How often should you service your car?

In today’s fast-paced lives that we lead, most don’t have time to schedule an appointment with a mechanic to maintain their cars. Such tasks are usually postponed. Are you tempted to ignore the service light when it flashes on your dashboard? Lack of transportation can make our daily lives quite difficult.

A car is a highly complex piece of machinery, and having it serviced regularly is essential to maintaining road safety. If you haven’t had your car serviced in a while, or if this is your first time, understanding the different types of car services available is a step in the right direction.

Types of servicing:

There are three types of car services available. The best type of service for each vehicle is determined by a variety of factors, including the type of car, the landscape it’s driven on, and how many kilometres it has travelled, among other aspects. Your mechanic will advise you to take one of the following options:

1. General service:

   This is the most common type of car service and is also known as a basic or minor service. Your vehicle will be thoroughly inspected for signs of damage, as well as the engine oil and fluids.

2. Interim service:

   If you regularly drive your car in difficult conditions, such as driving at high speeds, stop-start driving in city traffic, or towing a caravan or trailer, interim service is recommended in between general services.

2. Full service:

   This is the most comprehensive type of service, also known as a major service. In addition to the areas covered by a general service, your car’s steering, exhaust, tires, and suspension are all checked.

When Should You Service A Car?

The type of car you drive will influence how frequently you should have it serviced. Check your owner’s manual to see the minimum and maximum service intervals recommended by the manufacturer.

Relatively new cars should be serviced every six months or 10,000 kilometres, whichever milestone is met first. However, if your vehicle is older or you frequently drive in adverse conditions, it may be worthwhile to have an interim service performed every three months or 5,000 kilometres.

What happens if you don’t service your car regularly?

Regular car servicing is required if you want your vehicle to run safely and efficiently. Cars can develop a wide range of issues that are often only detectable by an experienced car mechanic.

Many problems can arise as a result of not changing your engine oil and other car fluids regularly. Engine oil degrades over time, and failure to change it can result in increased strain on engine components. This reduces your car’s fuel economy and performance, eventually leading to dangerous mechanical failures. To keep your brakes working properly, you should check and replace your brake fluid regularly.

Why does a car need to be serviced?

A service is essentially a health check for your vehicle performed by a skilled professional mechanic. They will ensure that all of your vehicle’s critical components are in good working condition. Aspects such as engine oil levels and other car fluids are checked and replaced as needed. If everything is in working order, you can leave the workshop in complete confidence. If the mechanics discover a problem, they will advise you on what needs to be done to fix it, thus ensuring the safety of you and your passengers.

The most important reason to have your car serviced regularly is to ensure passenger safety and peak functionality. However, there are financial advantages to regular car maintenance. Detecting problems early allows you to fix them before they become much more severe which incurs higher costs for repair. Moreover, if you decide to sell your car, it will fetch you a higher selling price if it has a complete service history.

Benefits of a Car Service:

1. Saves Money:

   Servicing a car might seem like an additional expense but it saves hefty expenses due to major repairs and for car parts replacement if the car breaks down or has a faulty part needing fixing. It also increases the fuel efficiency of the car. Thus, you can save on fuel expenditure and avoid the low mileage of the car.

2. Improves Safety:

   The most important benefit of servicing your car on time is that it takes care of the robust functioning of every part of the car and detects any issues early on, preventing the possibility of any alarming issues cropping up much later. Thus periodic servicing is meant to improve the safety of the car and assure the owner that his car has no issues that he needs to worry about.

3. Increases Longevity:

   A car serviced at regular intervals and monitored regularly has excellent performance on all parameters. This also extends a good lifespan for the car. A well-maintained car will run smoothly and give optimum performance even after it’s crossed several thousand kilometres.

4. Retains Cars Value:

   A well-maintained car does not depreciate as much as a car riddled with issues such as noise and low fuel efficiency. The parameters which decide a car are fuel efficiency, good engine, brakes, and other aspects functioning efficiently resulting in a smooth ride.

The importance of regular car servicing cannot be ignored. If you are looking for a car maintenance and repair service in Melbourne, Gunceler Motors is here to help. Our professional mechanics offer excellent car repair services as well as provide regular follow-ups to ensure that your car is in pristine condition. Call our team on 0421 793 338 or email us at guncelermotors@hotmail.com today!