Servicing your own car vs garage
Discussion
Lugy said:
I've only ever had a car serviced elsewhere once and that was because it was under warranty. Everything else has been self serviced, same applies with repairs, in fact I've only ever used a garage service for tyres and MOT (dad!). To be fair my dad is a mechanic who has taught me quite a lot over the years, Mr Haynes and lots of tinkering in the early years added in more 'knowledge'.
Never had an issue when selling a car due to no stamps but then I don't have particularly valuable ones, if I did I'd still service it myself though!
Thing is you'd kill the market come selling time if you self-serviced a Ferrari or similar.Never had an issue when selling a car due to no stamps but then I don't have particularly valuable ones, if I did I'd still service it myself though!
PHMatt said:
What do those of you that service your own cars ACTUALLY do when you service it?
Oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter?
I wouldn't call that a service.
....lots of checks and stuff.....
Whilst a lot of it is rubbish a lot of it is quite extensive work and I bet the majority of DIY services neglect the majority of that work resulting in dodgy cars that I, as a 2nd hand buyer, wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
I think what you're considering 'servicing' is actually mostly visual inspection and being charged £60/hour for someone to do it then give you a report. I'd guesstimate the average hobby mechanic or DIYer would either keep an eye on things anyway, or wait for them to break and fix when broken. Oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter?
I wouldn't call that a service.
....lots of checks and stuff.....
Whilst a lot of it is rubbish a lot of it is quite extensive work and I bet the majority of DIY services neglect the majority of that work resulting in dodgy cars that I, as a 2nd hand buyer, wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
What's a I or II service cost? £100-£250? It's fluids and filters and a lot of looking at stuff. Stuff you'd generally use and spot through the normal course of driving and make a call on whether you need to fix it a) at all b) sooner or c) later
I pulled out an overfill of around a litre of oil from my new to me car with it's FSH. I'd rather do that sort of stuff myself, at least I know where the levels are and wouldnt wonder why I've been charged for an extra litre of oil because some spastic couldnt read where F was on a dipstick and just thought 'f
k it' 
andy-xr said:
PHMatt said:
What do those of you that service your own cars ACTUALLY do when you service it?
Oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter?
I wouldn't call that a service.
....lots of checks and stuff.....
Whilst a lot of it is rubbish a lot of it is quite extensive work and I bet the majority of DIY services neglect the majority of that work resulting in dodgy cars that I, as a 2nd hand buyer, wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
I think what you're considering 'servicing' is actually mostly visual inspection and being charged £60/hour for someone to do it then give you a report. I'd guesstimate the average hobby mechanic or DIYer would either keep an eye on things anyway, or wait for them to break and fix when broken. Oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter?
I wouldn't call that a service.
....lots of checks and stuff.....
Whilst a lot of it is rubbish a lot of it is quite extensive work and I bet the majority of DIY services neglect the majority of that work resulting in dodgy cars that I, as a 2nd hand buyer, wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
What's a I or II service cost? £100-£250? It's fluids and filters and a lot of looking at stuff. Stuff you'd generally use and spot through the normal course of driving and make a call on whether you need to fix it a) at all b) sooner or c) later
I pulled out an overfill of around a litre of oil from my new to me car with it's FSH. I'd rather do that sort of stuff myself, at least I know where the levels are and wouldnt wonder why I've been charged for an extra litre of oil because some spastic couldnt read where F was on a dipstick and just thought 'f
k it' Mostly for glancing at stuff...
Another factor in this is, there is no time constraint when doing it yourself, no rush, no corners cut.
My professionally serviced NSX was left with missing cam cover nuts one time, the next time over filled a litre..
I have worked as a mechanic proffesssionally and much prefer working at home in my own time.
My professionally serviced NSX was left with missing cam cover nuts one time, the next time over filled a litre..
I have worked as a mechanic proffesssionally and much prefer working at home in my own time.
I normally service all my own cars. The Tuscan I had went to a specialist due to the issues surrounding TVRs and the difficulties when it comes to sell. In hindsight I should have just done the normal stuff myself and got the garage to check the valve shims etc as I could have probably afforded to keep the car that way!
My current cars are both very basic (in regards to silly electronics) so there is nothing I can't do on the drive.
My current cars are both very basic (in regards to silly electronics) so there is nothing I can't do on the drive.
