I would be interested know if anyone like me services their own cars, following the debates about the cost and satisfaction of dealer servicing.

I decided when I bought my 500C to take the risk of doing all maintenance on the car myself, the risk being that I threw away my entitlement to a warantee if something went bang. The last time my Fiat saw a dealer was when it left showroom nearly 2 years ago.

It is early days yet but being a competant home mechanic with the service CD-ROM everything seems straightforward. I have tackled the easy stuff like oil and oil filter change, air filter, spark plugs and changed brake and clutch fluid. Frankly it is all really simple, you know the job has been done well with top class products, it is comparatively very cheap and it gets serviced more frequently. Even the more complicated jobs like brake pads, valve clearances and timing belt change don't look too challenging having done these jobs many times on other cars.

Watch this space though, if something big does go bang then I will have to eat my words and fix at my own expense I guess.

Tbh I think it's stupid to buy a new car and then service itself and lose the warranty.

Just my opinion though. For the sake of a few hundred pounds I think it's worth getting it serviced at a Fiat dealer or elsewhere (with genuine parts) for the first 3 years.

I have to say I'm with Maxi on this one. Perhaps the best argument for paying the premium of a new car is the 3 year warranty (or more of course with some cars these days), so to give it up to save a couple of hundred pounds seems like a bad gamble.

Mine's a mix. I've had dealer service for the initial service. Then independents here and in Germany service her subsequently.

I do my own oil changes every 4000 miles. And my own spark plugs every 10k miles.

I do my own brakes (pads and discs) frequently. I've been through about 9 sets of front pads and half as many discs and it's honestly just easier to do them myself than it is to find the time to drop it off at a dealer, wait or walk home, come back later etc etc. And cheaper.

Major stuff I'll chuck at a mechanic if I don't have time or isn't something that I fancy doing or learning. I had someone put the quaife diff in and I had the mechanic swap it in with a new clutch because I don't have a hoist and it was a pain in the arse to do without one.

I think it's good to get dirty with your car. You learn a lot and save a lot of money. And having watched various dealers 'service' cars I put zero faith in dealer stamps in the book. I'd be more inclined to trust a specialist. But I'd be even more inclined to trust my own eyes, ears and driving experience when buying used over a handful of stamps. Anyone can make up a stamp.

jnoiles said:

Mine's a mix. I've had dealer service for the initial service. Then independents here and in Germany service her subsequently.

I do my own oil changes every 4000 miles. And my own spark plugs every 10k miles.

I do my own brakes (pads and discs) frequently. I've been through about 9 sets of front pads and half as many discs and it's honestly just easier to do them myself than it is to find the time to drop it off at a dealer, wait or walk home, come back later etc etc. And cheaper.

Major stuff I'll chuck at a mechanic if I don't have time or isn't something that I fancy doing or learning. I had someone put the quaife diff in and I had the mechanic swap it in with a new clutch because I don't have a hoist and it was a pain in the arse to do without one.

I think it's good to get dirty with your car. You learn a lot and save a lot of money. And having watched various dealers 'service' cars I put zero faith in dealer stamps in the book. I'd be more inclined to trust a specialist. But I'd be more inclined to trust my own eyes, ears and driving experience when buying used over a handful of stamps. Anyone can make up a stamp.

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I think it's fine to have indi's service the car as it keeps the warranty intact. To me the whole point of buying a new car was the warranty. Our 500 is going in on thursday afternoon for some warranty work which although not hugely costly, would vastly outweigh any savings done by self servicing.

Tbh once I'm out of warranty I'm going to start doing oil changes at middle points between services because it'll keep the car running better for longer

I can see the arguement for doing brakes etc, during a service they are only 'checked' rather than repaired.

The actual service is very basic and very cheap and in my case I had the software updates done which would have required a seperate visit otherwise, therefore I was happy to spend the money with the dealer for the first two services.

Cheers

D

Redrum500 said:

I would be interested know if anyone like me services their own cars, following the debates about the cost and satisfaction of dealer servicing.

