How often should I service my car?

You might not look forward to your scheduled servicing appointment at the mechanic, but your car sure does. Regular servicing is essential for keeping your car running safely and smoothly, and getting a clean bill of health from your mechanic is great peace of mind.

But how often should you service your car? Well that depends. How often you drive your car, how old it is, and the kind of powertrain running it will all factor into planning your servicing. Here’s what you need to know.

How to tell when to service your car

Your first port of call should be the manufacturer’s guidelines for your car. They’ll likely give you a distance interval such as every 10,000 kilometres, but this could change depending on the make and model of your vehicle. If you’ve bought your car from a dealer that offers genuine servicing, you can chat to them too.

For new cars, it’s very important to follow these guidelines, as knowing when to service your car and making that appointment on time will help keep the vehicle reliable and save you money over the long term (as well as keeping the warranty valid). Try and make your service appointments as close to the mileage mark as possible. If you’re a few kilometres over, don’t worry, but going hundreds over isn’t ideal for an engine running on old oil.

If your vehicle recommends servicing every 10,000km – the average female driver in NZ does around 8,000km a year, while the average male driver does 12,000km. That means servicing at least once a year may be a good idea if you drive the average amount.

Why you should service your car regularly

Cars are made up of thousands of parts, many of which are constantly moving when the car is in motion, or being worn down as you drive around. We recommend servicing your car regularly to:

• Replace old oil that gets less effective over time
• Ensure oil is at the specified level
• Measure the fluid level in the radiator and replace if needed
• Check wear items such as tyres are still at a safe level and don’t need replacing
• Have a mechanic note any issues that may soon need your attention

It’s important to note that having your car serviced is different to the Warrant of Fitness (WOF) process where specific parts of the car are inspected for safety once a year. However, as a WOF is required annually for cars built after the year 2000, it’s not a bad idea to line your servicing up at a similar time.

When do I service my hybrid or electric car?

We’ve covered a lot of the electric and hybrid cars available for sale in New Zealand recently, but haven’t talked about the difference in servicing and running them. Not only do you save up front with initiatives like the Clean Car Discount giving you a rebate on the purchase price, some will have fewer wear items to maintain which keeps more money in your pocket over the vehicle’s lifetime.

Hybrids still have a regular petrol combustion engine, so they’ll still need regular oil changes and similar maintenance to ensure they’re operating effectively. We’d encourage you to check with your dealer or the manufacturer.

Electric vehicles on the other hand have minimal moving parts. Even the brakes last significantly longer as these cars feature regenerative braking, where the car uses resistance in the electric motors to slow down, saving your brake pads and calipers. It’s still important to check your tyres however, as the increased weight of these vehicles and high torque output can increase wear.

To book servicing for your new or used car, or to see what great options we have in stock, swing by one of our dealers or get in touch.