The Risks of Not Servicing Your Car

When it comes time for a service, you may not know what to budget for, and if your car’s running fine, then you may not feel like you need to bring your car in at all.

But do you know what you’re risking by holding out at service time?

If you’re not covered by any of the capped price servicing programs offered by manufacturers, then you may be wary of getting your car serviced, starting with the biggest question: how much is it going to cost?

But as cars get further away from new, parts and accessories start to wear out with use, servicing becomes more important to keep your car running smoothly. We took a look at some of the risks of not bringing your car in for regular servicing.

Increased Cost

If you think a scheduled service is expensive when it’s due, you have to put into perspective: how much more will it cost to get the car back on the road if it breaks down because a part has worn out or failed?

Service costs are designed to prevent a more expensive problem from occurring with your car.

For example, let’s say you need to get the fuel filter replaced and you’ve been quoted $300 for parts and labour. This is a fair amount of money to just come up with on the spot, especially if you haven’t budgeted for it. And it may not seem like a big deal right now – your car is travelling fine; you haven’t noticed any change in the way it drives.

But how much pressure are you putting on other parts in the car? You may notice that you’re using more fuel than usual, which will add to your weekly budget, and if you fill up with less than perfect fuel, which then travels to the engine without getting stopped by the filter – how much will that cost?

Getting scheduled servicing done may cost you a little bit at the time but compared to the costs of getting your car back on the road after a breakdown, it is worth the spend.

While this can’t guarantee that your car won’t have a breakdown ever, it will definitely stack the odds in your favour to have everything working at its best.

Safety on the Road

In addition to the cost of repairing or replacing worn out or damaged parts, you’ll also have to factor in the risks to you and your passengers if your car breaks down somewhere remote or in a dangerous situation.

By getting everything serviced as scheduled, you’ll avoid a costly breakdown that could put you or anyone in your car at risk on the road.

This is especially true for anything that will affect your drive on the road, such as your tyres or brakes, which must be replaced as they wear out; or they have the potential to create a major safety hazard for you, your passengers and any other road users who could be affected by you.

Reduced Resale Value

One thing that every guide to buying a used car will suggest is to check for a comprehensive service history, to make sure the previous owner hasn’t just driven all the moving parts in the car to death for the next owner to replace.

You are much more likely to command a higher price for your car at resale, whether as a trade-in to a dealership or selling it yourself, if you’ve got a logbook filled with service appointments. It will show any buyer that the car is less likely to go bang as soon as they hand over their money, and give you the peace of mind that you’re getting a reasonable price for a car that you’ve spent your money on over the years.

Risking Manufacturer Support

If you’re out of warranty, but need some repairs done that would normally be covered by the manufacturer, you may be able to get a repair done thanks to the goodwill of the factory.

Keeping to your scheduled service dates at factory-approved service centres will strengthen your case immensely with the manufacturer, who can recognise that you’ve done everything by the book in owning the car.

If you are due for a service, talk to one of Motorama’s service advisors who can book in an appointment that’s convenient for you, with the option to pick out a loan car so you can carry on with business as usual, and service specials to suit every budget.