Minor service
A minor service is the one that comes round most often, and it is built around the engine oil. Oil does not simply run out — it wears out, breaking down with heat and filling with the soot and metal an engine makes, until it stops protecting the parts it is meant to protect. So the oil and its filter are replaced, every fluid in the car is checked and topped, and the car goes on the lift so somebody looks at the brakes, tyres, suspension and underside. Nothing is replaced beyond the oil and filter unless you say so. The difference between this and a major service is not the price: it is a specific list of additional items, and that list is set out on the major service page.
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 It is due for an oil change
- 3 I do not know when it was last serviced
- 4 I just want the normal service
- 5 I am going on a long drive next week
- 6 There is a small oil patch where I park
- 7 I want the service recorded properly for when I sell it
- 8 I do not know whether I need the minor or the major one
2
What is included
- 2.1Engine oil drained and replaced with the grade your engine calls for, named on the invoice
- 2.2Oil filter replaced, and the sump plug washer or seal renewed rather than reused
- 2.3Air filter and cabin filter inspected and reported, replaced only if they need it and only with your agreement
- 2.4Coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, washer fluid and, where the car has a dipstick for it, gearbox fluid checked for level and condition
- 2.5Tyres checked across the full width of the tread for uneven wear, damage and age, and pressures set to the door placard
- 2.6Brakes inspected on the lift — pad material, disc condition and any sign of a leak
- 2.7Battery condition and the charging system checked with the engine running
- 2.8Lights, indicators, brake lights, horn, wipers and washers checked working
- 2.9Belts and hoses inspected for cracking, and the engine bay and underside checked for leaks, with anything wet traced to its source before it is quoted
- 2.10Findings written down and marked needs doing now, watch it, or fine, with the meaning of each mark printed beside it
- 2.11Service date and odometer recorded against your car so the next interval 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 work out which service you are actually due
Tell us the model, the year and the odometer reading, and if you have it, the date of the last service. The minor and the major are set by your manufacturer’s schedule for your exact engine, not by a rule of thumb, so we read that schedule rather than quote one figure at everybody. If you are due a major and you booked a minor, we will tell you before we start — and equally, if you booked a major and your car does not need one yet, we will tell you that too.
-
3.2
The car is recorded 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.
-
3.3
Oil to specification, and the filter with it
Oil grade and filter part number come from the manufacturer schedule for your engine, and both appear on the invoice by name. The sump plug washer is renewed rather than reused, which is a small part and the commonest cause of a slow drip that appears a week after a service somewhere else. If we fit a part that is not the original brand, the invoice says which brand it is.
-
3.4
The inspection, and nothing extra without you
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 a problem. Anything we find comes back to you as a finding, a reason and a price, and you approve or decline each line on its own. A car that arrived for a minor service leaves as a minor service unless you said otherwise.
4
Common questions
What is the difference between a minor and a major service?
It is a list, not a price. A minor service is engine oil and oil filter, every fluid checked, the air and cabin filters inspected, and the car on the lift for brakes, tyres, suspension, lights and a leak check. A major service is all of that, and then the longer-interval items on top: air filter and cabin filter replaced as a matter of course rather than inspected, spark plugs on a petrol engine and the fuel filter where your maker lists it as serviceable, brake fluid and coolant tested and renewed where they are due, gearbox fluid where the schedule calls for it, and the wheels taken off for a proper brake inspection at all four corners rather than a look through the gap. The minor is the one you have most often; the major falls at longer intervals, and where exactly is set by your car’s own schedule.
How often do I need a minor service?
Your manufacturer sets the interval and it differs by engine and by oil type, so we read the schedule for your model rather than quoting one figure at everybody. Tell us the model and year when you book. What we will say plainly is that a schedule has two limits — a distance and a period of time — and whichever arrives first is the one that counts. Stop-start city driving in Gulf heat is harder on oil than the conditions most schedules assume, so for a car that does very few kilometres the time limit is usually the one that matters.
Is a minor service just an oil change?
No, and the difference is the part that is worth paying for. An oil change is a drain, a filter and a refill. A minor service includes that, and then puts the car on a lift so that somebody actually looks at the brakes, the tyres, the suspension joints and the underside — which for most cars is the only time in the year anyone does. That is where a worn pad, a tyre wearing on one edge or a leak that has just started gets found, while it is still small. The inspection is the reason a service is worth more than the oil it puts in.
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.
Related services
Work that is often quoted alongside this, each with its own page.
- Major service Everything in a minor service, plus the longer-interval items — as a list, not a price.
- Car servicing Oil, filters and fluids, plus an inspection that tells you what is coming.
- Brake repair Pads, discs, calipers and fluid — what is actually worn, priced before it is replaced.
- Car diagnostics Scan, live data and testing until the fault is proved — not a code read off a screen.