Enough of the annual service bullsh*t.

[anonymous-user]

I, and I suspect many other owners, do less than 5000 miles a year in my ‘supercar’ and yet there is the constant requirement to service every year. Oil doesn’t expire in a year, and nor do any of the other fluids, filters or components. I hereby state that I will no longer pay for stuff I don’t need and I encourage others to follow suit. If super car manufacturers can’t make stuff to last longer than a year then shame on them. No other industry gets away with it, let’s stop being taken for mugs.

[numtumfutunch]

Would you be so kind as to have a word with Volvo

My V90 must be very highly strung...............

Cheers

[ThelastNA]

thecook101 said:

I, and I suspect many other owners, do less than 5000 miles a year in my ‘supercar’ and yet there is the constant requirement to service every year. Oil doesn’t expire in a year, and nor do any of the other fluids, filters or components. I hereby state that I will no longer pay for stuff I don’t need and I encourage others to follow suit. If super car manufacturers can’t make stuff to last longer than a year then shame on them. No other industry gets away with it, let’s stop being taken for mugs.

Funny you post this. I had my vanquish ultimate serviced at just 250 miles from new recently. I genuinely did most of the mileage driving to the workshop than I have done in a single trip all year and paid silly money for it to top it off. But I think it would devalue the car if I skipped the service

[Roof down]

Porsche are quite good with this aspect, major every four on the Boxster minor every two.
Over on the V8 page I am asking whether to sell or keep my 360 , this is one of the reasons for that, agree totally with you it’s ludicrous, Mike

[romeodelta]

In Oz, most recommended service schedules are 6 months - I assume due to temps and environmental factors.

I had to stick to it for the first 3 years, as to not cause issues with warranty, but agreed - madness.

[Larry5.2]

When the price of the cars was rising, I would have them serviced at the dealerships. Now that the prices are dropping, I go to Indys and stretch the service 2 years on the less valuable.

[davek_964]

Roof down said:

Porsche are quite good with this aspect, major every four on the Boxster minor every two.
Over on the V8 page I am asking whether to sell or keep my 360 , this is one of the reasons for that, agree totally with you it’s ludicrous, Mike

My (old) Cayenne is even better. Hasn't had a dealer service for over 4 years.



(Although it does make a bonging noise every time I start it and says the service is due............)

[hunter 66]

Yes benefit of Pork , 1 st service at 2 years , but hen would have done 12 k ,miles and about 20 track days .......... asked them should I bring it in earlier due to usage and they emphatically said no ...

[Drl22]

You only need to read other threads where people say something along the lines of “and whilst researching the history it had a missed service so I won’t touch it with a barge pole.....”
To realise how deeply ingrained this service culture is. If you intend to keep the cars for yourself for a long time I’d say go for it but it you intend to sell (more easily) at some point I’d keep it serviced.

[isaldiri]

I'm going to go against the majority of replies here and say I'm generally happy to over service my cars so at minimum doing an oil change every year is the minimum done and I've changed brake/clutch/gearbox fluid way before the supposed schedule. That said I tend to do at least a couple of trackdays each year as well and if the car was just sitting around mostly unused I suppose I'd be a bit less ocd about maintenance.

[Gregor-lun1d]

I have to say that I'm happy with annual servicing too. I don't do many miles in the Ferrari but the miles I do in it are 'spirited'. If I'm going to expect the car to react properly when being given the message, I take on board that I need to make sure everything is in fine fettle.

Each to their own though

[mwstewart]

The oil change aspect is completely over the top, but an inspection by someone who actually cares what they are doing is not. If you can do the latter yourself then I agree.

[anonymous-user]

Interesting mix of responses. Thanks. Late night post with probably too many beers to be completely sensible. Thing is, I tour/track my 430 regularly and it goes straight on the ramp for a full check after every trip. Fluids are changed regularly and joints are cleaned and greased. It is undoubtedly better cared for than most. Yet I’m meant to take it to a dealer/Indy to pay a grand for a service every year just in case I one day decide to sell it and potential buyers may haggle on price if they don’t see an annual service stamp.

