During lockdown many people have neglected to keep up with their usual maintenance on their vehicles. As lots of us have done less miles over the last 12 months, the need to get your car serviced may have been forgotten about or pushed back due to financial issues. If the car is still under warranty, then you may need to keep up on the services so that you do not invalidate the warranty cover.
A service is essential to a vehicle as it keeps the engine running as it should. Oil is a major component needed in the engine of a car. As times goes on the oil deteriorates and starts to not be as effective. Each car will have its own guidelines as to when a service needs to be done. Some are every year or some are every three years. It is important to try and keep up to date with your services as not only will it help to prolong the life of the engine it will also help retain some of the value of the vehicle when you come to sell it.
You may decide to take your car to a main dealer to get it serviced. This is likely to cost you more but at least you know that they have experience on working on your type of vehicle. They will know what oils etc to use and will fit genuine parts. Often people use a garage at a main dealership rather than a local garage when the vehicle is still relatively new.
If you have missed out on having your vehicle serviced, don’t panic, just book it in as soon as possible. Many garages are still playing catch up at the moment and may have staff off so be prepared to wait a week or two to get it in.
If you are struggling for money, it is still worth paying for a mini service even if you cannot have a major service done. A mini service will usually change oil and oil filters and possibly the other filters if needs be. They should also give the car a quick check over and tell you if they notice anything wrong that needs to be fixed. Just having your oil and filter changed can make a big difference to how your vehicle runs and even make it more fuel efficient.