Servicing your car is an important process that shouldn’t be ignored.
It may help to reduce your chances of having an unexpected breakdown and the need for costly repairs down the line, but it can also preserve your car’s value over the course of its lifetime. Regular maintenance is a good way to bolster your safety on the roads, helping to protect your passengers and other road users.
Unlike annual MOT tests, servicing isn’t legally required. As such, many people see it as just another expense on top of the already high cost of motoring. However, in this article, we explore what servicing is, why it’s important and how often you should be getting it done.
What is servicing?
You may not know the difference between MOT tests and servicing – don’t worry, a lot of people don’t.
Servicing is a routine checkup on your vehicle in line with specific guidelines from your car’s manufacturer. These guidelines instruct the mechanic on how to maintain the vehicle to ensure it remains in the best condition possible. An MOT, on the other hand, is a legally required inspection and test of the vehicle to ensure that it’s safe to drive on the roads.
Typical services include a top-up of fluids such as engine oil, brake fluid, coolant and windscreen wash. Oil and air filters are often replaced too. Many other essential parts and components are checked to ensure that your vehicle runs as effectively as possible. However, if immediate issues are identified, you may be required to pay extra for them to be fixed.
Why is servicing important?
So, if it’s not a legal requirement and will just add to the cost of motoring – why do it at all? It’s a common question that motorists ask themselves, particularly when times are tough.
However, servicing has many significant benefits. Firstly, it keeps you safe on the road and reduces your chances of an unexpected breakdown. It also helps to prevent excessive wear and tear on your car’s parts and components, which can cost you much more down the line if expensive repairs are needed.
A full MOT and service history that can be evidenced is also a great way to maintain your car’s value if you want to sell it in the future. Prospective buyers want to know that the car they are buying has been looked after, otherwise, it can cause doubts over its reliability and history.
Servicing is also a fantastic option if you don’t want to do any car maintenance yourself. With fluid top-ups and maintenance on parts, you can sit back and just enjoy driving your car.
How often should you get your car serviced?
Every manufacturer will recommend a period of time or mileage between services, so it’s best to stick to that if possible because it will be best suited to your vehicle.
Most manufacturers recommend a full car service roughly once every 12 months or every 10,000 to 12,000 miles. There are different types of servicing available, from full to basic and interim packages, so you can do more than one per year if you’d prefer.
If you don’t drive that many miles per year, or perhaps you only use your car sparingly, you can probably afford to be a bit more lenient with car servicing – although it’s still a good habit to stick to.
