My annual service is due soon and due to other outgoings (including the
birth of TWINS recently) - I'm thinking of giving it a miss. The cheapest
I've found is £160.

My car is a 5 year old Puma with a full service history so far and no
problems either historic or at the moment.

I'm not a mechanic by any means so do not hold out any hope of DIY
servicing - so what is ESSENTIAL about having the 1 year service - or can I
get away with giving it a miss?

cheers

"chas" <headinabucket (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

suspension checks for safety. It will cost you much more in the long run if
you don't attend to those at the least. What about what used to be Lucas
Autocentres, they seem to do a good deal on a service. Or find a local small
garage/specialist they're often very competitive.

--
Malc

"Your mother can't climb stairs"
Dalek playground taunt

chas wrote:

At the very minimum find somewhere local that will just do an oil + filter
change. These can often be done at tyre/exhaust type places from 15UKP, but
make sure the oil specification used is correct for your car. These places
will often do a free brake/steering/suspension check, but will usually
"find" lots of things that "need" doing!

To carry out basic servicing you do not need to be a mechanic. In fact, if
you paid your 160UKP to a main dealer the likeliehood is that it would be
done by an apprentice. In the longer term, why not see if any local
colleges do car maintenance courses? If nothing else it may help you
getting ripped off when using garages.

HTH

Chris
--
Remove prejudice to reply.

The message <dh9llp$9pl$1 (AT) news (DOT) e7even.com>
from "chas" <headinabucket (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> contains these words:

Not the /ideal/ choice with two kids!

--
Skipweasel.
In the beginning was the word.
And the word was Aardvark.

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 21:30:46 +0100, chas wrote:

Oil and filter change.

Then ring the local further education centre and ask them about the car
maintenance courses they will almost certainly offer. It'll make you as
qaulified to service it as the spotty kid who does it for £160 at Ford's...

"chas" <headinabucket (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote


No, basically not. Oil and filter changes will see the engine good for a
long distance but sooner or later you'll have a problem.

Check the handbook or talk to your dealership about what needs doing.
What's the mileage?

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

How recently was the MOT done? If fairly recent, then anything serious with
regards to brakes/suspension should have been picked up upon. The main
thing you'll want to get done is an oil and filter change, which your local
National Tyres + Autocare should do for about £25. But how many miles have
you done since the last service? If fairly low miles, then get an oil +
filter change done and you'll probably get away with not worrying about
anything else for another 6 months or so (providing there aren't any issues
with brakes etc.).

Might be worth getting whatever fastfit bunch that do the oil + filter to
check the brakes over, but if they start saying absolutely everything's
fucked, take their advice with a pinch of salt and take it to someone a bit
more trustworthy.

Peter

Thanks for all the replies.

The car has just over 37,000 miles on it and it is 5 years old. My mileage
since the last service is just over 7,000 so I don't do high mileage.

I agree with the poster who says it's not ideal for kids. Tell me about it.
The boot is useless for holding practical stuff like pushchairs etc...

I reluctantly will be changing the car in the future but for the time being
can't afford it.

With the amount of clutter the missus now drags round plus 2 babies and all
their stuff - I'll be running alongside trying to keep up!

cheers

chas

chas wrote:

There are plenty of good, family sized cars around for a couple of thousand.

The message <dhbetm$j2h$1 (AT) news (DOT) e7even.com>
from "chas" <headinabucket (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> contains these words:

Flog it and buy a cheap estate. There's plenty about and you'll never
regret it till the kids go to college and you'll end up as a taxi
service.

--
Skipweasel.
In the beginning was the word.
And the word was Aardvark.