Car servicing

p90fool

lustycourtier said:

I work in vehicle warranty and servicing. I thought like you until I did this job. Here do you dispose of the old oil and how do you transport it? How do you stamp your service history? 

Really? I think some people inhabit a different world to the one I'm in. 

RaymondLin

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

RaymondLin said:

 

Any service stamps will accompanied by a work sheet and break down so you know what has been charged for. 

FTFY

I watched the dash cam footage back  

Sporky

Foster said:

Sporky said:

Foster said:

Sporky said:

Surely it depends on how you value your own time?

You could say that about most things, I doubt many of us hire a company to run a bath for us

Erm, yes, exactly.

I do some stuff myself that most people here get someone in for. I get someone in for some things that a lot of people here would do themselves. It's a balance between cost, time, and inclination for each.

Fer example, I suspect you don't do your own MOT test...

No I don't do my own MOT test. I fail to see how that's comparable though. You can service your own vehicle on the driveway with a couple of tools, to perform an MOT you need to be registered garage with VOSA.

Again, yes, exactly. Setting up to do your own MOTs isn't financially viable.
  
For a lot of us, setting up to service our cars isn't worth it when you look at the cost and time involved, versus the cost of having someone else do it. It's just that the tipping point differs.

m_c

p90fool said:

lustycourtier said:

I work in vehicle warranty and servicing. I thought like you until I did this job. Here do you dispose of the old oil and how do you transport it? How do you stamp your service history? 

Really? I think some people inhabit a different world to the one I'm in. 

From a legal stand point, once you drain oil, it becomes hazardous waste, which then means you should have a waste transfer license to move it, and dispose of it in an approved way.
And then that rag you've now used to wipe your oily hands, is officially contaminated waste, along with old oil and fuel filters, and should not be disposed of in normal waste.

Then people wonder why garages have to charge as much to cover costs. Waste disposal is quite a significant cost, if you do it correctly.

VimFuego

back when I worked full time (and more than full time) I used to pop the car into the closest garage, they'd do the work when i was at work and I'd pick it up in the evening, that way I didn't waste any of my time off doing something I didn't really enjoy. Now I work part time, I prefer to do what I can myself. It's a time/money thing, always has been really, back in the day I had the money and not the time, now I have the time and not the money.

m_c

Oh, and I would never use EuroCrapParts for any of my own vehicles.
I used to think the stories you heard in the trade about counterfeit and poor quality parts were bullshit, but since our clueless management decided they'd be our first call supplier, there is truth to the stories.

I've seen Mann filters that at best were a grey import, as they were a white filter with a very blurry Mann logo and didn't have that great a fit (our previous supplier was a Mann distributor, and the same part number they supplied was painted differently and fitted far better). Talked to one guy who had a transit engine fail, and found various bits of oil filter in the sump/oil galleries.
Then there's their quality suspension parts, which has put us back on our annual part replacement cycle, which we thought we'd finally left behind after the shambles that was Unipart, and were back to using OE parts.
And don't dare mention timing chains. Record was 1700 miles from fitment, to the timing jumping because the chain had stretched that much. Initial excuse was we were using the wrong oil, but the original chain had lasted over 70'000 on the same oil and hardly stretched. The strange thing is, the company who's name is on the kits, whose kits we've used in the past without issue via another supplier, has never asked to investigate, yet ECP are paying for all remedial work without question...

Guitar_Slinger

+1 to the time versus money thing.

If you're lucky enough to have a job with a daily rate that would pay parts and labour for something (and have money left over), why do it yourself?

In the OP case, there's disposal of the oil too.

p90fool

m_c said:

p90fool said:

lustycourtier said:

I work in vehicle warranty and servicing. I thought like you until I did this job. Here do you dispose of the old oil and how do you transport it? How do you stamp your service history? 

Really? I think some people inhabit a different world to the one I'm in. 

From a legal stand point, once you drain oil, it becomes hazardous waste, which then means you should have a waste transfer license to move it, and dispose of it in an approved way.
And then that rag you've now used to wipe your oily hands, is officially contaminated waste, along with old oil and fuel filters, and should not be disposed of in normal waste.

Then people wonder why garages have to charge as much to cover costs. Waste disposal is quite a significant cost, if you do it correctly.

Or you could just put it in the oil container you just used, sling it in the boot and drop it off at the recycling centre next time you're passing.
Life really doesn't have to be too complicated.  

Danny1969

I certainly don't like lying under a van in winter although I have done it many a time. I've learnt over the years to  do the MOT's in summer ... if I buy a car or a van and the MOT runs out in January I will put it in around June even though might be six months early .. then working in the cold isn't a problem. It also means new paint over welding dries quicker too and everything is so much more nicer to do
I can understand people not wanting to get involved though plus to work on modern motors you need a lot of tools, the stuff I own has taken 30 years to collect and there's still the odd tool I have to buy here and there

Foster

Sporky said:

Foster said:

Sporky said:

Foster said:

Sporky said:

Surely it depends on how you value your own time?

You could say that about most things, I doubt many of us hire a company to run a bath for us

Erm, yes, exactly.

I do some stuff myself that most people here get someone in for. I get someone in for some things that a lot of people here would do themselves. It's a balance between cost, time, and inclination for each.

Fer example, I suspect you don't do your own MOT test...

No I don't do my own MOT test. I fail to see how that's comparable though. You can service your own vehicle on the driveway with a couple of tools, to perform an MOT you need to be registered garage with VOSA.

Again, yes, exactly. Setting up to do your own MOTs isn't financially viable.
  
For a lot of us, setting up to service our cars isn't worth it when you look at the cost and time involved, versus the cost of having someone else do it. It's just that the tipping point differs.

Right i'm getting lost here. Your point is that because I wouldn't buy a commercial garage and go through VOSA to do my own MOT tests that I should also pay someone to replace the air filter in my van?

Sassafras

I used to do all my own maintenance and servicing on my cars and motorbikes and it was relatively easy. Now when I pop the hood on a car I've got no idea what I'm looking at. They've become ridiculously complicated with their engine management systems and injectors and god knows what else. They're a nightmare.

VimFuego

Sassafras said:

I used to do all my own maintenance and servicing on my cars and motorbikes and it was relatively easy. Now when I pop the hood on a car I've got no idea what I'm looking at. They've become ridiculously complicated with their engine management systems and injectors and god knows what else. They're a nightmare.

it's not too bad, once you get past the flux capacitor and the quantum singularity then removing the positronic rods normally gets you some more space.

p90fool

Sassafras said:

I used to do all my own maintenance and servicing on my cars and motorbikes and it was relatively easy. Now when I pop the hood on a car I've got no idea what I'm looking at. They've become ridiculously complicated with their engine management systems and injectors and god knows what else. They're a nightmare.

Exactly, so top up the screenwash and slam the lid. 

Joking aside, there's really nothing else to do in there these days, just get on with your life. 

m_c

p90fool said:

m_c said:

p90fool said:

lustycourtier said:

I work in vehicle warranty and servicing. I thought like you until I did this job. Here do you dispose of the old oil and how do you transport it? How do you stamp your service history? 

Really? I think some people inhabit a different world to the one I'm in. 

From a legal stand point, once you drain oil, it becomes hazardous waste, which then means you should have a waste transfer license to move it, and dispose of it in an approved way.
And then that rag you've now used to wipe your oily hands, is officially contaminated waste, along with old oil and fuel filters, and should not be disposed of in normal waste.

Then people wonder why garages have to charge as much to cover costs. Waste disposal is quite a significant cost, if you do it correctly.

Or you could just put it in the oil container you just used, sling it in the boot and drop it off at the recycling centre next time you're passing.
Life really doesn't have to be too complicated.  

But then you're still technically breaking the law ;-)
However, it is one area where a bit common sense is applied, and that carrying it illegally to an approved disposal point in small quantities is a lesser evil than tipping it down the drain.
Plus you'd be lucky to ever see somebody capable of prosecuting you, as environmental enforcement is well down council priority lists, and to be seen prosecuting members of the public trying to do the right thing, really isn't going to go down well.

Even for businesses, enforcement is a last resort. Generally as long as you can demonstrate you're making a real effort to comply, and do things as recommended, you won't have any problems. It's when you blatantly flout the law, and/or manage to dump vast quantities into the drainage system, that you're going to get a very large bill.

celentium

Foster said:

celentium said:

Self servicing your own vehicle would put potential buyers like myself off.

Better to have a list of parts ordered and receipts than a stamp in a book in my experience. A dealer stamp is worthless really.

I was offered exactly that but it was a deal breaker and so they lost the sale. The car was only 4 years old though and only had one actual service apart from the DIY jobs.

lustycourtier

m_c said:

p90fool said:

m_c said:

p90fool said:

lustycourtier said:

I work in vehicle warranty and servicing. I thought like you until I did this job. Here do you dispose of the old oil and how do you transport it? How do you stamp your service history? 

Really? I think some people inhabit a different world to the one I'm in. 

From a legal stand point, once you drain oil, it becomes hazardous waste, which then means you should have a waste transfer license to move it, and dispose of it in an approved way.
And then that rag you've now used to wipe your oily hands, is officially contaminated waste, along with old oil and fuel filters, and should not be disposed of in normal waste.

Then people wonder why garages have to charge as much to cover costs. Waste disposal is quite a significant cost, if you do it correctly.

Or you could just put it in the oil container you just used, sling it in the boot and drop it off at the recycling centre next time you're passing.
Life really doesn't have to be too complicated.  

But then you're still technically breaking the law ;-)
However, it is one area where a bit common sense is applied, and that carrying it illegally to an approved disposal point in small quantities is a lesser evil than tipping it down the drain.
Plus you'd be lucky to ever see somebody capable of prosecuting you, as environmental enforcement is well down council priority lists, and to be seen prosecuting members of the public trying to do the right thing, really isn't going to go down well.

Even for businesses, enforcement is a last resort. Generally as long as you can demonstrate you're making a real effort to comply, and do things as recommended, you won't have any problems. It's when you blatantly flout the law, and/or manage to dump vast quantities into the drainage system, that you're going to get a very large bill.

We have very regular inspections and constant improvements demanded to our drainage etc. Still, give it 18mths when we can make our own rules we can chuck it all straight in the Mersey again like them good old days 

jellyroll

 I spend more on guitar strings than I do on car maintenance (we have one car - an old Honda that does 2000 miles a year). Rather than learn how to change an oil filter, I’d be better off learning how to extrude steel.

Rocker

Your car is a lethal weapon, you or someone else could die if something is worn or out of line.  How anyone can drive a car that is not checked out by a dealership garage is beyond me.  It costs a few quid but you know that the car has had a good once over by someone who knows the car from the inside out.

Sporky

Foster said:

Right i'm getting lost here. Your point is that because I wouldn't buy a commercial garage and go through VOSA to do my own MOT tests that I should also pay someone to replace the air filter in my van?

Nope; I don't think I ever said that or anything like it. In your opening post you asked:

Foster said:

Why would you pay someone 5 times as much as it would cost to do it yourself?

I was answering that question, and illustrating with examples.

From the sounds of it you have made a very sensible decision; you have a vehicle that you can confidently service at very low cost. This does not apply to everyone, so for some people paying more might be the more sensible option.

I didn't intend any criticism of you; I apologise if it came over that way but I don't think I was mean in any of my responses.

Foster

Rocker said:

Your car is a lethal weapon, you or someone else could die if something is worn or out of line.  How anyone can drive a car that is not checked out by a dealership garage is beyond me.  It costs a few quid but you know that the car has had a good once over by someone who knows the car from the inside out.

You actually believe that?

My mum's previous car - a Peugeot 307 had 1 reverse light. Mum thought it odd and to pop into the dealership on the way to town, they said it'd have to be put into the diagnostics at a cost of £80. It sounded a bit steep so she declined, did shopping and popped into the small garage she gets her car MOT'd at.

Bloke came out, had a very brief look and said "of course it's only got one reverse light, it was built that way, the other is a fog light". She left having payed no money.

I don't trust the main dealerships, I've had bad experiences with them (Bad experiences being VW, Peugeot & Citroen. Toyota seem good on the fleet vehicles even if they get confused). I've known people who work (or have worked) for them and there's certainly a lot of stories of bodgery, pretend to do the work, and nick the part from someone else's car as a quick fix.

You can check a hell of a lot of stuff yourself (bearings, bushes, belts, electrics, brakes, tyres, fluid levels, etc). In fact a lot of these checks should be done on a regular basis by yourself.