Do you service your car yourself?

I do all the servicing on my bike but I've got no room to mess about with the car so that'll be going to the garage even though it pains me paying over £100 for what is basically an oil change and a quick glance over it.
 
I do a fair amount of stuff myself, but I find oil changes a lot of hassle in terms of messing up the drive / having to dispose of it etc etc. I use a big international chain place which is ideal as they only charge about £5 more than the parts would cost me, and are happy for me to watch them do it in the waiting area. They use the proper grade oil from a plastic can as well, instead of sticking god knows what in there from a huge barrel.
 
sigma said:
Oil change after every start of the engine. I read that oil loses its quality after start up.
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I've heard that it's best to leave the drain plug off and let new oil circulate through the engine and out the bottom.

agw_01 said:
I hear some people don't even fit a sump plug. They just let the oil flow out and top it up as they drive along.
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edit: Ha!
 
-westy- said:
I've heard that it's best to leave the drain plug off and let new oil circulate through the engine and out the bottom.

edit: Ha!
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Great minds! :D

Minstadave said:
Or you can just buy a TFSI Audi, they burn enough oil that it never gets old, you just keep topping up.
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I know someone with an old Celica who says he goes through 5l between services. I told him he needn't bother with an oil service as the car is practically servicing itself anyway.
 
Minstadave said:
Or you can just buy a TFSI Audi, they burn enough oil that it never gets old, you just keep topping up.
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Haha, we have an old 2002 Vectra (tip car, total mess) which is like that, it burns enough (or leaks enough) that i have not changed the oil in years.
 
sigma said:
Oil change after every start of the engine. I read that oil loses its quality after start up.
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Filter every other....

I change my oil using an extractor and all filters myself and also the brakes. For the bigger things I will use a VW specialist, I never use a main dealer.
 
Maccapacca said:
No, I have better things to do than losing knuckles against cold or hot engines these days
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This is the stance I take.

I don't have the tools to do it, although i do have the space, heck my garage even have an inspection pit...but some things I just take it to the professional because my interest in cars goes as far as driving it and detailing. Things under the bonnet I leave it to the people who are good at it and I am fine paying them for their time. I will use the same time spent doing something i enjoy or making the money spent for their services instead.

It all works out.

Granted if you enjoy servicing your car, I personally quite like that stamp. I no longer take it to the dealer, actually never have with the Volvo, just to a specialist.
 
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Land Rover service both ours, Guy Salmon in Knutsford are excellent to deal with, i do however intend to drop the oil between services since the cost to change myself is ~£100 so worth it.
 
I will do basic servicing and maintenance on my Corrado. But I take my newer cars to a trusted indy (or main dealer when very new).
 
I've been servicing my Gold TDI for the last couple of years. It's not that hard, you just have to be confident about jacking up your car and knowing where to place the support jacks whilst your draining the oil. The fuel filter, air filter and cabin filters are all easy to do, swapping your tyre's around is pain in the back side though especially when you have to do it by hand but it allows you to get a good look at your brake discs and pads and see if they need replacing.

For me to do a full service would take me about 2-3 hours so call it a morning's work and about £40 in parts (can vary depending on what and how much oil you need but for a TDI Golf a 5 Ltr 5w/30 blend of oil sets me back around £30 for a half decent brand) at a garage I'm looking at leat £150 for a full service or £80/£90 for an oil change, tyres and visual inspection (or whatever it is they do on a small service).
 
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