How do you KNOW your car has been serviced?

S

Staples

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I got my car serviced last April, faithfully responding to the "service required" prompt on the display panel. I didn't notice any particular improvement in the car's performance afterwards but as it haadn't given me any previous cause for concern, I thought nothing of it.

In the last few weeks, though, I've noticed a lack of "oomph" in the car's performance, particularly going up any sort an incline. It's a 1.8 turbo and has always been quite nippy in these conditions.

Now I'm starting to think that the oil and/or filter was replaced as it should have been at the time of the service.

Is there any way I can establish this or do I just have to accept that I may have been duped and start again?

TIA
 
Maybe you are due another service? I service my car twice a year, each 12000km.
 
I doubt it's a service thing.

I would guess MAF or maybe a turbo issue.
 
Clutch is another possibility, particularly with the mention of hills.
 
Getting very bored of this all pervading culture of mis-trust...

...but then I guess, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you...
 
Things go wrong with cars from time to time, and regular servicing does not ensure that nothing will ever malfunction.

I would be slow to conclude that a problem that manifests itself in October is linked with a service carried out in April.
 
As others have said, I think you're jumping the gun here suggesting that the problem appearing now is because of a service (or lack of service) carried out in April. Have you any reason to mistrust your mechanic? Seems a bit of a jump to me. I'm no mechanic but I would imagine problems like this can happen at any time.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I've no historical reason to mistrust the garage that did the service. It's just that the car is a bit sluggish, displaying symptoms that I'd normally regard as being a need for a service. The "sluggishness" has occurred gradually, not suddenly, so it's not case of a new symptom that occurred six months later.

Coupled also with the lack of any noticeable improvement in perormance immediately after the service, this prompted me consider the possibility of that the car hadn't been serviced properly.

However, I accept that the two may not necessarily be linked.
 
I dont think your so paranoid. I know of one very large Dublin dealership that, on days when they were extremely busy, gave cars a quick valet and sent them back out as serviced. That came from a senior mechanic in the place whom I knew.
The mechanic who does my car says he always tells people, if they are not sure, to put a spot of tippex on the filter and the manifold to see if its still there in line after.
Down the years I have paid for new air filters and doing a quick check after found they just cleaned off the old one.
The poster has a genuine concern of something that happens alot. Ridiculing him/her is not giving them an answer to their concern.
 
You could use the dip stick to take a look at the oil to see if it looks old or new, although at this stage, it probably is pretty black already. Having said that, if the oil had not been changed, I don't think that would result in poor performance on hills.

I agree with Troy McClure, put a drop of Tipp Ex on the oil filter and any other parts that you request to be changed, such as spark plugs or wipers.
 
I don't think anybody has used ridicule in response to OP.

But recent posts stimulate my sense of ridicule: I see a future in the motor business for technicians skilled in spotting and removing Tippex.
 
I think the OP points have merit.

I have got the impression of dodgy dealings in the past.

The garage should have the old parts available for inspection after the service. I see nothing wrong with the tippex idea, or signing the various parts that should be replaced.


An equivelent thing would be appliance repair.. for example, if someone repairs your fridge, and says that he had to replace a motor say.. he should leave the old motor in the house... if he doesn't then how can anyone be sure it was replaced, and not simply repaired?
 
Padraigb said:
But recent posts stimulate my sense of ridicule: I see a future in the motor business for technicians skilled in spotting and removing Tippex.
Click to expand...

At least there was an attempt to asnwer my original question of how one might KNOW a car has been serviced. The status of your sense of ridicule is irrlevant.
 
Don't allow yourself to be bothered by my odd sense of humour. But I was touching on a serious point: if marking things with Tippex becomes a fairly common practice, then those garages that cut corners on servicing will find a way around it.
 
It's easy to scratch a mark onto the items.. these scratches can't be easily removed.


Things like air and pollen filters are brown and dirty when used, and perfectly clean and spotless when new. If a garage was asked to remove the filter for checking, after a service, and the filter was dirty, then that would be very very serious for the garage. The filters are designed to simply slide or clip into place, so removing them for checking takes moments.. if you know where they are.


I wouldn't be surprised if it happens, but I think it might be quite rare. Oil changes etc are harder to check. Tyre pressures could be checked.
 
Apologies for useless reply to the thread but you shouldn't be bringing your car to the garage you don't trust. If it is a reputable garage, their good name and reputation is worth a lot more than a cost of a filter and a can of oil.
 
They could have used higher viscosity oil.
That will impact performance.
 
you mention 1.8 and turbo, could it be an audi? they do use a lot of oil between services, also on the point of looking at oil after a service, i imagine it can look dirty pretty soon after a drive again, well in diesels anyhow
 

Perhaps do a car maintenance course? Then you'd know what to look for.

A decline in performance may be unrelated to the service.

I wouldn't expect an improvement in car performance after a regular service, unless the car needed tuning or similar. Which normally wouldn't be needed. IMO.
 
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