Tips on car servicing

AT one point or the other our vehicles have to undergo service, it can be minor or major depending on the kilometres that the car accumulates.
Minor service is basically focused on the engine that is the replacement of the engine oil, plugs, oil and petrol filters and major service takes a much broader perspective covering essentially the whole car.
In most cases vehicle owners tend to contract garages or mechanics to service their vehicles with the exception of a few who tend to undertake the service on their own.
This is because most have limited or no knowledge about technical aspects of their vehicles.
My focus this week is on these service providers, garages and individual mechanics, some of whom are now taking advantage of that ignorance to lie to vulnerable vehicle owners who would have entrusted them with their vehicles, just to squeeze an extra dollar or two.
The service game can be a minefield of innuendoes, misleading suggestions and some blatant lies.
In this issue I will separate facts from fallacies in five common scenarios. This past week a friend of mine took her car in for service. She was told that a whole bunch of parts had to be replaced while some needed to be skimmed.
Being a woman, she thought, “Oh my, I have been moving around in a time bomb because all these things could have easily killed me or someone.”
However, the issue here is that these mechanics have analysed us like a book or experiment.
They know that there are those that are knowledgeable and those that have no clue where to even find a bolt on their vehicle.
Due to this they have two diagnoses and two pricing structures too, which they apply depending on the person that they are dealing with.
The clever group are charged the right amount and told exactly what is wrong with their vehicles and the ignorant group gets it raw – overpriced and imagine, inclusive of charges for new unnecessary parts.
The classic scenario, which at one point I fell for, was that the brakes must be skimmed. When times are tough and new car sales are few and far between, there is more pressure on workshops to turn a profit.
When you take your car for a service and it’s hoisted up for a pre-service inspection, the workshop manager may try to bamboozle your brain by claiming that all sorts of work needs to be done.
Brake skimming is a particularly common example. If you do not subject your brakes to extra wear and tear (by breaking hard and unnecessarily frequently) they last longer and in such instances this will be a lie. The solution is to take along a friend who is technically minded.
The second scenario and most common lie is the issue of parts. You have had an accident and your car has been at the panel beaters for ages.
Every time you call, you are told the matter is out of their hands because the parts have not yet arrived.
The solution is simple, you just call around local dealers looking for those same parts, if they are available, then you know the panel beater is lying and may have actually ordered non-genuine parts to fit on your car at a low cost and still charge you full price.
Another issue I have always come across is where you are buying a new car and the sales man says you are getting the deal of a century.
Yeah right!
Do not rush into any transaction. Shop around and you will find that car dealers are just after making a quick sale. Prices are generally not fixed and there is an excellent chance that you will find a better deal elsewhere.
Also do not forget to factor in the trade-in. It does not help to secure a good price on a new car if you are getting next to nothing for your old one.
The fourth and funny one is the one on the cost of service. Some garages will tell you in an advert that service starts at US$150. This figure is fictitious and they use it to lure people.
There is a very big chance that this will be a lie and the service will cost you even more that what is charged at a regular service centre. Keep a tight rein on servicing costs by insisting that you authorise each and every repair or replacement.
Insist on seeing the parts that have been replaced (even if you have no clue what you are looking at) and the ones that have been removed.
Also, be adamant that you want the boxes that the replacement parts came in, that way you can see if genuine parts have been used.
Lastly what we all go through every day during the rainy season. Imagine you are parked in town, sitting in your car waiting for someone then this guy, looking all shaddy, comes to your window and says you need to change your wipers.
I am sure all of us motorists have encountered that. Even at established service centres they do those things to us. You have taken your car for a service and you receive a telephone call from the dealership insisting that they have to replace your windscreen wipers for safety reasons, at a fee of course.
That is utter nonsense if you ask me. You can do it yourself in minutes and save a bit of money in the process. You just go to your local spares’ shop buy the wipers and slip them on. It is as easy as brushing your hair . . .
So there you have it handy advice from yours truly . . . please make use of it and save a bit of money.
Till next week, happy driving!
l Fact D. Jeke is a motoring enthusiast who has attended auto shows, rallies and has written for various publications in the region for the last decade. She can be contacted via email on [email protected]