The importance of servicing a car, cannot be stressed enough and since cars are all susceptible to breaking at some point or require to be maintained, it’s necessary to know where to do so, the price thereof and how regularly you need to schedule a maintenance check.

Since you drive your car daily, it should always be in the best shape, reliable and roadworthy to drive with ease. One of the biggest reasons why cars need to be serviced is because they are very expensive to purchase and unless you’re a millionaire, you’re not able to go around and buy a new one regularly.

Sending your car for maintenance, is thus crucial to maintaining and protecting the car’s value, along with its warranty, ensuring that should something go wrong with it, you’d be compensated for its repairs. By servicing a car according to the schedule provided by the car dealer, you are also maintaining the condition of both the interior and exterior thereof. You’ll also experience a far more efficient car, as it will drive like a dream after being serviced, keeping you safe and allowing you the peace of mind to not have to worry about about “problems such as car breakdown at crucial times, overheat resulting in damaged engine, tyre burst while on the road, poor brake resulting in car accident (link to accident), discomfort drive due to poor undercarriage conditions, or dip in performance & fuel efficiency due to poor maintenance. Taking everything into consideration, a car service will also save a lot of money, as you won’t have to resort to repairs or buying a new car for a long time.

How Often Should You Service Your Car?

It is straight forward that you should always service your car within 6 months or 10k mileage after your last car servicing, whichever comes first. Just like food, engine oil has effective date after open. Just like us, there’s a need for an annual checkup, onlythat car servicing should be done every 6 months and not annually.

Regular maintenance checks, or servicing, is the best possible way to make sure that the car is performing well and as it should to the best of its ability.

By not changing your car’s oil regularly, you will find that its performance is likely to deteriorate very fast, which is often noticeable when the car starts to make unusual noises or if you have problems with the general running of your car.

There are various types of car services to take note of:

Oil change

Visual inspection

Oil filter change

A check-up of primary fluids (Brake fluid, washer fluid, steering, and anti-freeze fluids).

Basic service (including checking the brakes)

Full service

With a full service, your entire car’s functionality and the system will be checked and maintained.

Remember this, every 10k mileage is a basic servicing and every 40k mileage is a major servicing. So make sure that your mechanic does a thorough check and replacement at the 40k mileage mark. But do expect slightly more car servicing maintenance cost.

Car Parts to be Serviced Based on Mileage or Annually:

Engine: Oil change, oil filter replacement, and fine-tuning – Every 10k

ATF (Gearbox Oil) – Every 60k

Lights, steering, and exhaust

Tyres – Every 30k

Brakes – Every 50k

Spark Plugs – Every 30-40k

Hydraulic fluid

Coolant levels

Radiator, hoses, and pumps (Cooling system)

Suspension

Steering alignment

Car battery

Car Servicing Costs in Singapore

With owning a car come several expenses and unfortunately, a good car service does not come cheap. When purchasing a car, one must ensure to have a good insurance premium, should an accident occur.

Budgeting for car servicing annually, the cost may vary depending on the current mileage of the car. The type of engine capacity, along with the year it was manufactured and brand, you’ll be able to estimate how much it will cost. To avoid paying too much for a car service or at an unreliable place, you should inquire where to service your car when purchasing it at a dealership. Often, with more recent models, car dealerships will advise you to have it serviced with them, to ensure the best quality service, along with a reliable one.

Should you skip your car service or along the way, notice that your car is giving problems, the costs thereof may increase, which is yet another reason why you should maintain regular servicing. Basic servicing starts from $118 here at Sin Heng Long Motor Work and we do use only reputable engine oils, including the super performance HKS super oil. So check with our service advisor on our engine oil package if you need.

How to Lower the Costs of Car Servicing

By comparing your workshop’s or dealerships car service to the car maker’s requirements, you could estimate whether you could get a better quote for your car service elsewhere.

Should You Service Your Car at a Car Workshop or Dealership?

Usually, it is best to service your car at the dealership you purchased it from. However, these days, a lot of people are opting to service their cars at an independent car workshop.

The reason is that many car dealers in Singapore have gone out of business due to their competition. On the other hand, car workshops have the upper hand as they are usually cheaper than dealers. Besides that, car workshops also don’t tie their buyers down to a single workshop, like some dealers do, which makes them a more convenient and inviting choice for residents in the country.

Car owners who have purchased their car at a dealership can now go to an independent workshop for servicing without having their warranty void in certain terms and condition, like genuine parts must be used etc.

If you feel as though your dealer is charging too much for a standard full car service, you should take your car to an independent dealer. Before doing so, however, ensure to check whether the car workshop/ independent dealer is registered.

What to Check After a Car Service?

Check the job sheet of your car’s service, to understand what the mechanic has checked or altered in your car.

Check the engine/ transmission oil, to ensure your engine is functioning properly and that it has received a proper oil and filter change.

Check the coolant/brake fluid and whether it needs to be replaced soon. The mechanic should make a note of it if he/she has replaced it.

Check the itemized bill to ensure the prices of items quoted to you is correct and whether you are being charged for service that has been performed and not anything additional.

Check the fuel level, to see that it hasn’t been misused.

Check the tire condition, to ensure that it has been checked/ replaced if required.

Check the odometer reading a few kilometers after the service, to ensure the car is driving optimally.

Check the air filter, which should be replaced after a few thousand kilometers.

Find out the full range of services we offer: http://sinhenglong.com/what-we-provide/, or get car spray paint services here.