Servicing wisdom

[Dan R]

What is the accepted wisdom/practice for annual servicing on cars that have only covered a few hundred miles in the year, and the use of a dealer to maintain a 'Service record' in the service book? 

Does anyone defer their servicing due to low use, or have a way of maintaining provenance when carrying out servicing themselves? 

Im mindful of residual values when/if i come to sell mine as it seems to have been very low use since new, and has not been religiously serviced annually (According to the book), presumably for that reason. 

[Jonathan Kay]

There are a few schedules in the Guides.

...

Sevens are different. If I were buying secondhand I'd like to see a record of what's been done when. But that wouldn't have to look like a stamped Handbook.

Jonathan

[7_Malc]

Hi Dan,

Personally I would have the car 'serviced' annually, even if that meant 

a) doing it myself (unlikely as I don't have the skills or the patience)

b) having a local specialist change the oil, plugs and giving the car a good look over

Most specialists are happy to talk about what's best for you and your car – and I like the reassurance from the "spanner check" that mine gets at the same time, as well as the review of possible perished / worn parts (belts etc.) that I would otherwise miss. Yes you can do all of this yourself, if you have the time and can source the knowledge, but for me a second pair of eyes is a valuable part of the service.  

Even after a winter lay-up or extended period of inactivity, its a good idea to have a re-commissioning session, and I like to tie this in with my MOT and annual service - which ever level the car requires at the time. 

malc

[GulfSeven]

Mine will be getting its end of warranty service with Williams (who supplied the car) this month. Its only covered 2,300 miles in 2 years but it needs a new windscreen under warranty at the same time.

Personally I like to keep the service history. I'm lucky that Williams have been good, but there's also Millwood only 10 minutes further away if I do want to try anywhere else. Both seem to charge the same for servicing.

From next year mine will need it's first MOT at the same time too, and it's so much more convenient dropping it off and picking it up later with it all serviced and passed. If I was doing it myself I'd need to be going backwards and forwards for MOT and fixing any issues myself in between (ordering tools and parts etc.) which I just don't have the time for. For example, last service Williams found that one of the indicators wasn't working and traced and fixed the problem (without charging extra) while I waited.

[ScottR400D]

It all depends on your background and capability. 

I have a fair bit of experience gained over many years, have run and maintained a variety of cars and built the 7 myself. 

I do all maintenance myself which includes regular full spanner checks, annual engine oil changes, box and diff every 2 years and all other things, belt and plugs, wheel bearings etc according to CC's schedule if not sooner. 
I have a spreadsheet on which I record everything I do. 

I've never worried about an MOT failure because I check just about everything myself before I take it. 


 

 

[BenF]

I agree with Jonathan.  Certainly if you are selling within the club and people know you're a serious enthusiast and you have a record of maintenance you've done yourself, should not be a problem.

I guess selling on Pistonheads or to a dealer could be different, they might look at the lack of an official service history as a negative, but 7s tend to sell on condition more than anything else.  It's pretty clear when a 7 has been looked after - whether high or low mileage.

[David aka Blue7]

I had an interesting conversation with an Aston Martin authorised service agent last year when he mentioned the fact that many owners weren't using their cars due to covid restrictions on travel and in his opinion a gap in the service schedule would not affect residual value because it would be acknowledged that cars could not be used or serviced in that particular year.

[ScottR400D]

Interesting. Not what our Jaguar main dealer said. They said service intervals needed maintaining as it wasn't just about mileage. My XF is on a service schedule and they've called it in every year. 

My neighbour has an issue with them right now. Car was new late 19, only done 2500 miles. He didn't take it in at 1 year as he should have done, also missed 2nd service date by a week or two. Dealer has warned it may well affect warranty and won't 'stamp up' his first service so that'll stay 'missing'. 
 

[David aka Blue7]

The Aston Dealer has contacted us re servicing but they just want the cash to change pollen filters and turn off the annoying "service due" warning in the display ... thank the Lord that it can't talk and nag you like those BL Maestro's could 

It is probably a different matter if the car is under warranty but the  dealer is being a tad awkward especially for 2019-20 when Garages were closed and cars were not allowed to be driven except in very exceptional circumstances.  Sounds like he isn't concerned about losing a future customer or maybe he will use it as a bargaining chip to drive down the value when it comes to any future part exchange.  A lot of dealers don't even bother re-selling traded in cars and just put them straight to auction.

I thought that dealer servicing stamps were now a thing of the past and all servicing data was stored in the on-board computer?

[ScottR400D]

Yes, the service record is on computer that's why I put the inverted commas in. 
Jaguar dealers don't have the best of reputations to be fair. Mine is awful in lots of ways and I probably won't have another because of them. A pity because it's been and is a great car. 
The trade ins I've made over recent years, dealers have just taken the WBAC value, not even looked at the car in one case. 

[StevehS3]

I am going back a few years but when I traded in my 3 year old Porsche they simply asked for photos by email and any damage - then gave a price. I expect they looked up the exact details of the car and service history. They never even checked it was in the car park when I handed the keys over. 
With regard to the 7, many owners enjoy servicing and repairing as part of the 'hobby' and I personally don't think it affects the resale value once it is a few years old. 'Upgrades' make a bigger difference IMO. 

[Piers300]

I bought my second 7 in June 2010 and as I had nothing better to do this afternoon, I added up all the servicing and ancillary items expenditure from 2010 to 2021. 

It came to £9795 and this excludes insurance and road tax. Initially, I thought that's a lot, then realised it worked out at £ 890 per year, which was not too bad at all. In comparison to Porsche or other expensive cars, it's peanuts.

 

Piers