In the second blog posting from the local garage, our mechanic explains why it's vital to get your car serviced regularly by pros.
My advice this week probably isn't going to come as a great surprise to anybody: get your car serviced. Of course I'm going to say that, aren't I? I'm a mechanic. But actually, I'm saving you money.
I've been in this business a long time now and I've become a bit of a specialist. If it's German and air-cooled, I could fix it with my eyes closed. And, with a bit of patience, a Haynes manual, the right tools and a little trial-and-error, so could you.
But modern cars have become a lot more sophisticated than the bugs and campers that are my bread-and-butter. I'm retiring in a few years because there are fewer cars that I can service. It's not that I don't know what I'm doing: it's just that I don't have access to the complicated diagnostic equipment I need to service every model.
So when I say how important it is to get your car serviced, believe me, I'm not just talking out of my own self-interest.
As a general rule its becoming harder and harder for customers to service their own vehicles. When the Audi A2 came out, nine years ago, there was a bit of an outcry: you couldn't get to the engine without putting it on a ramp. Open the bonnet and there was a dipstick, the battery terminals, an oil filler and a water filler. If a customer wanted to check their distributor cap or clear their air filter, they couldn't.
That was then. Now it's not unusual for cars to have no user-serviceable parts. You can't even change a headlight bulb on a Renault Megane without taking it into the dealer.
And much as we'd like to see the car companies as the enemy, it's not really their fault. Today's cars are a marvel of packaging. They have to fit so much more into the same space: pedestrian impact protection, side impact protection, airbags, catalytic converters and engine management systems, that there's no space to get at the engine without going underneath.
A lot of problems I see in the garage come down to one thing: people driving their new cars into the ground. Now that cars have got more reliable and have longer service intervals, and longer warranties (a Korean firm is offering seven years on new cars - nobody would dare do that 20 years ago), more customers are skipping their regular services.
It's a bit like going to the dentist for a check-up. You don't want to get a filling, you want the dentist to give your mouth the all clear. But you're happy to pay for the check-up even though the dentist didn't get out the drill. Getting a service is about peace of mind: prevention not cure.
So I have two bits of old-fashioned wisdom to impart. One: read you car's manual. Does your car have a running-in period? Many cars still do. You've got to loosen up the engine before you give it abuse. Two: does your manual suggest a service after 10,000 miles or one year, whichever comes soonest? You'd be wise to follow its advice.
What you don't want is to just presume that because everything seems to be ticking over nicely that everything's okay under the bonnet. A cambelt failure, for instance, is potentially catastrophic. When one of those breaks it takes the insides of the engine with it: bent valves, cracked piston crowns, it's not a pretty sight.
So the choice is yours: spend a couple of hundred pounds each year having a check up, or risk facing a much bigger bill when you least expect it. If you don't know how to check and replace a cambelt, it's worth paying someone who does. Modern cars are amazing, but they're not bulletproof. A little TLC isn't going to hurt.
Previously from the Blogging Mechanic
what a load of twaddle, the reason you can't get to most engines is that they are covered in moulded plastic. which sole purpose is to make it look pretty when you open the bonnet. oh and so the dealer/workshop can charge more money as its takes time to remove before they can even start doing the job in hand and more time to replace when the job is finished, and with charges at over £100/hr you_ are looking at 1 hour just to remove and refit plastic sh1t. so here is my really helpful tip for the day take the plastic sh1t off and store it in yer attic, then refit once you come to sell the car. see ave just saved yer atleast 100 quid on each and every one of yer services oh and dint be too keen on following the makers service schedule, my car(jaguar) is over 15 years old and I regularly wait 2 -3 times the recomended interval (brakes excluded) and the engine is still performing well, no smoke or noises and starts first time every time. the secret is not in how many services you give yer car but the quailty of maintenace. I.e if a rattle appears ..fix it..if you find a slight water leak..fix it don't wait till it becomes a bigger problem. I wil now get me steel helmet and dig in as the barrage from experts heads my way.
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i got a 54 tigra, and every morning when i start the engine it spaters and hicks, garage said it's the sencer, so he put a new one in, it still the same, has anyone had the same problem ?
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ive worked in a garage over 10yrs and ur halve right its true a mechanic who,s been in game 20yrs are still inexperienced in new technology renaults,citreon most foreign cars are designed way different from usa or british motors there alot harder to get to parts without stripping it all down most are electrially dominated linked to senses telling you all sorts of information that most dont understand even new cars are having common faults just like every motor anthony about your problem its either a new exhaust system all way through a collasped baffle might have come through your system or if it deisel a injector might be down id give it an oil change and filter
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I service / repair BA planes, I will remember the the previous readers suggestions about service intervals ( I regularly wait 2 -3 times the recomended interval) (if a rattle appears ..fix it..) ??? Have a nice flight.
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What about having a fault on the car. The mechanic says its one thing which is changes. It doesn't fix the problem. BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY. WHY? Then they change something else. Again its not fixed. BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY. WHY? Surely you should only pay for the item that fixes the problem and the time taken for that one item.
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As a mechanic of over 30 years I can assure all of you that modern car engines and transmission are light years ahead of the old stuff. However the CO2 lunatic fringe have filled the dummys in Westminsterand around the world with so much bull that we have emmission limits[and we need limits] and airbags etc etc . They Go OTT every time These improvements cost us money Dealerships are rubbing thier hands with glee because Joe public`s not got a clue and the rip off that never ends begins as soon as you buy your new piece of plastic @#$% . Has everyone forgotten the Y2K carry on? Just one good electromagnetic pulse and you lot are all Walking. My best advice is that if you have a car that is over 30 years old It will be possible to keep it running as long as its not Rotten(that was the rip off practiced in the 60`s through to the 90`s) But rust can be removed The Indian car company Tata have produced a small peoples car and there is no way that we will be able to get one in the UK Will we get a cheap efficient electric car? Not if car makers can help it. Let them perish in the current crisis. OH AND WHILE I`M HAVING A GOOD RANT. ONE GOOD VOLCANIC ERUPTION CAN PRODUCE MORE CO2 THAN WE HAVE IN 200 YEARS. GOOD OLD MOTHER EARTH..... CAN ALL M.P`S OUT THERE PUT DOWN YOUR EXPENSES CLAIMS AND TELL US WHAT THE MILANKOVITCH CYCLES ARE?
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You just put your finger on in. On the continent you have to carry spare bulbs. If you have one go out you are expected to replace it. Plod comes along and books you if you do not. How in hell are you supposed to do this, over there or in this country, if you cannot get at a simple thing like a bulb? Absolutely essential for safety in the dark. The manufacturers should be made to make facility for ease of changing lighting bulbs, front and back of the vehicle. TELL ME I'M WRONG!
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Hey How am I expected to respect what these commenters say when they are unable to even spell correctly. Back to school and learn to spell, then perhaps they would look a lot more credible. I would be too ashamed to put finger to keyboard if I that ignorant.
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well spelling dont make a good mechenic for sure, it is @#$% this stuff about spelling mistakes, if we could all spell and not fix cars where would you be, the spelling mistakes in this post are copyright me have fun on the side of the road john
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Get yourself a old landrover folks, regular oil change, filters, and thats it, any thing that needs bolted on can be, I can relate to how the Mecs feel, the way the industry has evolved, we seem to have done a mega leap, and went ten steps back, KISS, keep it simple stupid, is the way forward Cheers All Ian G
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