Why should I service my car?
You’re not the first person to ask yourself “why should I service my car?”. It’s a question many drivers ponder when racking up bills for work that might, on the face of it, seem unnecessary. But actually, regular servicing is crucial for the maintenance of your car.
Today, we’re going to be looking at all the benefits you can enjoy when you get your car serviced, including vehicle safety, improving the lifespan of your car and helping it to keep its value.
We’ll also be finding out if you need an interim service or a full one, what’s tested during a car service and how to book a car service online today.
With all that in mind, you’ll be ready to book your service knowing full well how important it is. So, let’s get started!
1. A car service improves safety
Servicing your car ensures its safest possible operation, providing protection for you, your family, and all other road-users.
You should consider your car service a complete health check. When you book a full car service, your mechanic will undertake hundreds of safety checks as well as topping up the fluids and changing the oil. As such, regular car servicing will help you keep your car in optimum condition for road safety.
Prevention is better than the cure, and servicing helps you avoid issues that could be dangerous when they arise. Just because your car drives as it does every other day, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t something showing obvious signs of wear and deterioration under the bonnet, with your suspension, or worse still your brakes or steering.
2. Increasing, or maintaining, the performance of your car
One of the key aspects of a service is the oil chance, a fundamental factor in the maintenance of your vehicle. Dirty oil will wear down your engine, and that could prove dangerous to its performance.
And that’s just one part. Your mechanic will check all the fluid levels in your car and replace any blocked or dirty filters that could otherwise have been recycle impurities through the air heading into your engine. Failing to spot worn or leaking hoses or rotten or poorly connected exhaust parts could lead to your engine having to work harder than it should, and that’ll wesult in poorer performance from your vehicle.
3. Monitoring wear and tear and possible malfunctioning components
Neglect is one of the primary causes of car crashes. For those drivers whose brakes fail to stop them in time, the steering malfunctions, a suspension spring snaps—or an untold amount of disastrous possibilities—it rarely ends well.
A service will spot any area of neglect and deterioration before they get out of hand. Putting those issues straight before they can cause serious trouble is a must for every motorist.
With a poorly maintained vehicle, emergencies and breakdowns could happen at any time. Take care of those problems before they happen, and you’ll stand to save yourself a lot of time and money.
4. Extending the life of your vehicle
If you want to add years on to the life your car—look after it! It’s that simple. Regular servicing will protect all the problem parts of it that you can’t spot from the outside.
There are plenty of things you can do to give your car the best possible chance of a long and healthy life:
Regular washing, cleaning and polishing to protect paintwork and body panels
Tyre inspection
5. Optimising for fuel efficiency
A correctly tuned and healthy engine will make sure you achieve the best possible economy from your car. It might not seem much of a saving to low-mileage drivers, but every bit helps, and regular distance drivers could stand to save a great deal—especially given the price of petrol at the pumps these days.
It might be a surprise to many drivers, but even regular oil changes make a difference to your fuel economy. The smoother your car runs, the less work your engine has to do to get you from A to B—and that means less fuel too.
6. Cutting the costs of your car’s operation
Here’s a popular motoring misconception.
“A service is an expense you needn’t necessarily have to make. Skipping a service, here and there, will save you money, especially if there’s nothing wrong with your car.”
But it’s not true!
Skipping a service creates a false economy. You might save some money in the short-term, but when your fan belt starts slipping, your brake hoses begin to leak, or heaven forbid your water pump packs up and your engine seizes, then the bills heading your way will be far greater than that of the service you just skipped.
Servicing your car saves you all of the money you’d have to spend on much more serious repairs; repairs you could easily avoid with a little maintenance and expert examination.
As well as those savings, have you considered the additional costs of a roadside emergency? Towing your car? Providing transport to get family members or passengers home after a breakdown or accident?
It all adds up—and in so many circumstances, they are needless expenses that could have been avoided.
7. Being green (environmentally—not adding naivety!)
An efficient-running car will operate at the acceptable levels of emissions, protecting the atmosphere from noxious gasses, poisons and pollutants. To play your part in safeguarding the planet—from adding to smog, acid rain and contaminated water—a healthy car provides a small step towards a far greater goal.
8. Maintaining your service record
A service record is something to be proud of when you buy a new car. Over the years, a driver might lose interest, as their car becomes a part of their daily routine instead of the pride and joy it once was.
Maintaining a service record is usually required to ensure the validity of a car warranty. If manufacturers insist that you keep up with servicing your brand new car, surely you can see how important it is?
You should try your hardest to keep up with regular services. Keeping a record of them will pay off further down the line. Here’s why:
9. Holding your car’s optimum value
You know what happens when you go to buy a used car. It’s like tossing a coin. Without a record of the work carried out on the vehicle, you’re taking a gamble on whether you’re buying a good, solid motor, or buying into someone else’s problems.
A service record provides a detailed history of a car’s care. It also shows the inevitable problems it will have had, but more importantly, how they were rectified and when.
Keep a full service history for your car, and when the time comes to sell it, not only will you achieve a better price, it will be far easier to sell. And if you opt for a manufacturer service from a main dealer,
10. It’s the peace of mind and confidence in your vehicle you need for safe, carefree motoring
You know you should be getting regular services—it just makes sense. With our list of reasons hammering the point home, we hope you’re reaching for your diary to book your next service right now. To deliver the love and care to your car that it deserves.
When should I book a car service?
First things first, you’re going to want to check your vehicle service schedule. Each manufacturer’s service schedule varies, and the type of car has an impact too.
There are two types of service: the interim and then the full service. Generally, an interim service is only really required for those who drive 8000 miles a year or less.
You’ll need to book a full service every year or 12,000 miles with most manufacturers if you drive more than 8000 miles a year, whatever comes first.
The annual nature of this means that it’s often possible to book your interim or full service alongside your MOT. The service and MOT cover different parts of the car, so you’ll get the full works by booking both at the same time!
If you’re still not sure whether you need an interim or full service, or when your car service is due, speak to your manufacturer for car servicing advice.
What happens in a car service?
The car service checklist will usually include several parts. Here’s a look at what’s included in a car service most of the time…
-
Oil change
Tire pressure check
Coolant level check
Brakes
Engine oil
In an interim car service, you’ll get the bare minimum (that’s why it’s often referred to as an oil change service). That’s just to keep things ticking over.
The full car service (often also referred to as a major service) consists of a lot of more detailed checks to further ensure road safety. So, the difference between an interim and full service is just how much work needs to be done!
How to book your car service
You’ll e able to book a service online today in just a couple of minutes. Booking your car service online is the easiest way to do things as you can easily change your booking, make payments and more at the touch of a button.
Once it’s booked, you can your car to a garage or have a mechanic pick it up for you to carry out the work. So, if it’s time, book a car service near you!
Remember, Fixter is always ready to help.
If your car is ready for a service, you can sit back and enjoy a complete collection and delivery service, making it the easiest possible way of taking care of business. So why not book a full service online today?
And if you’re worried about the price of getting a full service or an even an interim one, it’s often possible to buy service packages that can help with the cost. Find out all about our service plans and prices here, and give your car the best chance of trouble-free, efficient and safe motoring for another year.
About Fixter
Fixter is revolutionising the car maintenance industry, one repair at a time. Fixter was founded to make car maintenance as easy as booking a taxi. Digital, transparent and stress-free, with world-class customer service. Since launching in Manchester in 2017, Fixter has expanded to more than 100 cities across the UK and provided thousands of car owners with honest, convenient and affordable car repair services.