Maintaining a car

My first question is ~ where would I go to get the oil changed in my car?  I've not seen any "quik change" type places like in the US.

I did a search here but found only a couple of posts regarding oil changes, one of which said the typical 3000 mile oil change isn't necessary on UK cars.

So my other questions are~ how often do you change the oil on your car?  What else do you do to maintain it (esp. things that might be different than in the US)?  And what type of place do you go to for this work?

I know I should check the manual too, and I will.  Just curious what others did.    Thanks!

My first question is ~ where would I go to get the oil changed in my car?  I've not seen any "quik change" type places like in the US.

You go to the garage.  I have a really nice local garage with pleasant and knowledgeable mechanics, who so far (touch wood) have never tried to rip me off.

Yes, ask around your neighborhood or work for a recommendation. Also, because most cars have to have an MOT every year, a lot of that stuff is taken care of then (though I think you have to request some of it - ie. you don't need your oil changed to pass the MOT).

So my other questions are~ how often do you change the oil on your car?  What else do you do to maintain it (esp. things that might be different than in the US)?  And what type of place do you go to for this work?

i dont follow any type of a strict schedule for my 9-year old car.
I get the oil changed when i get my MOT done, and then i have it changed again usually in the summer, just before our summer holidays.  I have it done at the local garage.

You won't find the "Jiffy Lube" type places here, although some of the Wilco, ATS, Kwik-Fit type chains will also do some service work like this, but it varies, as does the service (some people swear by these chains, others swear at them).

Getting to know a good, local mechanic by recommendation is really the best way, unless you're confident enough to do some of these jobs yourself.    Many council dumps now have facilities for depositing old oil if you do a DIY change.

So my other questions are~ how often do you change the oil on your car?  What else do you do to maintain it (esp. things that might be different than in the US)?  And what type of place do you go to for this work?

The climate and operating conditions here have a lot to do with it, coupled with the increased use of synthetic oils.  The extreme difference between summer and winter in many parts of the U.S. takes a greater toll on the longevity of the oil than does the relatively mild U.K. climate (in fact some people use a thinner oil in winter than in summer).   Similarly, air filters are likely to need more frequent replacement if you live in a dry, dusty climate.

The service intervals specified on any vehicle are really only guides.  A lot of modern car manuals, for example, will suggest that you change the oil filter only at every other oil change, but I would always replace the filter at every change.   For the sake of an extra £5 or so and while I'm under there getting dirty anyway, it's well worth it.

Also, because most cars have to have an MOT every year, a lot of that stuff is taken care of then (though I think you have to request some of it - ie. you don't need your oil changed to pass the MOT).

The MoT inspection itself is just that -- An inspection.  You'll only get any work done if you ask for it (although you'll find the more sensible places will do little things which would otherwise result in fail -- replacing a blown tail light bulb, for example).

The MoT doesn't cover a lot of general servicing items.  You could have an engine which has been running on the same oil for 2 years and 30,000 miles, but so long as it runs and the emissions are under the limits, it will pass.   Ditto with many other things, e.g. you could pass the MoT so long as the brakes pass the appropriate roller test, but you might be down to the last 1/32-inch of lining which isn't going to last for very long.

Many standard cars call for a lubrication service (ie oil and filter change) every 10,000 miles.  Often, a full service will be done perhaps every other time, perhaps changing things like the brake fluid.
While Paul's points are completely valid about parts of the US, if you live in a fairly moderate place the 3,000 mile change seems like a bit of a rip-off perpetuated by the Jiffy Lubes of this world!

One thing I did wonder is whether the higher octane of petrol might allow the car to run longer without having to worry about engine wear?  With an average of 87 octane in the US and 95 in Britain does the potential for a decrease in knocking improve the longevity?

Hi matt,

Trouble is, many 'standard' cars are also higher performance variants, and can require much more frequent oil changes - like at every 3000miles! Even my uncle's old Nissan bluebird Turbo made in 86, required oil changes every 3000 miles or 3 months - although technology has moved on, turbochargers(ing) is still very popular nowadays and its imperitive the oil is clean and changed regularly. When you come to higher performance cars, servicing costs can add up quite abit! 'bread and butter' cars you can get away with less frequent servicing so long as you know how you drive/treat the car - many many short start/stop shopping trolley school runs and the car will need more frequent servicing - longer more sustained drives would require less (sort of!)

for the OP - places will do 'quick changes' - kwik fit and charlie browns autocentres do this kinda stuff, however, becuase of the different needs for different types and kinds of cars, I suggest you look at the car you have, look up on forums specifically for it or it's manufacturer and adjust your personal scenario from there. If you have a more 'bread and butter' type car, adjust your spending on servicing on it dependant on your driving style/amount. If it's a more specialised car, adjust accordingly again.

Beware of taking to the main dealer and saying service and fix everything - always get them to quote you before doing any remedial work! a mate of mine made the mistake of dropping his 911 to Porsche and saying fix all the faults on it - he knew his car was excellently maintained, but says he fell out of his chair and $hat himself at the same time when the £600 bill he was expecting turned out to be £4500! - they had fixed every single little issue, down to replacing slightly loose screws, and interior trim bits and even stone chips!

Lastly matt, the 87 octane of US fuel - the engines are 'matched' to it via the manufacturers. I doubt very much that increasing the octane also increases longetivity of the engine's life - although I'm not a petro chemical engineer, there may be technical reasons for differences. I have to look up what's on my F150 truck, but I do remember speaking to importers and people in the know, that I didn't have to worry about the 95 RON fuel I'd be frequently filling it up with here, I didnt have to do any adjustments, all taken care of by the Engine Management Control system.

Cheers! Dennis! West London & Slough UK!

Petro-chemical engineering is outside my field too, but as I understand it there is neither anything to be gained nor any problem with using a higher octane fuel than is specified for your vehicle.   So long as the octane rating is sufficient to prevent knocking (also called "pinking" in Britain) for the compression ratio of the engine, it should be fine. 

Remember too that the octane ratings in the U.K. are research method which yields a higher number than the more dynamic method of measurement used in the United States.   British 95 octane is equivalent to something like 90 or 91 octane American.

We had quite a discussion on this subject before (from reply #46 onward):

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=16732.0;all

I'd heard from a guy who imports cars from Japan that it is standard there to use 100 octane fuel.  I guess the engines are geared for that there?

I wouldn't have thought that most modern Japanese engines are especially high compression, not in run-of-the-mill vehicles anyway, but I'm not certain. 

Maybe they just decided to standardize on a higher octane fuel there for some reason?  I have no idea what grades of fuel they used to have, but it could have been several, like the old British 2, 3, 4, and at one time even 5-star petrol.