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I can see both sides of this argument but my sympathies are most definitely with the OP. If anything major is going to go wrong, it will very likely do it in the first weeks of ownership, and if all is well at the end of year one, it will likely stay that way for the service life of the component concerned. After that, your problems will hopefully be confined to the likes of a failed breather pipe or broken washer jet, and the technically competent may find it's less hassle to just buy the necessary part & fit it than go to all the bother of booking the car in & waiting for it to be done or arranging a courtesy car or whatever.

It's not just about the cost of main dealer servicing. If you are planning on keeping the car long term then the benefits of servicing it properly (and that will likely mean doing more than is specified in FIAT's service schedule) will pay dividends in the second half of its useful life and I'd agree with the OP that these benefits probably outweigh any warranty hassles you may have if the worst did happen in years 2 & 3.

However, if you plan on selling the car in the first five years, or if you are unfortunate enough to have the car written off in that period, the lack of an independently documented service history will likely reduce its trade in value.

And finally a word of reassurance to the OP. I have done exactly the same thing with my last 3 long term vehicles, and all covered more than 100000 miles on disposal (one more than 200000 miles). I never had any powertrain issues with any of them, and all were still running perfectly when I let them go.

I had an injector fail during the third year on my MTD, in the end they needed to put 4 in and do other work, total bill circa £1500.

My service history, two services @ total £260, meant it was all covered, including a loan car.

I regard servicing as another insurance premium. You hope you don't have an accident, but you have insurance. I hope it doesn't break down, but I have insurance.

Cheers

D

Like rallycinq says it is like insurance and it doesn't cost much

i had the first service done a Fiat and second year service inspection done at Fiat in Germany but did the oil plugs and filters myself with genuine bits

didn't need to get any warranty work done other than a flaking hubcap and some software updates which were free recalls

depends on your attitude to risk and how unlucky you are

my Bravo has just turned 3 and I haven't bothered extending the warranty, if it needs work i will fix it myself rather than pay £300 a year in warranty

Lack of service history come trade in is enough to put me off alone. The dirty bit - oil & filter change - is v.cheap anyway, even if you want to do the rest in your own time.

To add more to why I service my cars myself...it is not necessarily to save money although that helps. Frankly I don't trust many garages and in particular main dealers (sorry), so if I want my little FIAT to live a long time I DIY. I think main dealers technicians and service schedules rely on the bear minimum to keep your new car running long enough to survive the warrantee. If it goes wrong after that then the liklihood is they will get some more money from you to fix it.

I have to admit I don't have practical experience of FIAT dealer servicing so I may be doing them a big injustice. By example, my other car is a Toyota Prius which I bought new in 2005 and have had it serviced by Toyota. Although they are polite and helpful I have normally found the service a painful process: -

• Booking in and collection etc, etc takes more time than DIY
• The oil level is always way over the top mark on the dip stick
• Something generally doesn't work as well when they finished e.g radio
• Scratches on the paintwork
• I believe the oil filter has never been replaced. I changed it myself last week and it looked old and rusty and covered in Japanese writing, the two replacements I bought from Toyota had English writing!
• Something generally hasn't been tightened up properly

I believe doing it myself with FIAT parts is better for long term ownership than main dealer servicing.

Redrum500 said:

To add more to why I service my cars myself...it is not necessarily to save money although that helps. Frankly I don't trust many garages and in particular main dealers (sorry), so if I want my little FIAT to live a long time I DIY. I think main dealers technicians and service schedules rely on the bear minimum to keep your new car running long enough to survive the warrantee. If it goes wrong after that then the liklihood is they will get some more money from you to fix it.

I have to admit I don't have practical experience of FIAT dealer servicing so I may be doing them a big injustice. By example, my other car is a Toyota Prius which I bought new in 2005 and have had it serviced by Toyota. Although they are polite and helpful I have normally found the service a painful process: -

• Booking in and collection etc, etc takes more time than DIY
• The oil level is always way over the top mark on the dip stick
• Something generally doesn't work as well when they finished e.g radio
• Scratches on the paintwork
• I believe the oil filter has never been replaced. I changed it myself last week and it looked old and rusty and covered in Japanese writing, the two replacements I bought from Toyota had English writing!
• Something generally hasn't been tightened up properly

I believe doing it myself with FIAT parts is better for long term ownership than main dealer servicing.

