air filter
- Pollen or cabin filter
- Fuel filter
- Spark plugs
- Brake fluid
- Gearbox oil
- Timing belt and associated components
- Other manufacturer specified fluids and components
Some may need replacing at every service, while others might only be required after a certain number of years or miles.
That’s why simply asking for a “full service” doesn’t necessarily tell you whether everything your particular vehicle needs is being covered.
What if my car is still under warranty?
If your vehicle is still within its manufacturer warranty period, servicing it correctly is particularly important.
You do not generally have to take your car back to the franchised dealer simply to maintain the manufacturer’s warranty.
An independent garage can service a vehicle during its warranty period, provided the servicing is carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements and the correct specification parts, oils and fluids are used.
What if my car is well out of warranty?
Manufacturer servicing schedules don’t suddenly become irrelevant when the warranty expires.
In fact, as a vehicle gets older, understanding its history can become even more important.
A car may have relatively low mileage but still require age related maintenance. Equally, a younger car covering a very high annual mileage may reach mileage based intervals much sooner.
There may also be maintenance items that have been missed previously.
If you’ve recently bought a used vehicle and don’t have a complete service history, tell the garage when booking. It may affect what should be checked or recommended.
What information should I have when booking a service?
The more information we have, the easier it is to establish what your vehicle actually needs.
Ideally, have the following available:
- Your vehicle registration
- Your current mileage
- When the vehicle was last serviced
- Any available service history
- Any work you know has already been carried out
Your registration allows us to identify the vehicle, but the mileage and service history help us establish where it currently sits within its maintenance schedule.
What if I don’t know what service my car needs?
That’s completely normal.
You don’t need to work it out yourself before contacting a garage.
Rather than simply choosing between a “minor” and “major” service, we can look at the vehicle’s age, mileage and available service history and advise what is due according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Servicing and MOTs are not the same thing
This is another common source of confusion.
An MOT is a minimum roadworthiness and emissions check required by law for most vehicles once they reach the relevant age.
A service is preventative maintenance.
Passing an MOT doesn’t mean your vehicle has been serviced, and having your vehicle serviced doesn’t replace the need for an MOT.
They can often be carried out during the same visit, but they serve very different purposes.
Servicing your vehicle in Colchester
At Shaikly Motor Company, we service vehicles of all ages, from cars still covered by manufacturer warranty to vehicles that have been on the road for many years.
Rather than treating every vehicle as needing the same standard package, we can work from the manufacturer’s servicing information alongside your vehicle’s age, mileage and previous history to establish what is actually due.
When you’re booking your vehicle in, give us as much information as you can. If you’re not sure what it needs, that’s fine too. We can help you work it out.
