New car, want to learn basic mechanics
Discussion
Adam205 said:
Jimmyarm said:
Don't tar all mechanics with the same brush, some of us 'monkeys' do it because we have a genuine passion for cars.
There's no taring going on. The fact is that you dont know who's serviced it whether its done at a dealer or not. A stamp means bugger all.Do you have a better method than a service book and a stamp (along with an invoice) for showing a cars been serviced properly ?
Edited by Jimmyarm on Tuesday 11th January 18:29
Adam205 said:
Jimmyarm said:
Don't tar all mechanics with the same brush, some of us 'monkeys' do it because we have a genuine passion for cars.
There's no taring going on. The fact is that you dont know who's serviced it whether its done at a dealer or not. A stamp means bugger all.I tend to trust that a garage knows what it's doing. Believe it or not, you have to do some training to work in one and the apprenticeship isn't a cake walk. If you want to verify the cars history, phone the garage.
Older cars: yes, work on them yourself. It's fun and makes financial sense. Newer cars - you need to think about resale value and how the car 'looks' to the next buyer too. Saving £500 by servicing it yourself a few times could knock £1,000 or more from it's value.
Stamp = serviced.
Stamp + Receipt for work = verified service.
No stamp = assume it wasn't serviced.
That's the harsh reality of the matter. If I wanted to work on my own car for the first time, I wouldn't start on a £20k fast megane.
Jimmyarm said:
Adam205 said:
Jimmyarm said:
Don't tar all mechanics with the same brush, some of us 'monkeys' do it because we have a genuine passion for cars.
There's no taring going on. The fact is that you dont know who's serviced it whether its done at a dealer or not. A stamp means bugger all.Do you have a better method than a service book and a stamp (along with an invoice) for showing a cars been serviced properly ?
Edited by Jimmyarm on Tuesday 11th January 18:29
The guy is saying that people are quite happy to send their car to a main dealer where it is possible that the service is being done by the kid on work experience, and the book gets a stamp and they're quite happy.
What does that stamp mean? It means that the car has been at a dealer, gives no information on who has done the service, to what standard.
If the previous owner has serviced the car himself then a) its his car and therefore he's unlikely to do a bodge job and b) you are talking to the guy who actually did the servicing. He can produce reciepts for all the parts replaced and you can get an understanding of how experienced he is.
That is far preferable to a stamp in a book.
WeirdNeville said:
Adam205 said:
Jimmyarm said:
Don't tar all mechanics with the same brush, some of us 'monkeys' do it because we have a genuine passion for cars.
There's no taring going on. The fact is that you dont know who's serviced it whether its done at a dealer or not. A stamp means bugger all.I tend to trust that a garage knows what it's doing. Believe it or not, you have to do some training to work in one and the apprenticeship isn't a cake walk. If you want to verify the cars history, phone the garage.
Older cars: yes, work on them yourself. It's fun and makes financial sense. Newer cars - you need to think about resale value and how the car 'looks' to the next buyer too. Saving £500 by servicing it yourself a few times could knock £1,000 or more from it's value.
Stamp = serviced.
Stamp + Receipt for work = verified service.
No stamp = assume it wasn't serviced.
That's the harsh reality of the matter. If I wanted to work on my own car for the first time, I wouldn't start on a £20k fast megane.
Stamp = Someone stamped the book
Stamp plus receipt = Someone paid for their car to sit in the carpark and get a book stamped
No stamp = Someone with knowledge and care looked after their car
Service histories don't mean s
t. my wifes car had a full main dealer service history, the fuel filter rusted through and pissed fuel everywhere.
Wish I had kept the corsa now but it's worth 1200 to a dealer so didnt have much choice.
Might look at getting something cheap but won't be able to afford it this year :-(.
Thankyou everyone for the replies, what other checks would everyone recommend on a regular basis, other than checking the oil level?
Might look at getting something cheap but won't be able to afford it this year :-(.
Thankyou everyone for the replies, what other checks would everyone recommend on a regular basis, other than checking the oil level?
So a car with no stamps has been perfectly serviced by a well trained home mechanic? Is that what we're saying?
How ridiculous. You must have been burned really badly in the past to have such a low opinion on garages. I know a few mechanics, heyre highly trained people who take pride in their work. If the apprentice ballsed up a simple job they'd be getting a kicking for it.
Garages work on repeat business, and customer service, the vast majority ar. NOT cowboys.
Of course, one of the joys of knowing your own car and the in's and outs of the work you've asked them to do is that you can check it.
