Servicing and MOTing my car for the first time

TheVoice

TheVoice

TheVoice

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Joined
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Hi all, hope you can help me out and bear with me while I ask some probably very simple/stupid questions about this.

My car is due a service (has been for a while) but it's also due its MOT in a couple of weeks, and it's the first time I've ever done either of these things. Presumably it'd be best to get it serviced first, and then put it in for the MOT, would that be right?

Specifically about the service, does it matter where I get it done? There's a 'proper' Vauxhall place not far away, but I've also seen that Nationwide Autocentres do servicing as well as the MOT, and there's another indy Vauxhall garage just out of town that offers them as well.

Anyone able to give me a rough estimate of what the service will cost? The car is an '02 Astra 1.6 SXi.

Oh, and if it fails the MOT (although I would hope it wouldn't immediately after being serviced), what happens then? Do I have to take it to the place I got it serviced, get the problems rectified and then pay for another MOT?

Thanks muchly for any help, it's greatly appreciated.
 
Get it serviced at the same time the MOT is done. Where is up to you, but bear in mind that there isn't much point in paying the inflated prices of a Vauxhall dealer. Oh, and Vauxhall's customer service and general attention to detail is appalling ;)
 
Peter Diffey said:
This.

I thought this was going to be a thread asking how to service it yourself/where to buy the parts etc.
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Cmon, this guy has never serviced a car at a workshop, what makes you think he can be bothered/can DIY?

Get on the phone and ring around Vauxhall dealers, if you want a decent MOT place, take it to a council one.
 
Find a good, well regarded independent garage to service it, I'd say; its a run-of-the-mill car so it doesn't need anything specialist. A service shouldn't be big money if all it needs is the basics like oil change etc, shouldn't be more than £150. Obviously if it needs tyres, brake pads etc. then that can add up.
With an MOT, you get a free retest within I think 7 days. Council MOT places are obviously the ones that are guaranteed not to be trying to unneccessary extra work, but its not really necessary to go to them for it rather than a garage that can do both, as long as its a good garage that won't try and rip you off.
 
act smiley said:
Find a good, well regarded independent garage to service it, I'd say; its a run-of-the-mill car so it doesn't need anything specialist. A service shouldn't be big money if all it needs is the basics like oil change etc, shouldn't be more than £150. Obviously if it needs tyres, brake pads etc. then that can add up.
With an MOT, you get a free retest within I think 7 days. Council MOT places are obviously the ones that are guaranteed not to be trying to unneccessary extra work, but its not really necessary to go to them for it rather than a garage that can do both, as long as its a good garage that won't try and rip you off.
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Good advice.
 
What i'd do is take it to an MOT place (if you look you can get them for as low as £30) a week before your current MOT is up. Then if it fails on anything, you can still drive the car away, order cheaper parts from Ebay etc, then get the car serviced and parts fitted as necessary at the same time at a nice small independent garage - then after this just drive back to the MOT place and get your shiny new MOT certificate.
 
aproctor said:
Service it yourself, even i can do it.
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I wouldn't know the first or last thing about doing it myself, and with two weeks until the MOT, now is probably not the time to be learning! Would rather give it to someone who knows what they're doing.

I'm going to get the MOT done at Nationwide seeing as that's cheapest, and I'll phone around today/tomorrow and get some quotes on services at a few different garages, see what they say.

Thanks all. :)
 
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