Vehicle Servicing

How often do you need to get your car serviced? Every how many miles is it mandatory? These are the common questions we think about when we buy a car. But what is car servicing?

It is not just an unavoidable expense, but a crucial part of driving safe.

Taking care of your car is important to avoid accidents, and servicing is a good practice to follow at the scheduled intervals. 

The intervals, however, are not only scheduled based on the time from when the car was purchased, but they also depend on the number of miles travelled. But let’s look into specifically what it means, how often it needs to be done and how much it can cost.

CONTENTS

What is car servicing?

How often do you need to service your car?

How much does it cost to service your car?

Differences between servicing and road worthiness

What is car servicing?

Car servicing means periodically checking parts of the car at regular intervals set by the car manufacturer for the aim of maintaining the maximum performance and efficiency of the vehicle in terms of its overall wear. 

With the entry into force of EU regulation No. 461/2000 it is no longer necessary for cars to be serviced by manufacturer-authorised shops, it is sufficient for the operator to be registered (with the car repair registry) and possess car diagnostic equipment and the car manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. The maintenance intervals are not always the same, however they are established by the maintenance manual.  

Car servicing includes a series of planned maintenance tasks: at a specialised and authorised shop, the car goes through a series of essential checks: the first step is a visual check which assesses the need to change certain parts, based on the outcome the radiator liquids are checked, as well as the level and quality of the motor and brake oil, windshield detergent and coolant.

Another very important step in servicing the car is changing the oil filter, the air filter as well as the car cabin filter.

The next step is checking the tyres, lastly the transmission, AC, muffler, shock absorbers, suspensions and brakes are checked.

After these checks, you can go back to driving in completely safety, preserving and prolonging both the car’s reliability and performance.

How often do you need to get your car serviced?

To keep the warranty valid, the car needs to be serviced on schedule, as planned. The intervals, as we mentioned, depend on the type of car and many other factors, but in general it is the combination of time and mileage that, theoretically establish when it is time to take the car to the shop. 

In any case, we recommend servicing the car once it has travelled 15,000/20,000 miles or after one year. 

Of course, getting a check-up after just 10,000 miles is basically useless, but so is doing so after too long, as this poses the risk of no longer guaranteeing the safety of the vehicle. Over time the car wears, regardless of the mileage. For this reason, car manufacturers always insist that cars must be serviced every year, or at most every two years. This usually means between 15,000 and 30,000 kilometres. For more recent models, in some cases the threshold is every 35,000 miles. 

The important thing is, and this is the true purpose of servicing your car, to keep the car in perfect working order in every driving condition. For more detailed information on servicing, it is best to seek the advice of an expert and skilled person: remember that you are now free to choose where to take your car. It is nevertheless possible to get check-ups earlier for safety reasons: In case of doubts, it is most certainly best to go to an authorised shop. 

How much does it cost to service your car?

This is what car owners worry about the most.

It is almost impossible to get an exact estimate because the cost of servicing changes according to various factors: generally the first two check-ups are the least costly, only filters and minor parts are changed, then the expense gradually increases, especially if any problems, anomalies or damage is found. 

Unless agreed otherwise by contract, the cost of servicing, including labour and parts, is charged to the customer.

Nevertheless, almost all shops include check fluid levels, including anti-freeze in the radiator, brake oil and windshield detergent, in the cost. 

The free market nevertheless gives every shop the chance to set their price, and this is why it is a good idea to choose well before going a specialised expert: shops are also free to offer discounts and special deals for servicing the cars of their customers. 

Differences between servicing and road worthiness

These terms are often used to mean the same thing. But servicing and road worthiness actually mean two very different things: in fact these are two different types of car check-ups.

Let’s begin with the most important difference: you are not required to service your car, but roadworthiness is compulsory. The former is a check-up of your car to make sure that the systems, mechanics, tyres are all in working order. The latter means more or less the same checks, but they are legally required and there are administrative fines if they are breached or forgotten.

Essentially, if your car is not roadworthy you will be fined (along with heavy sanctions the longer you wait), whereas you are not required, albeit strongly encouraged, to get your car serviced. Clearly, in fact, we always recommend doing the latter, for both the warranty, as to prevent failures and malfunctions that could be extremely dangerous to your safety.

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