Do you regularly get the car serviced or if cash is tight let it slip a month or a year?
Mate bought a merc c class 220cdi 04 plate serviced when he bought it did 1 year had a service then left it till a little problem happened turbo packed in bearing failure oil was like treacle new blower & full service done at a merc indie lots of cash!!
He had left it two years between he said it's a merc it should be ok! it had done 30k between those two years!!
Please be honest do you get the car maintained to good standards or run as it is?
|
|
Leaving it is called being stupid. Service intervals exist for a reason. An engine needs oil changes at least once a year. More often if you are doing high mileage. I'm actually considering doing my own 6 month oil change because I'm doing ultra low mileage and lots of short journeys (and also because you can never be sure they actually do what they say at main dealers). If your friend can't afford servicing on a Mercedes, why has he got one? And it also begs the question - how does he afford the insurance and tax if he can't afford the servicing?
|
I can truthfully say that having run basic cars, where the servicing has not exceeded £200 for an annual service, I have been lucky enough not to have been short of that amount of money. In my younger days, cars were simpler and I could do points, valve clearances, oil and filter myself as I worked on a military base with a Car Club with lifts and ramps and good indoor facilities.
|
...I worked on a military base with a Car Club with lifts and ramps and good indoor facilities.
Very nice, always wanted those facilities to my disposal. But alas, guess I'll have to wait/get rich first. :) Or just join on a military base maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
The mileage (30K) is a bit much, but Merc's of that era do have 2yr service intervals but the lmileage is variable, depending on the type of use.
|
|
|
Mine are always serviced within 500 miles or so of the recommended intervals, and I credit that for the generally excellent reliability I tend to get from my cars. It's actually nice that both our current cars tell me when they need servicing, and with enough warning in advance that I can put some pennies aside to take care of the work.
We're fortunate in that we know a good (VW tech) mechanic who's been a friend of the family longer than anyone can remember, and he takes care of the Golf for us. He's happy to do the Volvo as well, and does if it's something involved, but I like to keep my hand in. Even with time pressures, I still enjoy working on cars, and I'm not ready to give up just yet. It's nice to have the choice though, and he doesn't do much more than cover his costs where family are concerned.
If I have a confession to make, it's that I tend to rely on the MOT to find suspension faults or things accessible only by ramp and with an inspection lamp, unless they manifest themselves in an obvious way when driving. I do investigate faults or odd noises quickly though, and if it means dropping it into my mate's place for investigation, so be it. Otherwise, I tend to assume no noises / driving straight = all is well, as far as the underside of the car is concerned. Of course I check brakes at service time, and the bits I can see without crawling completely underneath.
Based on my experiences over eight years and 250,000 odd miles of company car use in various different makes, and with just two notable exceptions, I wouldn't trust main dealer service departments any further than I could throw them.
Edited by DP on 11/12/2009 at 08:41
|
I make a bit of a fetish about having my car serviced close to distance. I do around 20,000 miles per year, so services come up at 6-monthly intervals for me. Result has been complete reliability. I am not really computer literate, so haven't done much myself for the past 20-odd years. However, I have struck 2 very reliable main dealer service centres, one Nissan and one Toyota, so have no problems with leaving the work to them. No reliability concerns, and no attempts to put one over me. { possibly because both centres know that I have a rough idea how things work.}
A colleague was at the other extreme. His company car was personal [ leased by his employer and issued out to him } and on a fully-maintained lease, which he essentially ignored. Braking performance changed markedly accompanied with horrible noises. He had worn the pads down to metal-to-metal friction contact. I understand that the leasing company was not impressed with the bill.
|
My company's policy is to pass the charges for problems with a lease car which hasn't been maintained to the employee's manager with the expectation that the cost will be deducted from salary... An example would be (say) an engine failure stemming from a missed cambelt change due to skipped services or even problems from mis-fueling.
The turbo on the Merc described by the OP would have been deducted from the employee's salary had it been a company car. Having said this I know of E220s which have had turbo failure despite being properly serviced.
In my experience this is actually incredibly rare, I've never had to deal with anything other then speeding and congestion charge fines from my team.
