The advantages of taking your car for a regular service

By Stefan Weissenborn Oct 5, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Every car needs to be taken for a regular service to check the oil, brakes, timing belt and tyres, all of which could prevent expensive repairs later on. But the general service rules of the past no longer apply to today's cars.

The many modern safety and other assistance systems have made cars much more complex and extended the recommended service interval substantially. The general rule of changing the oil every 5,000 kilometres or taking the car for a service every 10,000 kilometres is no longer valid.

More than ever before the service interval is very much dependent on the type of car you drive, according to Germany's automobile association ADAC.

'For instance in the 1960s the grease points in the axles of a car had to be attended to every 1,000 kilometres,' says Arnulf Thiemel from the ADAC technical centre. Today some cars need a service only every 30,000 kilometres with the lifespan of spark plugs and brake fluid much longer than a few years ago. Installing a new timing belt can vary from car to car between 90,000 and 180,000 kilometres.

In most cases the carmakers differentiate between a small and a large service. The small service check mostly entails an oil change and a look at the brakes. In the major inspection, every safety relevant part is looked at.

'But there is no general rule as to what a small and a major inspection is,' says Ulrich Koester from the central German motoring association (ZDK).

Many carmakers recommend a service interval every two years or every 30,000 kilometres. Other cars need a service every 20,000 or 15,000 kilometres. In some cars the onboard electronics analyses the driving style and calculates automatically the next service, telling the driver on the dashboard display that a service is necessary.

Revving the engine during cold starts for instance or driving at high speeds might require an oil change much sooner than when driving normally.

Ignoring the service recommendation of the manufacturer could entail risking the guarantee but apart from a roadworthiness test, which varies from country to country, there is mostly no regulation on service intervals.

ZDK's Koester says the resale value of the car is much higher when regular service intervals are well documented.