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Very well put. Agree with everything you have said

pearce_jj said:

Lack of service history come trade in is enough to put me off alone. The dirty bit - oil & filter change - is v.cheap anyway, even if you want to do the rest in your own time.

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Agreed. After my 406 which had apparently been serviced religiously by the previous owners father I'll skip on cars without properly documented service history. At least it wasn't a shame to scrappage it!

your sort of dammed if you do and don't, generally i'll use the dealer for servicing and warranty work but look to find decent independants for all other stuff, my issue with dealers now is they don't use good old fashioned mechanics, if computer says its fine its fine

I am sure our Panda hadnt had the oil changed at the dealer service (on mileage and time) done 500miles before we picked it up. they also hadnt stamped the book but had charged the friend of the family we bought it off full price. And also recommended brake pads that went on to do another 20k, this was after 17k total.

I have never used a dealer until this week (ecu replacement on my 525d and the correct mileage has to be programmed in) but then again I have never bought a new car. I reckon I would atleast get the first 2 services done at the dealer if i did but would be going over it with a fine toothcomb to make sure the job was done atleast as well as i would have done it.

A handful of receipts and talking to the owner that has done the servicing (they would know all sorts of things about the car) would be enough for me when buying and I can trust my ability to assess the condition and the way it drives.
On the other hand my missus would do the opposite if i wasnt around because she doesnt want the risk. Having said that the time the Panda went in for some warranty work was enough to put her off using dealers for ever. (and made me more appreciated!)

ivantate said:

I am sure our Panda hadnt had the oil changed at the dealer service (on mileage and time) done 500miles before we picked it up. they also hadnt stamped the book but had charged the friend of the family we bought it off full price. And also recommended brake pads that went on to do another 20k, this was after 17k total.

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Well I gave the dealer oil to put in and when I got the car back the oil was a nice light colour so they either put the oil in or they put honey or something in

slightly off topic but why do so many people distrust dealers especially over a £150-200 service yet does anyone check the roof after spending £5000 getting the roof re-tiled or check the house electrics after a re-wire or plumbing etc?

OK it's not quite the same but the princable is, we seem so obsessed by the motor trade yet no one complains (and takes action) over fuel at £6 litre, high gas/electric bills, £140 month council tax etc

T14086 said:

slightly off topic but why do so many people distrust dealers especially over a £150-200 service yet does anyone check the roof after spending £5000 getting the roof re-tiled or check the house electrics after a re-wire or plumbing etc?

OK it's not quite the same but the princable is, we seem so obsessed by the motor trade yet no one complains (and takes action) over fuel at £6 litre, high gas/electric bills, £140 month council tax etc

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Tbh I check all work done where possible. If you serviced my 500 I'm sure that the work would be done to a high standard but I would still check because nobody's perfect and I'm sure you'd be pissed off if you forgot to put oil in my engine and I drove off like a tool without checking the oil level and lunched the engine and cost your dealership money replacing it. It's common sense to check things but not to the point of being crazily checking like an obsessed thing!!!!!

T14086 said:

slightly off topic but why do so many people distrust dealers especially over a £150-200 service yet does anyone check the roof after spending £5000 getting the roof re-tiled or check the house electrics after a re-wire or plumbing etc?

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becase they usually make a meal of it

T14086 said:

OK it's not quite the same but the princable is, we seem so obsessed by the motor trade yet no one complains (and takes action) over fuel at £6 litre, high gas/electric bills, £140 month council tax etc

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some of us do, and we use trusted reliable tradespersons
the point is that the 'official dealers' are perceived to have a monopoly on servicing if you want to keep the warranty

in answer to your points

fuel £6 a litre = drive less
high energy bills = change supplier and fit energy saving controls to your boiler
council tax = just a cost of having a home, do you want to live in a shared flat or a caravan?