In relation to the BMW inspection 1 and 2, it's essentially a decent service and many many checks, if you can carry out an oil change yourself then doing visual checks on all those factors is no issue. Greasing some hinges isn't too difficult either. For the average £500 cost of an inspection 2 it does make fantastic sense for BMW.. A bit insulting if you ask me which is why I'll never pay for it
I spent years taking my car to garages for service and repairs as never had the confidence to do them myself. 3 years ago I bought a house with a driveway and small garage to keep tools and never looked back. This week I have done full service all oil & filters inc fuel filter and coolant flush on my car and my old mans. Apart from saving a few hundred quid I also used all the best oil and filters and took great care which is the most important thing. Something I have learnt is you just got to get stuck in if that EGR is blocked, get it out and clean it...whats the worst that can happen!
Not attempting any clutches or engine outs though until I get my next house with room for a car lift !
Not attempting any clutches or engine outs though until I get my next house with room for a car lift !
I do as much as I can at home on our cars. Luckily due to a "fleet" it doesn't matter if one car is off the road for a few days while I'm waiting on parts, I always keep another ready to go - don't work on two simultaneously!
A double garage equipped with various tools and a "spares department" for each vehicle organised into vehicle-specific tools/parts/fluids and so on, plus usually a few filters "in stock" and a shelf full of different fluids for specific vehicles - makes maintenance a bit more easy and organised.
The most "involved" thing I've done recently is taking the gearbox out of our Land Rover. However it's going to be sent to a specialist for repair - that job I cannot be arsed to do at home, especially in this heat (overalls are a killer).
Instead of the service stamp, I keep a folder for each vehicle with a huge amount of paperwork/reciepts for parts etc, plus a sheet detailing for each service what got done, mileage/date , reciepts for fluids and parts etc. Quite a substantial amount of paperwork in the end, it means I know exactly when things happened. Also the cost savings of avoiding garages means I can afford to service the cars every 5,000 miles as opposed to whatever the book says.
A double garage equipped with various tools and a "spares department" for each vehicle organised into vehicle-specific tools/parts/fluids and so on, plus usually a few filters "in stock" and a shelf full of different fluids for specific vehicles - makes maintenance a bit more easy and organised.
The most "involved" thing I've done recently is taking the gearbox out of our Land Rover. However it's going to be sent to a specialist for repair - that job I cannot be arsed to do at home, especially in this heat (overalls are a killer).
Instead of the service stamp, I keep a folder for each vehicle with a huge amount of paperwork/reciepts for parts etc, plus a sheet detailing for each service what got done, mileage/date , reciepts for fluids and parts etc. Quite a substantial amount of paperwork in the end, it means I know exactly when things happened. Also the cost savings of avoiding garages means I can afford to service the cars every 5,000 miles as opposed to whatever the book says.
As long as you accept that generally your home serviced car will be worth less at sale time than one serviced at "reputable" garages with an invoice and stamp then it's fine.
And it only works for cars upto a certain value or perceived level, for instance my 993 had 17 stamps from OPC or specialists and was sold within hours to the first buyer for much more than I'd have got had it had patchy/home history.
My corrolla shed is serviced on my drive and I don't even bother saving the paperwork for the oil etc as the car is worth a few hundred quid at best.
And it only works for cars upto a certain value or perceived level, for instance my 993 had 17 stamps from OPC or specialists and was sold within hours to the first buyer for much more than I'd have got had it had patchy/home history.
My corrolla shed is serviced on my drive and I don't even bother saving the paperwork for the oil etc as the car is worth a few hundred quid at best.
Owning a car related business I was working on a low mile F430, installing an exhaust flap bypass control unit for the customer.
Said car was mint and had full Ferrari main dealer history
When I removed the engine bay covers I found this...
It's a large rubber tube that connect one of the airbox enclosures to the intake manifold. They are a bit of a fiddle and this is how Ferrari dealer had fitted it allowing that V8 it suck in lovely unfiltered air.
Said car was mint and had full Ferrari main dealer history
When I removed the engine bay covers I found this...
It's a large rubber tube that connect one of the airbox enclosures to the intake manifold. They are a bit of a fiddle and this is how Ferrari dealer had fitted it allowing that V8 it suck in lovely unfiltered air.
For basic stuff like oil, filters, brake discs and pads, I will do them myself no question. For more complicated stuff, I'll look into it, check YouTube and forums for advice and then give it a go if I think I can do it. Big stuff goes to a trusted local independent.
I accept that home servicing may well make my cars less valuable, but as I don't intend to get rid of them it doesn't matter. Having had a few horror stories at main dealers over the years, I'm happy to do the basic stuff myself as I enjoy it, it's not hard and you have the peace of mind from knowing it's been done properly.
