How often should you get your car serviced?
A question that gets asked a lot is, how often should I get my car serviced? If, like many others before you, are unsure how often to get yours checked out, then keep reading.
What is a car service?
A car service is a series of checks and tweaks carried out by a mechanic, which together make sure your car is working as it should.
However, it is important to distinguish between a car service and an MOT. An MOT is a legal requirement, and every vehicle must have a certificate to be considered roadworthy.
A service will check your car for wear and tear and will highlight any parts that aren’t running optimally. So, car servicing is important to keep your car running well and safe at the same time.
How often should I get my car serviced?
As a general rule, you should look to have your car serviced every 12,000 miles or every 12 months – whichever happens first. Most cars will have a warning light too.
If you tend to do a lot of driving, or drive for work, it’s also recommended to get an interim service every 6 months. Even if you have an electric car!
Similar to a full service, an interim service makes sure your vehicle is running optimally and consists of an oil change and filter replacement, as well as checking parts such as your brakes, steering, clutch, tyres, hoses and pipes.
This usually comes to around 50 checks.
Why should I get my car serviced?
Car owners looking for ways to scrimp and save sometimes cut corners on their servicing, however they really shouldn’t.
Although it can be tempting to forego your annual service, here are 6 reasons why you shouldn’t:
It maintains the warranty – yes that’s right! The manufacturer’s warranty on new cars will only be valid if the car is up to date with servicing. Servicing your car outside of this time may invalidate your warranty, which could prove to be costly should something go wrong.
Safety – this is quite a big one. Even if you consider yourself to be handy, it’s always best to get a professional to check over your car. Mechanics will check carry out a full Vehicle Health Check to make sure your car is safe to drive, so you’re not leaving anything to chance.
It keeps the engine healthy – to keep your motor ticking along nicely, cars need to be serviced. Changing oil and dust filters on a regular basis prevents debris and particles from getting into the engine causing issues. As a rule of thumb, your oil should be a golden brown colour (similar to ale), rather than black!
Although it may feel like it’s more expensive, getting your car regularly serviced can often save money in the long run. So next time you think about skipping your service – think again.
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© Copyright 2021 Antonia, All rights Reserved. Written For: Tidylife
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