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Thread ID: 135184	2013-10-05 07:14:00	How much car servicing is really essential?	Nomad (952)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1355178	2013-10-07 04:47:00	FWIW we put in a new fuel filter for a 2004 VW that we have had for 4yrs ourselves . Like how they do online, they tip the filter and into a cup and get the dirty petrol out the side closer to the tank so before it passes the filter - really clean with a tan color, same transparency as reisling wine . I've read that more manufacturers now don't have the fuel filter as part of the list anyway, European cars have had it for sometime now and I read online from a Mitsy service guy who said they don't do it and it may be a waste of money, they will do upon request though . But than again the quality of petrol from most cities nowadays maybe a lot cleaner . . . . With that manufacturer list of things to do - if we omit the checks so just looking at things that should be replaced no matter what as advised by the manufacturer . They're just the filters, fluids and the belts . We will do the engine oil and filters every 6 months even thou one of the cars here only does 6,000Km PA, but the air filter can wait a bit longer, the fuel filter not sure if I would bother :confused: if it is slowing effects like slow highway overtaking maybe we might on our Camry but that might just be a Camry :lol: but for others without the effect not sure if I would bother . With the thing of older cars . Sure some cars may go for much longer like Pctek says, we get used cars but we use them for 10-15yrs ourselves until a significant routine maintenance is not just due but required on the spot . 18yrs old car, requires a timing belt and/or water pump or a new alternator . In the past, we just ditched it than spending money that was more than the car's worth .	Nomad (952)
1355179	2013-10-07 07:04:00	Commodore I just sent to the wreckers had done 380000, Engine still ran alright and the oil was clean. But 380000 km is still 380000 km, Wreckers is the best place for it. The falcon I have is also going to the wreckers, Too long without a service or mechanical check, Suspensions gone, brakes are gone, steering is gone, exhaust is gone, coolant system is gone, transmissions bleeding oil, The block is leaking oil, shes misfiring.Runs like a dog, drinks petrol like that's its sole mission in life.... Pity, Shes only done 220000k's and looks mint.	Metla (12)
1355180	2013-10-07 07:50:00	Commodore I just sent to the wreckers had done 380000, Engine still ran alright and the oil was clean. But 380000 km is still 380000 km, Wreckers is the best place for it. The falcon I have is also going to the wreckers, Too long without a service or mechanical check, Suspensions gone, brakes are gone, steering is gone, exhaust is gone, coolant system is gone, transmissions bleeding oil, The block is leaking oil, shes misfiring.Runs like a dog, drinks petrol like that's its sole mission in life.... Pity, Shes only done 220000k's and looks mint. The price you pay for buying ford.	Cicero (40)
1355181	2013-10-07 11:33:00	Granted my old Corolla was a reliable brand of car, but the topic is what servicing is actually need as opposed to recommended isn't it? Change the oil every 10,000 km (or 5-8k if you insist) on most modern cars and the engine will outlast the usefulness of the car. The corolla in question at 160,000 might seem like a baby sure, but it got less that $2k as a trade in, had A/C that no longer worked, had problems with the rear shocks (patched with a 2nd hand one for $50 bucks but quoted over $1k for new parts), needed the cooling system fixed up, and would have cost more to fix up properly than the car was worth. The engine and gearbox were showing no real signs of age though and are probably still going somewhere. In my younger days my first 3 cars all had over 200,000 miles (not km) on the clock when I bought them and all 3 gave me serious grief mechanically, cars have gotten much better since then and I buy much newer now so I find I can virtually ignore the need for maintenance and get away with it. I have seized 2 engines, thrown a piston out the side of one, stripped timing gears, etc, etc, etc until I bought a toyota with 30,000 km on the clock and forgot how to use my tools.	dugimodo (138)
1355182	2013-10-07 11:44:00	The corolla in question at 160,000 might seem like a baby sure, but it got less that $2k as a trade in, had A/C that no longer worked, had problems with the rear shocks (patched with a 2nd hand one for $50 bucks but quoted over $1k for new parts), needed the cooling system fixed up, and would have cost more to fix up properly than the car was worth . . Surprised you got more then scrap value for it, to get 2k as a trade it must have been halfway decent or they had a lot of jam in the car you were trading up to .	Metla (12)
1355183	2013-10-07 19:46:00	Surprised you got more then scrap value for it, to get 2k as a trade it must have been halfway decent or they had a lot of jam in the car you were trading up to. There is a few car dealers around Auckland that do 2K trade ins, pretty much no matter the condition the car. Others do "up to 2K" but this pretty much just means they throw down prices that are 2K over the value of the cars they're selling and you've got to match the 2K as a 'deposit' haha (eg, they give you 1K for your car, and ask for a 1K deposit).	lordnoddy (3645)
1355184	2013-10-08 04:35:00	but the topic is what servicing is actually need as opposed to recommended isn't it? ok back on topic. there are things that you can skip. thats because its far cheaper to replace the parts when they fail then it is to service them. however you will find most people don't service them anyway. how many check and regrease the wheel bearings? or grease the uni's or driveshafts? or drain and replace the brake fluid? or lube the lube points on the brakes? but most people don't keep a car long enough for the lack of servicing to be an issue. its the next guy who ends up replacing everything.	tweak'e (69)
1355185	2013-10-08 05:46:00	ok back on topic. there are things that you can skip. thats because its far cheaper to replace the parts when they fail then it is to service them. however you will find most people don't service them anyway. how many check and regrease the wheel bearings? or grease the uni's or driveshafts? or drain and replace the brake fluid? or lube the lube points on the brakes? but most people don't keep a car long enough for the lack of servicing to be an issue. its the next guy who ends up replacing everything. That's what I liked about my old Austin A40 Somerset.........grease nipples everywhere, just everywhere.....and ball joints that could be adjusted, they never wore out as long as the play was taken out and the grease gun applied frequently, it was 24 years old when I sold it to come here, and despite what R2 may say, I never had any Lucas parts fail, everything was original except for replacing trafficators with flashing indicators :)	Terry Porritt (14)
1355186	2013-10-08 07:29:00	I do my own filter & oil changes(Fram Filters & Castrol oil) on my Ipsum, both every six months. Changed all the fluids on purchase(160,000km)(local one man garage). Ive done little else to it , apart from change the radiator water and antifreeze. I'm looking at changing the transmission fluid sometime soon. Its just ticking over on 225,000Kms runs really well. Yeah I know Ipsum's use a lot of gas for a semi-gutless performance , I think I must be deluding myself I'm almost in a big rig!!	PPp (9511)
1355187	2013-10-08 08:55:00	That's what I liked about my old Austin A40 Somerset.........grease nipples everywhere, just everywhere.....and ball joints that could be adjusted, they never wore out as long as the play was taken out and the grease gun applied frequently, it was 24 years old when I sold it to come here, and despite what R2 may say, I never had any Lucas parts fail, everything was original except for replacing trafficators with flashing indicators :) If sir you are suggesting that English cars compare with Japanese cars, then you are deluded. As a lad I had one of these English cars, as a result my weekends were taken up with repairing said instrument of torture, so sir, think again before you speak such with deference of such an un- princely heap.	Cicero (40)
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