How often should you service your car?

The purpose of the car service is to ensure the vehicle is safe to drive, maximise the car’s value, improve the longevity of the vehicle and, if your vehicle is still under manufacturer’s warranty, then it will maintain the validity of the warranty too. Take a look at the below information on how often your car should be serviced and the different types available.

What is a car service?

A car service is when you take your car to a garage for a regular check-up. A mechanic will look at your car’s condition and check parts for wear and tear, like brakes, oil, filters, and lights.

How often should you service your car?

It is recommended that you should service your car every 12,000 miles or every 12 months, whichever one is first. But you should check your manufacturer’s manual/handbook because the frequency may differ by model and other factors such as fuel type and engine.

There are 3 main types of service that garages usually offer. These include:

Interim Car Service

This is an entry-level service. It is designed for drivers that do high mileage and may require a service more frequently to ensure their vehicle is running smoothly. Usually around 6 months or 6,000 miles.

This service will usually include oil change, top-up of the engine, brakes, and other fluids together with an inspection of important car parts such as windscreen wipers, lights, and tyres.

Full Car Service

A full service is usually recommended every 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever is first.

This service will usually include a wider range of checks compared to the interim service such as air filter change, spark plugs change, fuel filter change, radiator and coolant hose check, and electrical components checked such as the battery, alternator, and starter motor.

Major Car Service

This is a service usually required every 2 years or 24,000 miles. If your last service was a Full Car Service, then the next one should be the Major Car Service.

It is the most thorough service package and will usually include all the things within an interim and major service as well as the replacement of brake fluid and cabin filter as these can become contaminated over time and need replacing to ensure they work to their best capacity.

How often to service a low mileage car?

It is recommended that you service your car at 12,000 miles or every 12 months, whatever comes first. Please check your manufacturer’s handbook to check this out, especially if you are still within the manufacturer’s warranty period as you may need to have a service every 12 months to keep the validity of the warranty.

How much does a car service cost?

Below is an estimate of the cost of a service but servicing prices can depend on the size of your engine and the oil used. The cost of a service will also depend on the vehicle if you have a specialist model, it may cost more than the standard version.

Interim Car Service – £75-£125

Full Car Service – £150 – £250

Major Car Service – £250 plus

The cost of the service may not include replacing parts if needed. You should check with the garage what is included in the price and what may be in addition, so you don’t get any nasty surprises.

You could always check out the below websites to compare car service prices in your area.

• Who Can Fix My Car
• Book My Garage

How long does a car service take?

An Interim Car Service usually takes around 1.5 hours.

A Full Service usually takes around 3 hours.

A Major Car Service usually takes around 4 hours.

The above assumes there are no significant issues discovered by the garage. This means you should have your car back the same day when having a service done.

What’s included in a car service?

The below are examples of what may be included in the service.

What is an interim car service?

An interim service is designed for motorists who do a lot of miles annually. They are likely to use up oil and other lubricants the car needs to run effectively more quickly if they are exceeding the standard mileage guidelines.

Is a car service the same as an MOT?

An MOT is a compulsory assessment to ensure that your car is roadworthy; a service follows thorough guidelines, set out by the vehicle manufacturer, and is intended to keep your car in top form.

Do you need to have a car service and an MOT at the same time?

Because there is no legal requirement to have a car service, you do not have to have one at the same time you have your MOT. But it is often preferable to have them at the same time as you sometimes receive a discount from the garage when having them carried out together.

What happens if you don’t service your car?

By not servicing your car you may find that the performance deteriorates over time and that you will run into problems with the car such as strange noises, things not running as smoothly as you would expect, and eventually may lead to breakdowns.

Making sure your vehicle has a service is not a legal requirement like an MOT is, but not having your car serviced is likely to cause you problems in the long term with the running of the vehicle and also when looking to sell the car on. Car buyers like to see full-service history as this shows the car has been well looked after. So limited-service history may mean you have to sell for less than the market value.

How to check the service history of a car

The easiest way to check a car’s service history is to look at the service book. This is a log of all the services the vehicle has had since the start, and it also records the vehicle’s mileage.

It is important to keep your records up to date so make sure you get the garage to stamp the book once they have completed the service.

For more helpful information on how to keep your car safe why not check out our recent blog post on how to look after your car in autumn or how to perform a car safety test.