I always find a place with MOT and service offer on like Kwikfit or use an independent. I always check my car afterwards to see if it's been done; one service rendered my previous car oil-less, as they had drained but not bothered to top it back up...!

I wouldn't say this sort of thing just happened to women though!

The first time that I came across deliberate bad practice in servicing, as opposed to careless, was in Zambia in the mid 60s. A friend took his Citroen car in for a service and watched the mechanics servicing other cars. Cars had multiple grease nipples then and the bearings had to be recharged regularly. The Hardy Spicer joints could be tricky to reach and keep the grease gun on.

The mechanic had a stick with a blob of grease on the end and was dabbing the nipples one by one, quickly. My informant checked his itemised bill carefully and rejected it because it included an item for servicing and topping up a differential. He pointed out that his car didn't have a differential being a Citroen and front wheel drive.

I later changed the rear subframe on my wife's Mini - newly aquired from her friend -and found that the needle rollers on the suspension arms were corroded into the shaft. They had never seen grease since new despite being the previous lady owner having it serviced at the recommended intervals