MOT and car servicing

We didn’t have a service last year because of such low usage.

Dh says he probably wouldn’t have a main dealer service as they’re pricey but if you know a small local garage he’d get it done there. He says the oil might need draining as it could have become sludgy with standing for so long and things such as filters should be looked at.

Hth.

I use a small local garage and always have a service with my MOT.

When manufacturers talk about services every 10 -12,000 miles they assuming that will be close to a years use and therefore an annual service.

If you let it go longer without a service, say 2 years you are hoping that nothing will go wrong through age and deterioration: pipes, and tubes, corrosion etc. and the items SueDonhim's DH mentions.

I have mine serviced every year, for safety and peace of mind

If the car is still under warranty, lack of servicing will invalidate it. Once my five year warranty had expired, I used a local garage for servicing instead of the main dealer. Much cheaper and more convenient. It is advised that a service is needed especially if milage is low.

My car usually has a pre-MOT service but my mechanic told me I didn't need to pay for a service when it had done far fewer miles than usual. I made sure the boot was emptied so they could check the spare wheel, I checked the tread on the tyres, removed my grandchildren's car seats and anything hanging up like an air freshener. I took it along for its MOT last week and all fine. He recommended I have the service later in the year.

I usually book mine in for a service and MOT at the same time as my little car is 17 years old and I want to keep it going for as long as I can. I dread the day when it eventually has to go to the scrapheap in the sky - I think I might cry.

I always book mine with its MOT, our local garage is brilliant they only service a certain type of vehicle and if my mileage is low ( it’s a second car, so now MrOops is retired we usually use his) they will just change the oil and filters and have a look see at the other mysterious things under the bonnet, if they don’t need touching they leave them alone. Last year they changed a few bits but didn’t charge me for it.

Gosh, fancy having a car wth a warranty. I have only once owned a car less than 5 years old and that is my current car, which is 19 years old and I have owned it since October 2007.

It is a Toyots Yaris and in all the years I have owned it, it has only once not sailed through its MOT without fault. I am absolutely with lovebeigecardigans1955, I too will be heart broken when we have to part.

Thanks all for your thoughts, I think I’m going to look at a small garage my daughter goes to as it seems a service and MOT will be at least a third cheaper from the franchise I normally use. I know it makes more sense to keep up with servicing its that I’ve had so little use this last two years it’s so costly.

Me too M0nica, mine is a much-loved 17-year-old Fiat Panda!

My OHs Ford built in 1937 is still going strong. Obviously not with the original engine ?

My garage told me last January I didn't need a service as I had only done about 3.5 thousand miles and to do another 2 thousand and then have it serviced. Hope this helps.

M0nica

Gosh, fancy having a car wth a warranty. I have only once owned a car less than 5 years old and that is my current car, which is 19 years old and I have owned it since October 2007.

It is a Toyots Yaris and in all the years I have owned it, it has only once not sailed through its MOT without fault. I am absolutely with lovebeigecardigans1955, I too will be heart broken when we have to part.

Yes, I’ve got a Yaris, too. I did buy it new at a time when I needed a new reliable car and it was 0% finance. I’ve done very few miles this past two years but have had it serviced. At one point I had to call out the breakdown people because my battery was flat and last MOT they had to replace a filter because ‘something had been living in the engine’.

My car needs a service, according to the main dealer. It has probably done about 500 miles in the last year. They have quoted me £280.

The last time I took it to them they were ringing every few minutes suggesting I have other things that needed doing.

Fortunately, my DH spoke to them and told them not to do the extra things as they were not required. He knows quite a bit about cars.

I wondered (cynically) if they thought they could take advantage of me, assuming I was an 'old' woman who probably knew nothing about cars. They saw me dropping the car off.

I am going to take it to a local independent garage this time. One that has been recommended

Even if your car is new and under warranty, you do not need to take it to a main dealership, shop around for the best price but make sure the mechanics use the correct parts ie those made for your type of car. I ask for the empty boxes and the old parts to check. Not that I have ever had a problem but my son insists that I do that.

I find that when the requirement to go to the dealership changed a few years ago, the dealerships are now charging a lot less, more in line with independent garages.

My clever car will tell me when it needs a service apparently! It’s a bit cocky though and I got a snotty message recently saying that I braked too hard being another vehicle! The app on my phone rates the quality of my driving!

I only do what my handbook recommends. For example “2 years or nnn thousand miles, whichever is sooner.”
Check the handbook for guidance.

Even if you do few miles your car does need a service as recommended, but not necessarily at the dealership.
Parts can perish and tyres can develop faults or perish in parts even if the tread is within the legal limits.

Tyre problems, even just the incorrect pressure, may be the cause of most accidents.

Maybee70. My Yaris was 4 years old and quite high mileage when I bought it, but has averaged right down. For the first 7 years I was doing a regular 150 mile round trip to visit a relation in care, but that ended in 2014. Like many my mileage has been right down since the first COVID lockdown.

I nurture it, have it serviced each year, and keep it in a garage most of the time. A couple of times a year we use it to make a 400 mile round trip to visit family, in order to give the car a good run.

I have had it 14 years now and find it really reliable and cheap to run.

Mine had moss growing on it last year!

MayBee70

Mine had moss growing on it last year!

Scrubbing with a toothbrush helps ?

Another one here with a 17 yr old car, It is due the MOT in Feb. I would hate for it not to pass, so long as it is nothing too detrimental I will try and keep it going.