question regarding DIY servicing

[karatemaserati]

im slightly mechanicaly minded and im going to attempt to do some of the smaller stuff eg brakes and oil myself, the question is what do i do to prove that iv done this? if i go to get my service done and tell the garrage iv already done stuff they arnt going to just take my word for it and stamp it off as being done are they? then when i go to sell the car the prospective buyer is going to have nothing but my word that iv looked after it.

 

[tonym3]

I am in the same position at the moment, I think the big question is how much will it devalue the car? If its more than the cost saving then you have to weigh up if it's worth doing.

Personally I really enjoy working on my cars I know what I can do and I know my limits, however the bit that adds value ie.. A stamp is for the simplest task, an oil change!!!!
This really frustrates me I have purchased cars in the past with a FSH all that had been done was it had been taken to a dealer had an oil change and stamped, loads of advisories but no further receipts.
The other question is how long you plan to keep it, if it's short term then you need to preserve as much value as possible so a service and a stamp is probably worth doing.
If you are going to keep it for a long time I can't see how it will make a huge difference, keep all the bills and receipts and when you carry out a service or any other repair, type it all out and print off a "invoice" to yourself to keep a record of whats been done.
I bought a Ferrari 308 off a guy who had done exactly this for the last service and cambelt after speaking t him and seeing the history including his own work. Was happy that it had been maintained well.

 

[philw696]

It's a good debate and for me as a qualified motor engineer I look after my 4200 as it was not a expensive car against what some others on here have paid. I don't want to sell but I keep all my invoices for what I spend in the history file. When I had the 456 I had a major dilema wasn't a hard car to maintain but the dealer who bought it off me said I would not sell easily if I serviced myself. He definitely would not have bought my car so make of it what you will.

 

[mjheathcote]

Sometimes it can get silly.
A friend bought a Porsche Boxster.
As it was out of warranty he had it serviced by a Porsche indie. Only a few weeks later he was trading it in against a 997 at a Porsche main dealer. The dealer offered £1k less because it did not have full 'Porsche' service history. He therefore had it serviced again at said Porsche main dealer before PX.
I told him he was mad, I would have told the dealer to swivel and go elsewhere!

 

[Klive]

I used to do my Saab myself and the dealer would stamp the book for me. I doubt you'll convince a Maserati dealer to do this.

 

[conaero]

I do the servicing on my Alfa and I writ in the book that it has been done.

 

[Grinzzz]

Brakes and stuff you're ok to do yourself, they're replaced on condition not scheduled service so they make no difference to the service history. Not done it with the maser but with other cars and indies I've found you can generally tell them things like you've done oil, plugs etc. Mine used to take a look, if the plug looked new and the oil on the dipstick was clean they'd stamp the book (so long as I left something for them to do!)

I guess you'd have to be very friendly with a main dealer to get the same from them!

 

[CatmanV2]

Thinking about it Tony, pretty sure Feli would put *a* stamp int the book for you, if you used him for some of the more complex stuff.
Clearly it's not a Maserati stamp, but he is respected.

C

 

[saintetienne]

One rule I have always kept is to make sure you keep every bill and receipt (more important if you do your own maintenance), you can never have enough paperwork with a secondhand car and it shows you cared .

 

[CatmanV2]

A fine rule indeed. It explains why my car files are stuffed to bursting!

C

 

[Geofflyn]

Brakes and stuff you're ok to do yourself, they're replaced on condition not scheduled service so they make no difference to the service history. Not done it with the maser but with other cars and indies I've found you can generally tell them things like you've done oil, plugs etc. Mine used to take a look, if the plug looked new and the oil on the dipstick was clean they'd stamp the book (so long as I left something for them to do!)

I guess you'd have to be very friendly with a main dealer to get the same from them!

I kind of disagree. I think changing the oil etc is fine but would I buy an expensive and complicated car where someone told me they changed the brakes. Not me....I want that sort of thing done by people who are supposed to know what they are doing and if there is a problem you have some recourse. I think you need to look at each job through the eyes of a buyer.

 

[Grinzzz]

I'm sure the independent inspection would comment on any issues in that area to give buyer necessary confidence. Besides I've seen some really woeful work done by main dealers!

 

[Parisien]

Yup....if you've got a mechanics qualification on the garage wall and can get a friendly indie to give you SD 2 print outs to show all parameters are fine at given intervals plus reciepts then why not


P

 

[NickP]

I'm sure the independent inspection would comment on any issues in that area to give buyer necessary confidence. Besides I've seen some really woeful work done by main dealers!

Exactly! I've had work done at main dealers that was shoddy at best but cost £150 ph plus VAT..... Never again. If you are keeping the car then in some respects its best to do the work yourself, at least you will know its been done well. I get mine serviced at an indie now but if time allows I might do the disks myself, I might even attempt the clutch, its only metal, its not like taking a heart or brain to bits.... Besides while I've got it in bits I might tidy up the areas I'm looking at, an indie or main dealer won't do anything other than the task at hand. I'm really not concerned about resale value, my car owes me nothing and is worth less than my Audi, its a fun weekend car, always has been.

 

[2b1ask1]

I do most of my own servicing on any motor/motorcycle, I always have. On new vehicles I usually slip in an oil change half way to the first full service as I feel it is this oil that is going to show you any issues and fresh will inevitably improve the life of the engine. On several bikes (from different MD's) and two fiats back in the days of a 'free 500 mile service' I experienced that 'CRACK' you only ever get the first time a bolt is removed from a dry thread from the sump nuts..... On none of these engines had they actually had their free oil change! Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence does it! If I'm forced by warranty or lease to use MD's I also tend to mark parts that are supposed to be changed like air filters and plugs so I know when they are skipping over the detail and it's no surprise when it happens.

Weekend before last I changed the clutch on out Aygo and I also bought new disks and pads because nearly 30,000 miles ago the MD said to Jeanette both needed replacing at that 20 k service... Well the parts are still in the garage and I probably won't need to change them for another 20k and even then the disks will only be because I've already got them....

Regarding resale... Doesn't bother me as what they offer on a trade in is cr@p anyway and the Maser I intend to have well past it's sell by date!

 

[Grinzzz]

They could have used threadlock on the bolts as they're supposed to, hence still getting the crack? I always do.

Your marking parts reminded me of one of the most blatant dealer tricks I've had. Tried to charge me for replacing the air filter. Took them out to the car and asked them to point out the air filter. After much poking around he stood up slightly red faced as I'd had them replace the standard air box with a cone filter that was cleanable and definitely hadnt been replaced or cleaned. They also once managed to fit directional tyres the wrong way round. Whenever the car came out of service I'd spend a good couple of hours going over it to make sure they'd not broken anything