" Ok as i have only been driving a year and a half, i am going to ask this stupid question, what exactly is a car service, what do they do that isn't done in an MOT? "
I came across this on a teachers' forum (as a teacher myself I'm a bit ashamed of the level of ignorance!), and it makes you wonder how many cars simply get MOT'd and not actually serviced. Scary.
Edited slightly to make it clear that the first paragraph was a quote !
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 27/10/2007 at 14:36
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a service is where a technician will actually kick your tyres, whilst bob the mot man would just look at them.
Edited by bell boy on 27/10/2007 at 14:12
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mot is a check to make sure all the saftey related items like tyres, brakes , lights , seats belts and so on are up to standard....they only checkthings and wont fix or replace things on the test (some garages will fix any failures for extra cost)
the service will be replacing items like oil, filters, spark plugs so that hopefully the engine lasts the life of the car, they should alsp report back on tyre and brake wear
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Thanks, Steve. I er do actually know what a service is :-)
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Well your question " What exactly is a car service?" implied that you didn't know - now somebody has told you and been given earcahe for his trouble!
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Sorreeeeeeeee. It was the author of the quote who didn't know - not Pat l - Grovel grovel
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Thanks, PU. I really can't believe that two people have misread my original post!
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It is shocking. I dread to think what the state of his/her oil is.
I thought there were parts of the driving test now to show at least a tiny bit of mechanical understanding e.g. checking oil and water. But it seems to quite a few people that a car is just an appliance and only needs a basic understanding of the controls, a clean now and then and someone to fix it when it's broken, just like a TV, fridge, vacuum cleaner etc.
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i missread the post, so make that 3
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This sounds like my GF, though she did get an oil change and plug change but only because the plugs were so warn there was all sorts of miss fires.
Incidently my dad never serviced his Lada, did 40,000 miles in it without a single oil change! The body rusted away before the engine but a week before the MOT was up (hence scrap yard time) the gearbox had gone and it poured out with blue smoke.
The last service I had on my car they simply fixed the brakes, changed the oil and filters and charged me £80 saying the plugs were too new to be replaced - I can't argue with that.
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Perhaps the writer of the original quote isn't too blame. He probably has a VW on one of these 'long life' servicing arrangements ;) The salesman said no need to be concerned about servicing so the question he is asking will be out of general interest rather than any need he has identified lol
Edited by R40 on 27/10/2007 at 19:33
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i missread the post, so make that 4
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i missread the post, so make that 5
When lots of people misread a post, it's usually a sign that it wasn't written clearly enough in the first place. *passes the blame on to Pat L* :o)
Edited by pendulum on 27/10/2007 at 20:14
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Make that 6. i misread too.
"Must try harder" Pat, (as I was always being told at school)
( written with warmth and intended humour:)
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I'm sure a lot of people don't know what is actually done at a service, even though they may have a vague notion that a "service" is required.
A few weeks ago I was in a local independent Tyre/Exhaust outlet (It's one of a local chain of about 4 outlets) having 2 tyres fitted to my wife's car and whilst waiting I noticed a large sign proclaiming that this depot now did "fixed price servicing".
The "service" items were listed thus:
A full tyre check
An exhaust check
Brake check
Battery check
Steering Geometry check (ie wheel alignment)
oil check (top up)
check all fluid levels
That was it - no oil change/filters/plugs/belts/etc - just an opportunity for them to push the areas that they cover (Tyres/Exhausts/Brakes/Batteries/Wheel Alignment) and a cursory check of the levels.
I think the price was £69 but not 100% sure on this.
The point is - someone with no mechanical knowledge might assume that having this "service" is sufficient for the car's needs!
No doubt anyone taking up this offer would find that their car's battery was on the way out along with their exhaust etc etc!!
J
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When lots of people misread a post it's usually a sign that it wasn't written clearly enough in the first place.
Naw. It's a sign that people don't know how to read. For which, of course, we blame the teaching profession :-)
(Actually, judging by the number of people who don't actually answer the questions in the original post, mis-reading of posts is very common in the Back Room)
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Apologies for any confusion BRs, but I assumed that putting the quotation in 'quotation marks' and then referring to the quotation below it was clear enough! Oh well.
But the point of my OP was to gauge the extent to which cars are neglected in terms of maintenance and the possible pitfalls for the unwary used car buyer . (If people don't know what servicing is they presumably won't be looking for a service history when buying a used car, which kind of perpetuates the practice????)
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- Pat L i think you will find that everyone wants a fully stamped up main agent service history when they come to buy a second hand car but the majority of these people then go on to spend nothing on the car till it stops working or the mot man pulls up something safety related like tyres or low pads,my opinion is that cars are so reliable these days that sunday morning tinkering has gone the same way as your mother once washed the front step ie into the annals of history
Go round any estate, council or private and look up drives and on the street at cars,you soon work out the small percentage that are easily identified as looked after both to requirements of the law and the longevity of the vehicle.
Did i mention brake lights headlights,bald tyres,dirty cars,scratched windscreens,body damage,stupid laid out number plates,silly baby on board stickers.in the majority of these cases you will find an unkempt car underneath.
Finally could you do a survey for me? and ask why women cut their nails in cars and leave the bits entwined in the footwell carpets ,this phenomini seems to have really taken off in the last 5 years and is really disgusting
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I misread it too so make that seven lol.
Generally speaking on this forum people use the symbols >> before any lines of text that are quotes. Don't ask me why but that seems to be the accepted manner, where as in the rest of life proper quotation marks are the way to go. Its a funny old world isn't it?
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- Pat L i think you will find that everyone wants a fully stamped up main agent service history when they come to buy a second hand car Go round any estate council or private and look up drives and on the street at cars you soon work out the small percentage that are easily identified as looked after
Agree on both counts here, funnily enough i tend to look for the stamps of a good indy rather than main agent, i reckon you get a better job done without the rip off, my experience of carefully selected indies anyway.
Don't know why but my friends and workmates seem to think i'm rich or something because i look after my cars underneath as well as the body work, just seems good economy and common sense to me.
It also applies to other things such as loved ones, maybe if you look at the people who neglect their cars, do they neglect other things in their lives as much, except themselves of course.
Seems amazing to me that the new generation of car owners are so ignorant of basic needs of their vehicles when so much good advice and knowledge is so freely available online.
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