Many of today's modern cars have automated checks and routines that instruct you to service your car when a certain amount of time or number of kilometres have passed. It's a very useful reminder and especially great if you have a service plan with a dealership. It’s very little hassle to take your car in when they take care of the oil change and filters and the smaller things like windscreen wiper blades replacement etc. It also lessens the burden on the dealership who, if they are proactive, will call you to remind you that your car is due for a service in 30 days. You might not be able to commit to making the appointment there and then, but your car will no doubt start reminding you of service requirement and sooner or later and you will give in to its chiming!
What happens though, when you are no longer on a service plan and your car decides that it is time for a service, despite not having been driven the 10,000 or 15,000km recommended service interval. Make no mistake, it's a costly exercise to keep your car serviced with the agents when you have to pay for this yourself and any deferring is welcome in the current financial climate.
It would be foolish to suggest that you should not service your car as advised by your handbook and reminded by the car itself. One of the more obvious service routines is an oil and filter change, something that you really shouldn’t neglect. Modern engine oils are amazing and keep your engine lubricated way past the required service intervals, but filters still need to be changed, as these act as "sponges" absorbing all the harmful carbon deposits and microscopic metal bits that wear away while your engine runs. It's standard practice to replace both the oil filter and engine oil at the same time, even though filters get dirtier first. Be warned though, diesel oils can be very expensive as they are often synthetic and contain detergent additives. Recently, it seems that diesel engines have a recommended service interval of 20,000km which just feels too long. Perhaps this is a cost saving exercise for the dealerships who perform the actual service requirements, or maybe oils are just this good today.
The same goes for transmission fluids - these are highly specialised synthetic oils that make for smooth gear changes. This oil also has a filter to remove harmful sludge and metal deposits. Not servicing this could lead to gear shift issues and at worst, a seized gearbox. Fixing gearbox issues often means dropping the engine for a complete transmission replacement. A very costly mistake indeed.
But an engine does not a car make - and maintaining other components is of equal importance. For example - all cars have brake fluid - without this you will not be able to stop and that could be catastrophic! And what about the simple things such as wiper blades - these perish in summer in the first downpour you’re crawling along with your wipers going hypersonic with zero visibility. That's downright dangerous. Please note that “wear and tear” items such as brakes, discs, shocks, aircon and wiper blades are not covered by a service plan and would be replaced as part of a maintenance plan or after inspection by a mechanic.
The list goes on and on and as you have already guessed, it's never a good idea to ignore a recommended service interval. Yes, maintaining a car is expensive but repairing one because of neglect is a great deal more expensive. Thankfully you don't need to save up a lump sum to keep your car serviced, you can take out a monthly service plan from Warranty Extender www.warrantyextender.co.za/service-price-plans and when the time comes, your cars service will be paid for. It's a bit like a savings scheme for your cars service plan.
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