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Just done service - my quick How-To

Very good guide. Though for it be a "full service" it needs the valve clearances checking/adjusting. ;)
 
I did my 72k service today - thanks to your guide, everything went smoothly.

Makes you wonder why people spend so much money at the dealer when you can do these jobs so easily at home.
 
There's also resale value if your car is out of warranty, if it were me i'd get mine done at a specialist but for now i'm happy with main dealer servicing, while not the cheapest I'm more than happy with my Honda dealer.

FSH FTW.
 
I suppose a possible argument there is that even if your car is worth £1000 more with the honda stamps, could you have saved £2000 over your ownership period through self service?

who knows?
 
I suppose a possible argument there is that even if your car is worth £1000 more with the honda stamps, could you have saved £2000 over your ownership period through self service?

who knows?

For me, I give my hard earned cash to Honda just for peace of mind.
My car goes into Honda 4 times a year.

Jan - Annual service (and MOT when its old enough - MOT's are only every 2 years in Germany).
Apr - Swap over of winter tyres to summer tyres, and the car is given a post winter health check and engine bay clean up and what not.
July - 6 Monthly oil change.
Oct - Swap over of summer tyres to winter tyres, and then the pre winter health check, scrub up of the brakes, lube up of bonnet and boot catches, door hinges, etc...

Every time I drive it off the forecourt it feels like a new car! I like to know the car is in solid condition...
Its in for a front end respray in Jan, I'm having the bloody stone chips sorted, and I want 20 coats of paint on the front of the shocker!
Honda pish thin paint FTL :evil:
 
I suppose a possible argument there is that even if your car is worth £1000 more with the honda stamps, could you have saved £2000 over your ownership period through self service?

who knows?

Personally I'd never buy a car without FSH, especially a performance car.
 
beard is correct in his theory that in most cases a well known respected indi for that car would have possibly and probably serviced it better than a main dealer. but when it comes to routine servicing its hard for a main dealer or indi to mess that up, they're just reading from a sheet of jobs. its where it went for problems that is important. if someone does a bodged power steering pump install, or new gearbox it could lead to problems down the line.

in real world a car with non dealer service history is worth fractionally less when it comes to resale. as long as it has been serviced. this is for private sale. total overall condition and the current owner is what people look at when buying cars.

if you had a 2 year beemer that you hadn't serviced at beemer you would be in trouble if you went to PX it back with them to go into their approved used car scheme but for private sale there is negligable difference.
 
To be honest with you Captain Redbeard, I would always use a main dealer. I know people have their own opinions about your stereotypical disinterested testicle juggler who work in these dealerships. But I have never been able to fault the help/service/advice I get from Honda. Maybe I'm being unfair to the specialists, such as the likes of a TDI for example, because I have never actually used one of these places.
But if I look at a service book and I see its full of "TDI" stamps, the first thing that jumps to mind is, how modded was this car before I bought it? What was fiddled with? If it was modded how thrashed is it?
If I open up the book and its full of Honda stamps, you'd never think to ask those sorts of questions.

Maybe my circumstances are causing bias towards my approach to looking after the car. Its still within warranty, so I need my Honda stamps. I'm an expat, and should I need to relocate elsewhere I will hand the car back to Honda. So I need an excellent maintenance record to ensure I get half decent money for it. And Germany doesnt have any independant specialist that I know of.
 
i think the facts are this:

by having franchised dealer history, whatever the quality of the servicing undertaken you will attain a higher resale value of your car.

specialist indi garages may well do a better job of servicing, but neglet small items like greasing door seals etc and just do the new parts, rather than follow the exacting service requirements.

if you are selling a "sporty" car like a civic type r or golf r32 then your target market is likely to be an enthusiast so having it serviced at indi or franchised garage makes no difference.

if you are the sort of person who part exchanges cars at garage having the franchised stamp will get you a better price than indi.
 
A good debate.

From personal experience I bought an Elise that had FLSH and had many problems when I had it, although no reflection on its service history.

I then bought a VX220 with mostly Horizon Motorsport stamps [where I serviced the Elise] and that is what sealed the deal with me due to their knowledge, motorsport background and sheer attention to detail.

I would also buy a car from someone who did their own servicing as long as there were documented listings of what was done that includes dated photos, receipts, and a spreadsheet. In my opinion that would give me more peace of mind that an Indy. Mainly because I then had proof what was done and when, because most numpties that I know take the car in for an oil service to get the stamp, everything else is either neglected or left out.
 
My Final thought on this debate of Dealer / Specialist / DIY relates to my own experiences.

For model specific work I take it to the dealer - they are very customer focused and the prices are okay (arnold clarke stockport)

For tuning it will go to a specialist

and for routine servicing, my driveway (I keep every recept for proof)
 
I know a few lads who work at dealerships (Ford, Jag and Audi) and tbh if I had any of them types of car I woud specify that they didn't take it on a road test after the service
 
Definitely thanks due for this one Chris, changed gearbox oil today with this how-to. Had a bit of a time trying to get the tubing for my funnel, five auto guys and one engineering crowd later I was sorted, plus a run to halfrauds for 1/2" to 3/8" adapter, my ratchet sh1t itself last week.
 
Would just like to big up this post, helped during my service today. Oil filter is a pain where it is. Ended up having to puncture it with a screwdriver to work it loose!
 
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