I accept that home servicing may well make my cars less valuable, but as I don't intend to get rid of them it doesn't matter. Having had a few horror stories at main dealers over the years, I'm happy to do the basic stuff myself as I enjoy it, it's not hard and you have the peace of mind from knowing it's been done properly.
Depends what needs doing.
For the modern cars I'll pay a dealer to keep warranty, and because it's just boring stuff required like fluids and filters. I won't have the Audi long enough to need any interesting jobs doing.
On the sheds I do everything myself. Got a confused J Gate in the X308 to sort before lockdown ends - I like the process of diagnose, research the fix and then do it.
For the modern cars I'll pay a dealer to keep warranty, and because it's just boring stuff required like fluids and filters. I won't have the Audi long enough to need any interesting jobs doing.
On the sheds I do everything myself. Got a confused J Gate in the X308 to sort before lockdown ends - I like the process of diagnose, research the fix and then do it.
I was a professional mechanic at an independent garage for years and soon learned that main dealers are very good at portraying the image that they have done a lot to your car during a service, when in reality they have basically done the oil & filters and had a quick check over. The BMW list posted above is a good example.
For example, on more than one occasion we would temporarily lose customers if they bought a new car, only for them to return when the warranty period was over.
It soon became obvious to me that dealers don't do anything to the brakes at all within the first 30k miles.
When they came in for a service after this period, the brakes were often in poor shape, with pads seized in the carriers, a lip badly worn on the rear drums (it was a while ago!) also seized on due to everything being assembled at the factory with no anti-seize lubrication.
We only ever did one type of service whether the car had done 10k miles or 100k miles and part of that included stripping, cleaning, lubing and adjusting all brakes. Subsequently these parts lasted much longer due to nothing being seized.
I bought an E39 M5 a few years ago that had a full BMW history but decided to give it a service myself anyway.
The sparkplugs were totally shot and when I removed the oil filter housing cap, I found broken up pieces of an old cap o-ring and half the plastic bag the the element came in lodged inside.
I do all required work myself and record it with receipts, unless it requires dealer specific code reading, I recently had to put a C220D Merc in for a failed airbag seat pad which my code reader couldn't read.
My Mustang has been in due to it being under warrantly but that's out next month so will be done myself and I did an interim oil change on that when it did the first 500 miles.
In my opinion anybody with a bit of mechanical savvy could do brakes and oil changes, everything else can be repaired when it breaks.
For example, on more than one occasion we would temporarily lose customers if they bought a new car, only for them to return when the warranty period was over.
It soon became obvious to me that dealers don't do anything to the brakes at all within the first 30k miles.
When they came in for a service after this period, the brakes were often in poor shape, with pads seized in the carriers, a lip badly worn on the rear drums (it was a while ago!) also seized on due to everything being assembled at the factory with no anti-seize lubrication.
We only ever did one type of service whether the car had done 10k miles or 100k miles and part of that included stripping, cleaning, lubing and adjusting all brakes. Subsequently these parts lasted much longer due to nothing being seized.
I bought an E39 M5 a few years ago that had a full BMW history but decided to give it a service myself anyway.
The sparkplugs were totally shot and when I removed the oil filter housing cap, I found broken up pieces of an old cap o-ring and half the plastic bag the the element came in lodged inside.
I do all required work myself and record it with receipts, unless it requires dealer specific code reading, I recently had to put a C220D Merc in for a failed airbag seat pad which my code reader couldn't read.
My Mustang has been in due to it being under warrantly but that's out next month so will be done myself and I did an interim oil change on that when it did the first 500 miles.
In my opinion anybody with a bit of mechanical savvy could do brakes and oil changes, everything else can be repaired when it breaks.
Commander2874 said:
Can't believe parts are about £100 inc oil.and filters yet specialist and dealers want over £400 all in.
This is the primary downside of doing your own servicing. You suddenly realise how much you are being ripped off at the main dealers. I have serviced both of my Porsches (contrary to popular opinion they are no more complex to service than any other car) and a full service using miller's nanotech oil, bosch spark plugs etc typically costs me about £120. When I take my Jaguar (still under warranty) into a main dealer and they want to charge me £500 for an oil change and their "expert inspection" it kind of hurts!
A large element of the ‘service self’ must not only come from the knowledge (courage?) to tackle not just the service itself, but the knock on effect of a seized something, broken do-dad or need for an auxiliary something, with the ability to have an easy space or garage to do it in without the pressure of having to have it immediately back on the road. So a spare car is available
I’m about to do my MX5 for the first time as finally I have a workable garage space and time to kill.
I’m about to do my MX5 for the first time as finally I have a workable garage space and time to kill.
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