What is a major car service?

What does the garage do and what does it cost?

Alongside oil and the oil filter, the garage may check brakes, tyres, lights and fluids. An air filter or spark plugs may be due under the schedule. The exact scope varies by car and garage.

Ask for a quote listing labour, parts and VAT. Ask for any extra work to be listed separately and agree that the garage will call before carrying it out. Compare quotes item by item.

Have your current mileage and last service invoice ready when booking. Mention any symptoms. A vibration or unusual noise may require separate diagnosis even when the car is already booked for servicing.

Ask which jobs are included by default and which come from your service schedule. A brake inspection and replacing brake parts are separate quote items. If work is recommended, ask what the garage found.

Even at low mileage, maintenance may be due. Oil or certain fluids can have time-based intervals. Ask the garage to check the schedule if you are unsure whether a major service is due this year.

You can book an APK inspection at the same visit, but it has its own purpose and price. Ask for separate invoice items so you can see what was inspected, serviced or deferred.

Minor or major service?

A minor service usually involves fewer checks. If engine oil and several filters are due together, a more extensive service may make sense. Use your car’s schedule to decide what it needs.

There is no fixed mileage for every major service. Check your service schedule.

Checking the quote against the service schedule

A major service bundles several tasks. Ask which manufacturer schedule the workshop uses and what is due at this age or mileage. A package name tells you little about replacement of spark plugs, filters or fluids. An itemised quote shows what is included.

Compare the previous invoice with the proposal. An air filter recently replaced may not be due again, while a task with a separate interval can fall outside the package.

If the quote lists only a package name, ask for the individual jobs. An oil filter on the parts list does not tell you whether the cabin filter will also be replaced. Ask the workshop to list planned replacements and inspections separately.

Separating servicing, repairs and inspection

The workshop suggests a major service based on the car’s age. A previous owner’s invoice shows that one of the proposed filters was recently changed. Discuss the date and ask which jobs are still due under the schedule.

Ask both workshops to quote for the same parts and checks, including tax, and explain how they handle additional work.

Ask how the workshop handles parts that are replaced only after inspection. The check may be included while parts and labour are billed separately. Agree how the extra work will be presented before it is carried out.

Separate scheduled servicing, repairs following an inspection and any roadworthiness test. For extra work, ask what the technician found and what postponement would mean.

Recording completed jobs individually

Keep the date, mileage and parts for each job. Note any advised work you have booked for later.

Keep a separate list of extra work discussed after the inspection. If a recommended part is replaced at a later visit, keep its appointment and invoice separately. This helps prevent the next workshop from assuming that it was already changed as part of the earlier service.