Edited by idle_chatterer on 11/12/2009 at 09:33
|
|
|
|
|
I think the mercs the whole image thing servicing and repairs new tyres come low on the list, for instance went camping this year daft sod got stuck in the campsite gave him a push and found both rear tyres on limit, won't they last a few months yet he says!
|
If you can't afford to fuel, service and maintain your car (and that includes good quality tyres, wiper blades, bulbs and exhaust when needed) then you can't afford to run the car - period.
So many people seem to whinge about the cost of servicing their car, truth is they could have estimated the costs upfront and factored it into their purchase decision. Doesn't mean you can't be frugal, just you should know what you're liabilites will be.
We wonder why we're crippled by a debt burden when so many people just purchase without thought for the consequences - and use someone else's money to boot, time to change back to a bit of forward thinking perhaps ? When I can't afford something I don't buy it - simple really....
The Merc owner got what they deserved, hopefully in future he or she might like to consider buying the Fiesta they can actually afford to run and not be a risk to other road users (in an unmaintained car) ?
Edited by idle_chatterer on 11/12/2009 at 09:13
|
|
|
|
As a bangernomics driver it is perhaps unsuprising that I don't do overmuch servicing. Oil and filter changes every 10K ish; obvious I check brake pads etc. and that's about it. Gets a bit trickier with things like cambelt changes, generally I'll take them to the next MOT, if it passes without much trouble I'll gamble a couple of hundred on new belt / pulleys / tensioner.
Edited by SpamCan61 {P} on 11/12/2009 at 09:12
|
|
|
|
|
|
I,m always poor but this makes me extra vigilant. I,ll go to extremes to buy quality spares at cheap prices. My oil is always top spec and never does more than 5,000 miles (yeah I know but like I said I make a point of buying at the right price). I will only use main dealer oil filters. I notice my local Ford dealer are to stop selling Ford oil so thats my latest bargain. Its being sold off to make way for Castrol. If I know a part is fitted to different makes/models I,ll check all the prices. I know people that have no cash problems that totally neglect their cars because they can just replace them any time they like.
|
|
|
|
I have mine serviced at a franchised dealer, and as per the Warranty and Service Guide which is every 12,500 miles or 12 months whichever is the sooner.
|
|
|
I have my family's cars 'serviced' annually. It's called the MoT test. I'm not paying someone £60 an hour +vat to top up the windscreen washer and oil the door hinges.
I change the oil and filter myself every 10K and replace the brake pads when they need replacing - not when they've still got 4mm wear left but 'might not last till the next service, guv'...
Not much else to do, really - apart from keeping an eye on the fluid levels and tyre pressures.
|
I'm not paying someone £60 an hour +vat to top up the windscreen washer ..........
Do what I do and just say "No washer fluid, thank you."
|
|
|
|
Please be honest do you get the car maintained to good standards or run as it is?
As I turn right out of my drive, my tyres, brakes, suspension and steering are the only things that keep me on the road and away from the 600 foot drop onto the town of Albatera below.
If I maintained even my old cars with a occasional oil change when I could be bothered, I would imagine the consequences being quite predictable.
|
|
Normally get car serviced on the button. Also I tend to replace tyres before reaching the legal minimum because I do not think there is adequate tread for our wet climate. but on my old Octavia was doing about 25000m a year in the last couple of years I had it I stretched the services to about 15000m so it was serviced about 3 times in 2 years. Car was too old for variable servicing.
|
Usa a local Mechanic, supply him with the genuine filters etc and get a good job done at a quarter of the cost of a dealer.
The Yaris and mx5 tend to have more short runs so I usually have them done twice a year
|
I overservice my cars if thats possible, been doing so for years and too set in the ways to consider changing despite being a waste of money.
My vehicles must be totally reliable and as capable as possible, so everything must work well.
S'funny but 10 years ago a Diesel engines turbo giving out was virtually unheard of, at the risk of being flamed (without fail i should have said) could it possibly have anything to do with these long service intervals.
Oh silly me it says 20K in the service bible so that must be gospel...kerching¬! that'll be £1500 sir.
|
|
|
|
