Servicing, is it really needed?
Discussion
Hi just typed something on another thread and thought it's own thread...
Basically mine/my mum's Corsa is getting scraped in a few weeks time, it's full of dents, scratches, rust, faded plastic and is the lowest spec possible! However it has done 67k miles now (in 8 years) without a service, oil change or cambelt replacement... and tbh as far as the car actually runs, it's fine! My brother's Impreza has done 30k miles now since his ownership without a service either (and who knows when before, if ever! It came without history) and again, it's been very reliable.
I've had 7 cars now and the only reason I have serviced cars was to keep the value up for resale, and that was just on 2 of them, as they cost me a lot! The other 5 cars never had a service, oil change or cambelt replacement either... these cars were all worth less than £3,000 so I didn't mind running them into the ground.
Obviously it's 'better' to service cars, but really, is it completely necessary? Or is it all a bit of a myth...
Basically mine/my mum's Corsa is getting scraped in a few weeks time, it's full of dents, scratches, rust, faded plastic and is the lowest spec possible! However it has done 67k miles now (in 8 years) without a service, oil change or cambelt replacement... and tbh as far as the car actually runs, it's fine! My brother's Impreza has done 30k miles now since his ownership without a service either (and who knows when before, if ever! It came without history) and again, it's been very reliable.
I've had 7 cars now and the only reason I have serviced cars was to keep the value up for resale, and that was just on 2 of them, as they cost me a lot! The other 5 cars never had a service, oil change or cambelt replacement either... these cars were all worth less than £3,000 so I didn't mind running them into the ground.
Obviously it's 'better' to service cars, but really, is it completely necessary? Or is it all a bit of a myth...
I see what your getting at. But for me i would always service a car at least once a year. Even my £500 winter hacks get a mini service as soon as i get them home and on to my drive. With all the moving parts and heat generated in a engine it seem crazy to me not to keep on top of the consumables like oil and filters. Surely if your keeping a car for 30,000+ miles it would make a massive difference ?
I would say you and yours have been plain lucky! I would imagine that there will be a bit of degradation in performance that your brother won't have noticed on his Impreza as it's been so gradual.
I always notice a bit of a difference when I've got my cars back from being serviced. The most extreme was one of my 330ci's after it had it's inspection 2 at 60000 miles (fsh too). It felt so much more eager aftwards, I was really impressed with it and it was a bit more economic as well.
I always notice a bit of a difference when I've got my cars back from being serviced. The most extreme was one of my 330ci's after it had it's inspection 2 at 60000 miles (fsh too). It felt so much more eager aftwards, I was really impressed with it and it was a bit more economic as well.
I'll second the call for you to let us know where you are so we can avoid you.
There's certainly a lot of things on the service list which are far from essential but the core tasks make a tonne of sense.
Checking safety items like brakes, bushes, shocks and inspecting the underside for damage once in a while seems wise, no? You'd rather wait until the brakes/steering stops working entirely??
You change the oil because it degrades and you want to flush any junk it's carrying around before that causes problems
You change plugs because they degrade and they're a pretty key component (poor combustion can cause long-term engine damage).
Even if you only service it to preserve it's value - that's still probably worth the effort given that an Impreza which hasn't seen a service in 30K miles will be completely unsaleable and thus pretty expensive to own!?
p.s. as someone said, scrapping a Corsa with 67K is ridiculous - a mate ran a diesel Corsa for 5 years (starting at 8-years-old) without any maintenance, it's odo read 180K but as the speedo stopped working 2 years earlier it had done a LOT more than that - you've killed your car 1/4 of the way through it's life - well done!!
There's certainly a lot of things on the service list which are far from essential but the core tasks make a tonne of sense.
Checking safety items like brakes, bushes, shocks and inspecting the underside for damage once in a while seems wise, no? You'd rather wait until the brakes/steering stops working entirely??
You change the oil because it degrades and you want to flush any junk it's carrying around before that causes problems
You change plugs because they degrade and they're a pretty key component (poor combustion can cause long-term engine damage).
Even if you only service it to preserve it's value - that's still probably worth the effort given that an Impreza which hasn't seen a service in 30K miles will be completely unsaleable and thus pretty expensive to own!?
p.s. as someone said, scrapping a Corsa with 67K is ridiculous - a mate ran a diesel Corsa for 5 years (starting at 8-years-old) without any maintenance, it's odo read 180K but as the speedo stopped working 2 years earlier it had done a LOT more than that - you've killed your car 1/4 of the way through it's life - well done!!
Edited by johnpeat on Thursday 3rd November 14:02
Got to be a troll!!!
I've got a friend that has done the same, granted she doesn't care about cars and doesn't want to spend money on them so I always get her a cheap runaround.
Brilliant comments like 'it's not cost me a penny in 3 years' as the rear suspension carries on bouncing 2 minutes after the car stops.
Yes a car needs servicing and I can't believe someone could think something as stupid. Every working part has an expected life and so does oil. Don't replace these parts then they fail which has a knock on effect to everything.
I've got a friend that has done the same, granted she doesn't care about cars and doesn't want to spend money on them so I always get her a cheap runaround.
Brilliant comments like 'it's not cost me a penny in 3 years' as the rear suspension carries on bouncing 2 minutes after the car stops.
Yes a car needs servicing and I can't believe someone could think something as stupid. Every working part has an expected life and so does oil. Don't replace these parts then they fail which has a knock on effect to everything.
never had thoes before, awesome!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff