Car servicing
A service is two jobs. The first is the consumables — oil, filters, fluids — and that part is predictable. The second is the inspection, and it is where a service earns more than the oil it puts in, because it is the only occasion anyone looks at your brakes, tyres and suspension before they become a bill. We tell you what we found, what it will cost and what can safely wait, including the parts we say are fine, and nothing beyond the service itself is touched until you say so.
Start here
- 1Describe what the car is doing, in your words
- 2We investigate it and send you the findings and the price
- 3You approve each line before anything is done
1
Sounds like your car?
Find the line closest to what your car is doing. You do not need the name of the job — the symptom is carried into the booking form with it, and every line below starts at the same place: what we check, and how the work is done.
- 1 The service light has come on
- 2 I do not know when it was last serviced
- 3 I just bought the car and want it checked over
- 4 I am driving to Oman and want it looked at first
- 5 There is a small oil patch where I park
- 6 The engine sounds louder than it used to
- 7 The air from the vents smells
- 8 I want the service recorded properly for when I sell it
2
What is included
- 2.1Engine oil and oil filter replaced with the grade your engine actually calls for, not the grade that happens to be open
- 2.2Air filter and cabin filter inspected, and replaced only if they need it
- 2.3Brakes checked with the car on the lift, and anything worn reported to you with a price rather than replaced on sight
- 2.4Tyres checked across the full width of the tread for uneven wear and damage, and pressures set to the door placard, not to a round number
- 2.5Coolant, brake fluid, power steering and washer fluid checked for level and condition
- 2.6Battery condition and the charging system checked with the engine running
- 2.7Car on a lift for an underbody and engine bay leak check, and anything wet traced to where it is coming from before it is quoted
- 2.8Belts, hoses, bushes, ball joints and steering joints checked by hand
- 2.9Service date and odometer recorded against your car so the next one is based on your car
This work is done in this workshop, and nothing on your car is touched until you know what we found and what it costs.
3
What happens
-
3.1
We record the car before we touch it
Odometer, fuel level and existing damage are written down at check-in and that record is yours. It settles any later question about what the car looked like when it arrived.
-
3.2
Consumables to the maker specification
Oil grade and filter part number come from the manufacturer schedule for your exact engine, and both appear on the invoice by name. If we fit a part that is not the original brand, the invoice says which brand it is.
-
3.3
The inspection, and what it is for
Brakes, tyres and suspension are gone over while the car is already on the lift, because that is the cheapest hour in which to find them. Each finding is marked needs doing now, watch it, or fine, and the meaning of each mark is printed next to it, so a service tells you what is coming instead of only what was changed today.
-
3.4
Extra work is yours to approve
If the inspection finds something, you get the finding, the reason we say it and the price, and you approve or decline that line on its own. A service that arrived for an oil change leaves as an oil change unless you said otherwise.
4
Common questions
How often should I service my car here?
The interval is set by your manufacturer, and it differs by engine and by oil type, so we read the schedule for your model rather than quoting a single figure at everybody. Tell us the model and year when you book. What we will say is that stop-start city driving in Gulf heat is harder on oil than the conditions most schedules assume, so the time limit matters as much as the distance one.
Can I bring my own oil and filter?
Tell us before you buy them. We will read the specification your engine needs and tell you honestly whether what you are holding meets it. We will also say plainly, before we start, what we can and cannot stand behind on a part we did not supply.
Will servicing outside the agency affect my manufacturer warranty?
Those terms belong to the manufacturer and the agency, not to us, and we will not tell you what your contract says. Read it, or ask the agency in writing. What we can do is keep a dated, itemised record of every part and fluid we fit, with the specification named, which is the evidence such terms normally ask for.
What happens if you find something expensive?
You get the finding, the reason behind it and a price, and you decide. We separate what is unsafe to drive on from what can wait, and we say which is which. You are also free to take the report to another workshop. We would rather you trusted the finding than felt cornered by it.
Related services
Work that is often quoted alongside this, each with its own page.
- Car diagnostics Scan, live data and testing until the fault is proved — not a code read off a screen.
- Brake repair Pads, discs, calipers and fluid — what is actually worn, priced before it is replaced.
- Car AC repair Leak testing, regas, compressor and evaporator work.
- Car battery Tested before it is replaced, and registered to the car when the car requires it.