My 612 does at most 2000 miles a year and the same applies. The reality is that servicing every two years will be more than enough but here in the UK we are conditioned to look for an annual stamp. It’s doesn’t appear to be the same in Europe where cars are generally serviced by miles alone.

My 997 is meant to be serviced every 20,000 miles, it uses the same synthetic oil as my Ferraris but magically that doesn’t break down after 12 months as the Ferrari dealerships will have you believe. Personally I think 20,000 miles is too long by the way and I won’t do more than 10,000 before an oil change.

Rant over, although I believe my point to be valid. We have been scared into paying for annual services unnecessarily. The truth is oils don’t break down that quickly and so long as you give the engine time to warm up properly before exercising it, and give it a regular Italian tune up to burn off any condensation or acidity, every two years is more than enough. As said above though, each to their own, but if/when I sell mine I’ll be looking for someone who values condition over compliance.

[lowndes]

Porsche currently wave you away from the showroom in a brand-new GT car and say don’t come back until the “Service intervals” display lights up. There is no prescribed service interval or mileage in the Guarantee and Maintenance booklet for the Service Record. There is however a Record of condition report for the long-life guarantee which requires the vehicle to be checked 2 years after delivery and then every 2 years after that with no additional charge for the customer.

Obviously, this begs the question of how the service intervals display is programmed, but if one makes a reasonable assumption that it is a combination of time and distance, it seems a sensible approach and one other manufacturers could do well to consider.

One the narrow point of oil change, I paid for an extra oil change at 1000miles. Money down the drain but made me feel better. Where I think resources are wasted is in using a hygroscopic fluid for brake systems. Is there no suitable fluid that is not hygroscopic? If there isn’t then why not put a piece of silica gel in the filler cap to catch any mischievous water molecules?

Does tyre gel really go off if left unopened in the can? Not that it is much use anyway and the only tyre repair kit I carry (and have used successfully) is the Silverline repair kit.

[Candellara]

lowndes said:

Where I think resources are wasted is in using a hygroscopic fluid for brake systems. Is there no suitable fluid that is not hygroscopic? If there isn’t then why not put a piece of silica gel in the filler cap to catch any mischievous water molecules?

Brake fluid changes every year must be one of the very best dealer add-ons. Pretty much 100% labour (apart from a couple of pound for the fluid).

Just recently I purchased a brake fluid tester off of Ebay in order to check the condition of the brake fluid on all the cars prior to servicing by the dealers. 4 out of our 5 cars were 100% ok and didn't require a fluid change. The only one that did was my Daughters Corsa that she's had for 7 years and the fluid hasn't been changed for 7 years!! as the car has largely been sat on the drive whilst she was either at Uni or travelling

[Krikkit]

Candellara said:

lowndes said:

Where I think resources are wasted is in using a hygroscopic fluid for brake systems. Is there no suitable fluid that is not hygroscopic? If there isn’t then why not put a piece of silica gel in the filler cap to catch any mischievous water molecules?

Brake fluid changes every year must be one of the very best dealer add-ons. Pretty much 100% labour (apart from a couple of pound for the fluid).

Just recently I purchased a brake fluid tester off of Ebay in order to check the condition of the brake fluid on all the cars prior to servicing by the dealers. 4 out of our 5 cars were 100% ok and didn't require a fluid change. The only one that did was my Daughters Corsa that she's had for 7 years and the fluid hasn't been changed for 7 years!! as the car has largely been sat on the drive whilst she was either at Uni or travelling

Brake fluid is deliberately hygroscopic to help limit internal corrosion in the brake components - letting the lines rot from the inside out from water which had come through a joint or hose would be a serious failure, hence let it be absorbed into the fluid and tied up in another reaction.

You'd also get localised boiling at 100° within the system, e.g. where the rubber hose meets the caliper union, again undesirable.

[cayman-black]

OP i fully agree with you. I have done less than 400 miles this year in my AMV12V so what i do is buy my oil and filter and take it to my locals who just change oil and filter (car is in Italy) just so it had something done but it has no main dealer stamp! Also as you say i,m just throwing away good oil i presume, still for the small cost parts and labour its about £200 something.
The car is perfect, kept on trickle has no leaks or any faults. so much for those that say a car has to be used and will run better bullst.