Missed service.

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 3 Jan 2019 16:22
Missed service. - barney100

SWMBO's V70 2008 had a service last January and I booked it in as you do. It had escaped my notice that it had done 17k in that time. Anyway it's had an oil and filter plus air and fuel ones too so it's a lesson to me to check interval and mileage.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 08:19
Missed service. - craig-pd130

I don't know the specific driving pattern you and your wife have, but 17K in a year implies the car does longer journeys rather than lots of stop/start, short-run city driving. Longer journeys are much easier on the engine and oil generally, so I very much doubt any harm has been done.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 08:39
Missed service. - NARU

One of my staff ran a company focus for 60,000 miles without a service. "he didn't realise that cars needed servicing"!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 10:34
Missed service. - Ian_SW

I thought Volvos had an 18k mile or 12 months (whichever is first) manufacturer specified interval anyway, so all you've done is drop back to a 'normal' regime, which is the best the vast majority of cars will get anyway.

It would make far more sense if cars had service intervals based on engine hours instead of miles, like tractors do. My wife's car gets almost exclusively used for 50 mile motorway commutes and has a long term average speed of 55mph on the trip computer. That equates to 181 engine hours to complete 10000 miles (in about 6 months). The oil still looks pretty much new on the dipstick when the car goes in for its 10k oil change!

A car that gets used mostly around town would average speeds of less than 20mph, so would have had the engine running for nearly three times that amount of time to clock up the same mileage.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 10:44
Missed service. - SLO76
Wouldn’t be concerned as long as it has fresh good quality oil every year. Doing higher mileages is actually less damaging to the oil as it reaches full operating temperature every journey and sitting at steady speed over distance is less wearing on both engine and gearbox than a lot of stop start use.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 11:07
Missed service. - catsdad
Our second car (1.2 Corsa 2010) has nearly 90k on the clock and has annual services until this year.

The service is now couple of months overdue but it now only does about 1500 miles a year of short journeys but the oil looks very clean. I am inclined to slip it to two years if we still have it by then. After all the VX interval is 20k or annual so I cant think that 3k and two years is much of a risk.



Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 11:18
Missed service. - RT
Our second car (1.2 Corsa 2010) has nearly 90k on the clock and has annual services until this year. The service is now couple of months overdue but it now only does about 1500 miles a year of short journeys but the oil looks very clean. I am inclined to slip it to two years if we still have it by then. After all the VX interval is 20k or annual so I cant think that 3k and two years is much of a risk.

Be wary if the mileage is all short runs - if the engine never warms up properly, the condensation and petrol in the oil never evaporates, so diluting the oil and increasing wear.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 12:03
Missed service. - SLO76
Our second car (1.2 Corsa 2010) has nearly 90k on the clock and has annual services until this year. The service is now couple of months overdue but it now only does about 1500 miles a year of short journeys but the oil looks very clean. I am inclined to slip it to two years if we still have it by then. After all the VX interval is 20k or annual so I cant think that 3k and two years is much of a risk.

You could ask your local independent garage to do a simple oil and filter change every year and a service every second. They should charge £40-£70 but for all that you’ll save I’d still recommend getting a service every year so that a mechanic casts an eye over the car unless you’ve a bit of mechanical understanding and feel confident enough to check it yourself regularly. As cars age they should be checked more often and not less.

Edited by SLO76 on 04/01/2019 at 12:03

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 12:23
Missed service. - catsdad
SLO I will get it serviced by our indie at two years.

I still doubt it needs oil done before then. Sure it would reduce wear a bit but a nine year old car has only maybe six years of useful life left. I doubt whether it has three or six changes in that time would make any difference. It will only have done another 10k miles after all.

I don't skimp on safety aspects. Its had front pads, rear shockers and a pair of new tyres in the last year.

Edited by catsdad on 04/01/2019 at 12:25

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 12:37
Missed service. - SLO76
As long as you spend a half hour maybe once a month having a good look round it for problems then I see no issue with that. I regularly spend time under the bonnet and the car looking for potential issues and checking lights and levels. All a basic service involves is an oil change and a good check anyway. But if you’re not mechanically minded it’s unwise to go two years between checks.

Many people start to cut maintenance as their car ages because they think of the cost v the value of the car which isn’t the right thinking in my opinion. An older car needs more regular inspection and the reduction in value doesn’t alter this. You’re saving money on the rediluced depreciation v a newer car, even more so as it enters its dotage.

Plus your 2010 Corsa has a chain driven engine with a history for premature chain failure so regular oil changes are vital. Neglect them to save £50 a year and you could see yourself with a ruined engine as many many others with this model have.

Edited by SLO76 on 04/01/2019 at 12:40

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Jan 2019 13:29
Missed service. - catsdad
Good points SLO. As it happens I asked my very good indie about the chain when he MoT'd it last month as it has the characteristic ticking. His view was that it was normal. I will ask him to listen again at the next MoT.

The car has been in the family for over 6 years, only in the last two years has the mileage dropped. It had 10k/annual services until fourteen months ago when I did shell out for a full service despite its only having done 1500 miles since the previous one. So the chain has been well lubricated up to now. In my view its either already worn or not and whether I stick to annual or two year oil changes is unlikely to make a difference over the few remaining miles its likely to cover before its scrapped.

But I will keep an eye on the oil and if it darkens or I get mayonnaise I will get it changed before the 2 year intent.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link