Annual Servicing - to service or not?

[Rich850R]

Forgive me but doesn't the price of oil and filter cost less than a full tank of diesel?

Well it does done my way! I'd just get it done for what it costs to change it!

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Rich850R

Forgive me but doesn't the price of oil and filter cost less than a full tank of diesel?

Well it does done my way! I'd just get it done for what it costs to change it!

It costs around £160 at my local main dealer for an “essential service” (oil & oil filter change).

A tank of fuel is around £90.

Not much in the difference, but I understand the OP’s decision to delay the oil change until he does a few more miles. I’d do the same.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Rich850R

Forgive me but doesn't the price of oil and filter cost less than a full tank of diesel?

It might well do in some circles, but you still wouldn't do it if it was totally unnecessary and had no impact on future ownership/reliability of the car....

[Rich850R]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

It costs around £160 at my local main dealer for an “essential service” (oil & oil filter change).

A tank of fuel is around £90.

Not much in the difference, but I understand the OP’s decision to delay the oil change until he does a few more miles. I’d do the same.

My labour is free, grab a Haynes manual and do it yourself guys, oil and filter isn't hard

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Rich850R

My labour is free, grab a Haynes manual and do it yourself guys, oil and filter isn't hard

Its not hard at all, so much so that you don’t need a Haynes manual to do it either.

However, if a car has only done 3k motorway miles in a year, changing the oil is pointless in my opinion.

[ltec]

I change my oil every year regardless of miles as recommended for any car. For the cost of a filter and oil i don't see why you wouldn't.
The oil degrades as much in a car not doing many miles and not getting up to temperature etc.
The amount of people on here that wouldn't use anything only genuine but would recommend not changing your oil at least every year. I can't believe what I'm hearing.
Thats your very basics to a healthy engine.
The receipts will also help sell your car on showing you serviced it religiously.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by ltec

I change my oil every year regardless of miles as recommended for any car. For the cost of a filter and oil i don't see why you wouldn't.
The oil degrades as much in a car not doing many miles and not getting up to temperature etc.
The amount of people on here that wouldn't use anything only genuine but would recommend not changing your oil at least every year. I can't believe what I'm hearing.
Thats your very basics to a healthy engine.
The receipts will also help sell your car on showing you serviced it religiously.

The car has been serviced religiously up to now. With all the lockdowns, it didn’t do many miles (it did do motorway runs though). There’s plenty of car owners that will have skipped a service because of Covid. That doesn’t mean the car hasn’t been looked after because of a skipped oil change that will be done in a few months anyway (as confirmed by the original poster).

The car has main dealer history since new… it now has 160k on it. I’d say its a very healthy engine/car that the owner clearly hasn’t skimped on, especially considering its had a main dealer stamp every year.

Fully synthetic oil doesn’t turn to water in a year after 3,000 miles. That oil will be pretty much as good as new. Don’t start talking about lab analysis etc… Castrol oil is literally the best you can get. This is what the main dealer will have used, or at least I hope they did! The car didn’t just pop to the shops down the road… it was brought up to temperature when it was used on the motorway.

[ltec]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

The car has been serviced religiously up to now. With all the lockdowns, it didn’t do many miles (it did do motorway runs though). There’s plenty of car owners that will have skipped a service because of Covid. That doesn’t mean the car hasn’t been looked after because of a skipped oil change that will be done in a few months anyway (as confirmed by the original poster).

The car has main dealer history since new… it now has 160k on it. I’d say its a very healthy engine/car that the owner clearly hasn’t skimped on, especially considering its had a main dealer stamp every year.

Fully synthetic oil doesn’t turn to water in a year after 3,000 miles. That oil will be pretty much as good as new. Don’t start talking about lab analysis etc… Castrol oil is literally the best you can get. This is what the main dealer will have used, or at least I hope they did! The car didn’t just pop to the shops down the road… it was brought up to temperature when it was used on the motorway.

Whats the point having a good service history if its not continued.
I never said it turned to water.
Castrol recommend a year and volvo recommend a year regardless of mileage. Do they say their oil now lasts longer due to covid.
Are they both wrong and your right?

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by ltec

Whats the point having a good service history if its not continued.
I never said it turned to water.
Castrol recommend a year and volvo recommend a year regardless of mileage. Do they say their oil now lasts longer due to covid.
Are they both wrong and your right?

The service history is being continued. The OP is planning on servicing the car in January when he’s done a few more miles & its not too far away anyway. Its just simply a delayed service. He hasn’t said he’s not going to bother servicing the car.

Have you ever considered that not everyone is made of money & have used the money that they would have normally spent on servicing for other things? Not everyone has the facility to do a DIY service with the help of a Haynes manual… garages are their only option. Have you considered that?

I never said the oil lasts longer due to Covid. I said that oil that’s been in a car for 3k will be still good oil & it won’t be totally useless (i.e water or totally degraded). I simply said that the car has done motorway miles, not around town driving tootling to the shops. Therefore, when the car has been driven, its been at operating temperature.

I understand why the OP is leaving the service a tad longer. Its his car & his choice at the end of the day. There will be cars with a skipped service since Covid & you don’t need to be a scientist to work out why. It doesn’t mean the cars are junk & don’t have healthy engines… its just a sign of the times.

Delaying a service for a few months isn’t going to massively affect the cars value come sale time. If someone viewed my car & mentioned a delayed service, I’d tell them where to jog fairly quickly (yourself included). Being honest, the owner probably wouldn’t be planning on servicing the car if he was selling it anyway. Therefore, resale value probably doesn’t mean much… its a 12 year old Volvo with 160k, not a Rolls Royce.

[Tannaton]

Why would the oil in an unused engine deteriorate any quicker than in a bottle on the shelf?

On VW long life servicing the oil is changed every 18k (depending on driving condition) or 24 months - whichever comes sooner. A safety inspection is done every 12 months.

I would come back to - what are the consequences we should be mindful of? It's not going to shorten the life of the car.