Poll: How do you go about servicing your car

Servicing:

  • I do it myself because I know what i'm doing and i'm not paying those robbing so and so's

    Votes: 73 31.3%

  • I take it to a main dealer, I want the service history and i'm not fussed on parting with the money

    Votes: 55 23.6%

  • I take it to an independant/Specialist, they know there stuff and are cheaper than main dealers

    Votes: 105 45.1%
  • Total voters
    233

Relentless81

Relentless81

Relentless81

Soldato
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
12,868
Maybe a poll please?

So its service time, what do you do and why?

I do it myself because I know what i'm doing and i'm not paying those robbing so and so's

I take it to a main dealer as I dont care to do it myself, I want the service history and i'm not fussed on parting with the money

I take it to an independant/Specialist, they know there stuff and are cheaper than main dealers
 
I do it myself because I'm a cheapskate and my car isn't worth retaining history. If I had a good more modern car it'd be main dealer/indi serviced.
 
Service my own cars. Know the parts being used, that it has been done properly and I can check everything over thoroughly. Service about twice a year due to mileage.

Andy.
 
Do it myself as i know the parts being used are decent, however it will go to a specialist indy for bigger/more complicated work like valve clearances etc
 
Dealership does the "services" (to keep the book stamped), Indies do the repairs that I can't (or can't be bothered to) do, and I do the routine maintenance (brakes, fluids, consumables, easliy changable components, engine swaps :p).
 
Not worth keeping the service history so do it all myself. I do however keep the reciepts of everything I buy and then mark the date & mileage on them when fitted. Same goes for the oil filter, tip-ex date and mileage before putting the new one on.
 
I take both of mine to the main dealer. It works best for me as I work from home, they pick them up in the morning and drop them off in the afternoon. Cars are serviced and I don't have to move. :) Also have a service plan "thing" for them which takes a monthly DD so normally there is no payment on the day either.
 
Main dealer for the Alfa. Helps that the dude who services my car is a family friend, and has serviced the car the 6 years previous to me owning it.

Better the devil you know in this case. Previous to that,I usually follow a path of:

If it's still under warranty = main dealer
If its out of warranty = specialist (which sometimes involved taking the car across the border)

Have done the odd brake pad/air filter/oil change/minor thing. Don't have time nowadays though.
 
Well this all depends on model, age of your car !
say you have a BMW M5, well all your can do on this types of cars is change the oil, plugs, air filter, oil filter, top up brake fluid, water for expansion tank and washer bottle.

Of course you can do more of a full service and change brake pads.

All of the above depends how competent you are ! ?

Sure main dealers will be expensive, but you get that Service Stamp in the Service Book. And on a car less than 5-6 years you need it really for the re-sale.
One can go to say a BMW specialist, whi is cheaper than a main dealer and more expensive than halfords or DIY.

Choice is yours !
 
I want the main dealer to do mine but, I dont know if I trust them to carry out whats supposed to be carried out and its expensive!

Does £230 for engine oil, gear box oil, coolant and filters seem expensive?
 
J.B said:
Yes, seeing as even I managed to do that myself and Im a bumbling idiot armed with a socket set!
Click to expand...

I want to keep the history though, it has full Toyota history and the parts alone are around £80/£90

It does seem expensive though and thats the cheapest quote I managed to get!
 
J.B said:
Yes, seeing as even I managed to do that myself and Im a bumbling idiot armed with a socket set!
Click to expand...

Great, but that a) has no bearing on the price quoted, and b) doesn't stamp the service book of a car that isn't actually that old (in the case of the OP IIRC).

IMO the price is "fair", it's not cheap, but it's not extortionate.
 
I either do it myself, or I use it as an excuse to drive across the country to see my dad - who is the only other person who I trust to touch any of my cars.

Cheap parts, and free labour :)
 
diy. i dont own cars that are worth having history on any more.

i do the servicing to my schedule (which does rely heavily on the OEM one tbh)
 
Well the year before I did it myself it was done in a garage and the total came to about £140 IIRC. Guess I got a good price there.

I should have elaborated more that in my mind it seems like quite a lot of money. But true about the stamp in the book. I guess it depends on the garage and type of car as well. I drive a banger so dont really think about value of service history. In fact a tank of fuel adds a significant % to the worth of my car!
 
Relentless81 said:
I want the main dealer to do mine but, I dont know if I trust them to carry out whats supposed to be carried out and its expensive!

Does £230 for engine oil, gear box oil, coolant and filters seem expensive?
Click to expand...

That dosent sound too bad to me, just let them do it.
 
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