As for 'service history means bugger all' - I, and the vast majority of the car buying/dealing public disagree with you.
How ridiculous. You must have been burned really badly in the past to have such a low opinion on garages. I know a few mechanics, heyre highly trained people who take pride in their work. If the apprentice ballsed up a simple job they'd be getting a kicking for it.
Garages work on repeat business, and customer service, the vast majority ar. NOT cowboys.
Of course, one of the joys of knowing your own car and the in's and outs of the work you've asked them to do is that you can check it.
As for 'service history means bugger all' - I, and the vast majority of the car buying/dealing public disagree with you.
WeirdNeville said:
So a car with no stamps has been perfectly serviced by a well trained home mechanic? Is that what we're saying?
How ridiculous. You must have been burned really badly in the past to have such a low opinion on garages. I know a few mechanics, heyre highly trained people who take pride in their work. If the apprentice ballsed up a simple job they'd be getting a kicking for it.
Garages work on repeat business, and customer service, the vast majority ar. NOT cowboys.
Of course, one of the joys of knowing your own car and the in's and outs of the work you've asked them to do is that you can check it.
As for 'service history means bugger all' - I, and the vast majority of the car buying/dealing public disagree with you.
People seem to be confusing 'service history' with 'stamp in a book'. You also seem to be confusing 'not knowing' with 'assuming poor workmanship'.How ridiculous. You must have been burned really badly in the past to have such a low opinion on garages. I know a few mechanics, heyre highly trained people who take pride in their work. If the apprentice ballsed up a simple job they'd be getting a kicking for it.
Garages work on repeat business, and customer service, the vast majority ar. NOT cowboys.
Of course, one of the joys of knowing your own car and the in's and outs of the work you've asked them to do is that you can check it.
As for 'service history means bugger all' - I, and the vast majority of the car buying/dealing public disagree with you.
Probably time you started reading posts properly.
Edited by Adam205 on Tuesday 11th January 19:08
Regiment said:
Thankyou everyone for the replies, what other checks would everyone recommend on a regular basis, other than checking the oil level?
Sorry it descended (as ever) into an odd argument where some seek to impose their skewed views on everyone else!Basic checks a car owner should learn to complete:
Oil level
Coolant Level
Brake fluid level/system operation.
Condition of brake discs and pads.
Tyre condition and inflation (very very important and often overlooked)
How to jack the car up and remove a wheel safely.
Bulb replacement.
One thing you might enjoy if you know computers and the OC may be able to help you with is using a laptop and the diagnostics port to check and even adjust the engines operation. It's pretty neat stuff, you can check fuelling, detonation, temperatures all without openingthe bonnet.
Feel free to add to the list above!
WeirdNeville said:
As for 'service history means bugger all' - I, and the vast majority of the car buying/dealing public disagree with you.
So you'd pay a grand extra for thishttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rubber-Stamp-Service-2-Colou...
or this
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-SERVICE-HISTORY-BOOKLET...
The vast majority are gullible fools
I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree here. The fact is that a book with stamps in it is worthless compared to a good service history with dated and mileaged receipts, performed by someone you can talk to face to face. We almost purchased an 18 month old car about 2 years back that had 'full service history' with a stamp in a book but no sign of half the recommended maintenance, just as an example.
Adam205 said:
I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree here. The fact is that a book with stamps in it is worthless compared to a good service history with dated and mileaged receipts.
I don't think we're actually disagreeing. If you read my initial posts I was talking about 'service history'. For me this includes service stamps, associated receipts detailing parts fitted, all the paperwork, old MOTs for milage verification. I'm careful when I buy my cars (by and large apart from a couple of hasty/whim purchases) It's all part of a big picture - you can tell for example if a car has been serviced near the old registered keepers address, I'd be suspicious of a row of 20 identical stamps with the same signature when I know the cars been through 3 owners, stuff like that.
The majority of cars, and the vast majority of nearly new cars, will only have dealer or garage servicing. Anything else looks odd, and will devalue the car compared to an identical but non garaged example.
I have no doubt that a competent home mechanic (with a torque wrench!) can service and maintain a car as well as a garage, but that's not my point.
The OP asked: Can I service my own one year old car?
The answer is yes, probably.
Should he service his one year old car?
I think most people would say no, in orderto preserve it's re-sale value.
I don't give a f
k about my cars resale value. I want to keep it on the road and keep it cheap. So I DIY it and save money. Brakes this month: £150 all 4 corners, discs, pads, fluid and sensors.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff