As servicing is not a compulsory aspect of car maintenance it can be easy to overlook. Many people question how often you should service your car and whether maintaining your service schedule is actually necessary. However, the importance of regular servicing should never be overlooked as missing a service or underservicing your car can damage its performance and safety, and may also invalidate its warranty.
While you may consider that having a new car means anything is unlikely to go wrong, it doesn’t mean you can forgo essential maintenance. Maintaining your service schedule on a new car is often a requirement of the manufacturer warranty and failure to comply can invalidate the warranty. In addition, as new cars come equipped with a host of new technology, they often require software updates and your service is a great time for a garage to install any available updates.
Many manufacturers may also invalidate a warranty if it is not carried out at a manufacturer-approved garage. The idea behind this is to standardise a high quality of service and ensure that only manufacturer-approved parts are used.
Each manufacturer will set out its own recommended service schedule, as well as having a list of workshops which offer manufacturer-approved servicing, so it is important that you follow these recommendations.
Older cars which are out of their manufacturer warranty can often be neglected when it comes to servicing. People can see servicing older vehicles as an unnecessary expense, however, it is still important to maintain regular servicing.
As an older car is likely to be out of its warranty period you are no longer required to go to a manufacturer-approved garage for your service. This means you have a wider selection of garages to choose from. However, visiting a manufacturer-approved garage comes with benefits as aforementioned.
It can be difficult to know when to service a car; a good rule of thumb for a car over three years old would be to have a full service every year or every 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. A full service would include a number of checks on the vehicle as well as oil change and oil filter change. If you regularly cover a lot of miles then you might find it beneficial to have an interim service every six months or 6,000 miles, to ensure your car is performing at its best.
Many modern cars now have a built-in computer which triggers a warning light on the dash to light up once you reach your service interval. It is recommended that you heed this warning and book your vehicle in for service, even if it is slightly less than a year since your last service.
In older cars, you will find information regarding the optimum service interval of your vehicle in your vehicle handbook. The service interval can vary from make and model vehicle so it’s advisable to stick to this.
Changes in seasonal weather may also mean your car needs a professional assessment. While you might not need to service your car before every winter or summer seasonal change, you can book season health checks at Stoneacre for both summer and winter to help prepare your car for a change in road and driving conditions.
There is no legal requirement to service your vehicle, but it is worth bearing in mind that regularly servicing your cars has a number of benefits for your car and your wallet:
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