DIY Car Servicing – Don’t be a ‘Spanner’

You’re an accomplished all-rounder, aren’t you? An intellectual colossus, football wunderkind unfairly shunned by the talent scouts, a lover par excellence….and an expert DIY mechanic. That’s why you’ve taken to fixing your own car, even though you really haven’t the foggiest about what’s lurking under the bonnet. Don’t worry, mate, you’re hardly alone…According to statistics released by Kwik-Fit, our roads are full of cars that may have been shoddily serviced.

Research carried out for Kwik-Fit, using a study group of 2,000 UK adults, indicates that economic worries have led to an additional 1.6 million motorists servicing their own cars over the past year. Some 35 per cent of car owners now say they perform services themselves, but 69 per cent of this group confessed they don’t feel confident about servicing their own car – which means 1.25 million cars could, in Kwik Fit’s words, have suffered from a home bodge job. And these are just the motorists secure enough to admit they’re not masters of the home car repair game…

Kwik-Fit’s report also shows a rise in cars going completely unserviced, with 2.5 million fewer cars serviced at a garage in the past year. This is most the result, it adds, of motorists attempting to save money. The study shows that as cars have become increasingly sophisticated over the past ten years and more reliant on computerised engine management systems, the confidence of motorists to ‘self-service’ has fallen dramatically. For example, motorists driving cars that are over 11 years old are six times more likely to think they can perform a service compared to those with cars under two years old (37 per cent of drivers compared with six per cent).

“Modern cars are increasingly reliant on computer technology so there are fewer tasks under the bonnet suitable for an amateur enthusiast as they won’t have the necessary equipment,” said David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit. “Car owners shouldn’t rely on the MoT to pick up faults as this mainly focuses on safety factors. A proper service will highlight issues which could cause a future breakdown and also cover areas too complicated for most DIY mechanics, such as timing belt replacement.

“While the tough economic climate has led to motorists wanting to cut costs, skipping a service can lead to greater expense if things go wrong,” he continued. “A car’s performance can be compromised if it is left too long between services and there’s a financial benefit to regular servicing too; a documented service history can add to a car’s resale value.”