Hi, I hope somebody here can advise me. I used to get lots of help from family on car maintenance so I've led a bit of a sheltered life when it comes to dealing with garages & things that come up as a result of servicing/MOTs! Hardly anything ever did when I had help!
My car is a Fiat Panda Easy 1.4, registered Sept 2012 and only 44,000 miles on the clock. The garage that have just done an interim service and MOT have advised. I need the following, which they said is based on no history/evidence of being done. It all adds up to a lot and money isn't in abundance! I'm sure I don't really need a pollen filter but not sure about the other stuff, especially given the low mileage and lack of any found or suspected problems.
Can anyone advise on what's essential at this point and whether the pricing is competitive?
From what I can see in the servicing/maintenance section of the handbook - it reads to me that these things aren't necessarily due for another 10-15,000miles unless there's a problem. Obviously I also don't want to wait until there is a problem!
Advisory Notes
additional service items
. brake fluid change £45
. pollen filter £65
. spark plugs £134
. timing belt water pump and v belt £499
Panda Easy 2012, probably not a 1.4, much more likely a 1.2? However, no matter because the tasks you've mentioned are easily considered.
Brake fluid change? recommended every 2 years by the vast majority of the people who actually make the fluid. The problem is that it absorbs water vapour from the atmosphere which can cause all sorts of problems like making internal bits of the braking system corrode and there are safety considerations too which in the most extreme circumstances might lead to brake failure. Having said all that though I know of cars which never get their fluid changed and are used daily. If you know where the fluid reservoir is - under the bonnet, made of white/semi transparent plastic and often with a yellow cap, but other things might have a yellow cap too - then take the cap off and look at the fluid. Is it clean looking and pretty transparent/light amber in colour? If so probably pretty much Ok. If dark brownish then almost certainly needs changed. If you hold a bright light on one side of the reservoir you can usually see it shining through the fluid so you needn't necessarily take the cap off. Most garages have a fluid tester which can be dunked into the fluid to measure water content, takes all of a minute or so to do. So, if you're really strapped for cash you can probably leave this for another day unless it looks really dark and dirty or fails the test. but don't leave it indefinitely.
Pollen filter? very often neglected because it's up under the dashboard and a bit of a struggle to get to. Good idea to change if it's really never been done for a few years but I've changed some that have obviously never been touched since the car was new! Eventually, when it really blocks up, you'll notice reduced output from the heater and a really blocked one might cause other electrical problems (I'm thinking the heater resister pack here) However, again, if money is short you can probably put this off for a while. I don't think all models of panda has one? so could be worth checking if you know someone who is good at crawling around with their head in the footwell.
Now the more serious things. The spark plugs are a regular service item so if it's been regularly serviced then they should have been done. There are, broadly speaking, two types of plug. The "standard" plug is usually renewed every 2 years (depending on mileage covered, might have been left for longer if only very low mileage) and the "long life" type which typically is changed every 6/7 years or 60,000 miles - whichever comes up first. If you've no service record, don't know what type is fitted and don't know when they were last done probably getting them checked out would be a good idea. If you're having to pay someone to do this then because they will have to remove the old ones to check it would only be sensible to just fit new one's while you're about it. However let's think about what might happen if the plugs are really old and you don't do anything about them. As they wear out the most likely thing you'll first notice is missfiring under load, so when you accelerate, or try climbing a steep hill, any situation where the engine is having to work hard, the engine may jerk and the power output will be less. In the early stages it'll probably run quite well when just cruising along. Starting may become more difficult too. In the extreme the worn plugs will put increased demands on the system which makes the sparks (H T Coils) which may fail after a while of being abused like this. So, again if you can't aford it and the car's running well, you might put this off for a while, maybe 'till next year's service even - depending on your annual mileage. If you think the engine's getting jerky and power is down you can get plugs changed very quickly almost anywhere, for a skilled mechanic it's not a difficult job.
The timing belt is a little more scary because it does hold the possibility of doing very serious damage to the engine if it fails. Fiat's recommended change interval on the 1.2 and most of the F.I.R.E. based engines is around 5 years or 75,000 miles - whichever comes first, it's as time dependent as mileage dependent, so don't think that just because you've got less than 75,000 miles on the clock it's going to be Ok on an older vehicle. I would agree the water pump should also be done because it's all part of the system the belt runs on so if it fails you've got the same problems. and the "V" belt - more likely a "micro V" these days, well that's what used to be called the fan belt. It has to be removed to get at the timing belt and only costs a few quid so it's daft to refit the old one when everything goes back together.
So, although you shouldn't ignore any of this, it's the timing belt that's the "biggie" Is there any way you might find out whether a belt has been done in the past? nothing in the glovebox or boot Which might substantiate it (service book or receipts? Some garages put a sticker under the bonnet when they do a timing belt which is usually dated, have a look for it.
As to prices quoted? I always find this so difficult because you'll pay more in a big city and/or big garage/main dealer. In the grand scheme of things this is not a belt that's very difficult to do so it should be something most vehicle workshops could do. However it's sometimes necessary to do a computer reset (Phonic wheel relearn it's called) after which will need specialist electronic equipment which probably a small "we take any make" type of workshop won't have. So I'd recommend a small independent Fiat/Alfa Romeo/ Italian car specialist if there's one in your area. The prices don't look outrageous, by the way, kind of "middle of the road" I'd say but you could do better maybe.
Hope that helps. Don't think this advice gives you free reign to ignore any of this stuff. Old/contaminated brake fluid could have very serious consequences and a major failure of the timing belt could actually ruin the engine completely.
My typing is so slow the rest of "the gang" have all beaten me to the punch! However we all seem to be recommending the same thing. Last thought - how long have you owned the car. If it's been your's for a long time can you remember any garage which has looked at it in the past? Most now keep a computerized record of what they did. We've got two secondhand cars recently joined our family fleet, an Audi and a Mazda. No service history with either but I've traced quite a bit of info on their service records by ringing the Audi amd Mazda main dealers both of which happily read out what was on their national computer service records. I was especially worried about the Audi's timing belt and they were able to tell me one had been fitted last year by a branch of Arnold Clarke - who I then rang up just to make sure!
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