next service.

teednab-el

My car is due a service fairly soon at 79k. It is a 00 VW Passat 1.9tdi (UK import) and has approx. 78.5k on it now at present. We normally take cars to a local mechanic who is excellent, cheap and has been servicing my father's car for years.

Seeming this is my first car, besides the basic oil and filter change, what else should I get the mechanic to check? Im interested in looking after this car.

I do 320+ miles a week and I drive on a road where the surface is mainly good but also bad in places.

cheers.

beachlife

teednab-el wrote: »

My car is due a service fairly soon at 79k. It is a 00 VW Passat 1.9tdi (UK import) and has approx. 78.5k on it now at present. We normally take cars to a local mechanic who is excellent, cheap and has been servicing my father's car for years.

Seeming this is my first car, besides the basic oil and filter change, what else should I get the mechanic to check? Im interested in looking after this car.

I do 320+ miles a week and I drive on a road where the surface is mainly good but also bad in places.

cheers.

At that mileage you need to check whether the timing belt was done,even if it was it needs to be replaced every 5years regardless of mileage.But normally at 70,000 miles. It can cost 400 euro for a replacment and thats including a new water pump and belt,and tensioner,idler,etc...

teednab-el

beachlife wrote: »

At that mileage you need to check whether the timing belt was done,even if it was it needs to be replaced every 5years regardless of mileage.But normally at 70,000 miles. It can cost 400 euro for a replacment and thats including a new water pump and belt,and tensioner,idler,etc...

Timing belt was done at 52,000 miles, so is there need to check it now? I thought it should be ok until 95,000 miles but maybe im wrong.

beachlife

teednab-el wrote: »

Timing belt was done at 52,000 miles, so is there need to check it now? I thought it should be ok until 95,000 miles but maybe im wrong.

Did you get the belt done? At 52,000miles what year was that? Is it five years ago?
the best advice I can say to you is when you buy a car start from scatch.
Do the belt /brakes /service.
Then from thereyou know where you stand. Your car has low milage for the year,but is it correct?
This week so far i have had two cars in with broken belts,one a hyundai diesel
and a hdi Citroen.Ithe Citroen was bought from his brother and he tought it was serviced up to date, but the belt was not done,it broke at 83,000 miles on the m50 at 100kmph!!! I have to get a engine for that one! the trajet is scrap now engine gone and to many miles on it to be worth fixing.

teednab-el

beachlife wrote: »

Did you get the belt done? At 52,000miles what year was that? Is it five years ago?
the best advice I can say to you is when you buy a car start from scatch.
Do the belt /brakes /service.
Then from thereyou know where you stand. Your car has low milage for the year,but is it correct?
This week so far i have had two cars in with broken belts,one a hyundai diesel
and a hdi Citroen.Ithe Citroen was bought from his brother and he tought it was serviced up to date, but the belt was not done,it broke at 83,000 miles on the m50 at 100kmph!!! I have to get a engine for that one! the trajet is scrap now engine gone and to many miles on it to be worth fixing.

The timing belt was done approx. two and a half years ago. Mileage is correct, car has a full service history and was brought from a garage in the UK to a garage in the ROI. Runs like new so far.

PaulKK

teednab-el wrote: »

Seeming this is my first car, besides the basic oil and filter change, what else should I get the mechanic to check? Im interested in looking after this car.


cheers.

I've the same car and service it myself mostly.

Heres a few things to check:

Make sure the drain hole under the battery isn't blocked, this can cause water to get trapped and creep into the cabin.

Tyre wear can occur mainly on the inside on mine (Ive got 17" wheels) even when nothing is worn, so be sure to check your tyres properly and regularly as the tyres can appear perfect on the outside.

Link arms, you will get to know what these are at some stage I'm sure. Try to get the steel ones when your replacing them.

As its your first car, in case you didn't know, allow the car to tick over for 20 seconds after every journey before switching it off. This will keep your turbo in good nick. Also don't drive the shit out of it when the engine is cold.

Also, now that the weather is getting cold, make sure your antifreeze is strong enough, you can get a tester in halfords to check this.

After that if you keep an eye on that stuff you shouldn't have a problem. I do 500 miles a week in mine and its perfect and theres 120k on it now. I do service it myself every 5k miles with good oil though and get my mechanic to check it out once in a while.

Good luck.

teednab-el

PaulKK wrote: »

I've the same car and service it myself mostly.

Heres a few things to check:

Make sure the drain hole under the battery isn't blocked, this can cause water to get trapped and creep into the cabin.

Didnt know about that.

PaulKK wrote: »

As its your first car, in case you didn't know, allow the car to tick over for 20 seconds after every journey before switching it off. This will keep your turbo in good nick. Also don't drive the shit out of it when the engine is cold.

I always leave it running for almost a min after a journey before switching it off. Im usually early for work anyway so Ive no problems there. I always keep the engine under 2000rpm when starting off cold and going through the gears, so ive those two things covered i think.