Looking after your car.

JumpShivers

My boyfriend was making small talk in work and happened to mention that he is sending his car to get a look-over by a mechanic and fix up whatever needs to be done.

He was then asked "is your NCT due soon?". My boyfriend said that it's not for another year.

He was then met with looks of bewilderment asking him why he's "wasting money" and why he won't just wait for the NCT.

Is this attitude commonplace? Do people really have such an apathetic attitude towards looking after their car? Are people happy to never change oil, sail merrily along with bald tyres and poor alignment?

Why are people so unconcerned about car maintenance? The same person also gave out about the NCT calling it a scam etc. Are these people happy just to drive around in death traps?

The Sidewards Man

Most people only put in parts that fail the nct, unless the car stops on the road that is pretty much the maintaince schedule.

Atlantic Dawn

JumpShivers wrote: »

Why are people so unconcerned about car maintenance? The same person also gave out about the NCT calling it a scam etc. Are these people happy just to drive around in death traps?

This is the problem in this country, most of the people I know who have said it's a scam yet knowingly drive around in cars with 1 headlight working and a bald tyre or 2 between NCT's, then call it a money racket, some people :rolleyes:. Have a look on your next drive at night and try to count 10 cars in a row with road legal front lights, very hard to do, I can only imagine how bad it would be with no NCT.

challengemaster

JumpShivers wrote: »

Are people happy to never change oil, sail merrily along with bald tyres and poor alignment?

Yup.

Why are people so unconcerned about car maintenance? The same person also gave out about the NCT calling it a scam etc. Are these people happy just to drive around in death traps?

Because the only safety message that's been drilled into the Irish population for years is that "Speed kills". So it doesn't matter if you're driving a car held together with bailing twine on bald triangles, so long as you're under the speed limit!

NickDunne

Does it start/drive?
Does it steer?
Does it stop?

Shame to say that for 90% of Irish drivers, these are the 3 main criteria for maintaining a car. Bulbs pffft, sure the one side will do.

The classic is the left side dipped beam gone, and the right side fog beam gone. So they compensate for each other :rolleyes:

Voodoomelon

I've always agreed that the Irish motorist has a poor attitude towards maintenance.

But, I will say, if you get a yearly service, like a lot of people do, and stick the car in every year or two years for the NCT, there's not a whole lot wrong with that method.

Most cars now tell you when you you have a blown bulb, when your brake pads need replacement, when your washer fluid is low etc etc.

It could be argued that dropping your car into a mechanic for a "look-over" is something of a waste of money, especially if you just got a service 6 months previous or you're too lazy to check your fluids or thread depths yourself.

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

JumpShivers wrote: »

Are these people happy just to drive around in death traps?

That's a bit ott. The nct checks safety issues.

Some people enjoy things other than cars in life; maybe that's one explanation.

Marty McFly

Voodoomelon wrote: »

I've always agreed that the Irish motorist has a poor attitude towards maintenance.

But, I will say, if you get a yearly service, like a lot of people do, and stick the car in every year or two years for the NCT, there's not a whole lot wrong with that method.

Most cars now tell you when you you have a blown bulb, when your brake pads need replacement, when your washer fluid is low etc etc.

It could be argued that dropping your car into a mechanic for a "look-over" is something of a waste of money, especially if you just got a service 6 months previous or you're too lazy to check your fluids or thread depths yourself.

But the problem is that a large majority don't get a yearly service and when they do if they don't absolutely have to get something fixed they won't.

Atlantic Dawn

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

That's a bit ott. The nct checks safety issues.

Some people enjoy things other than cars in life; maybe that's one explanation.

I know people who have bought brand new cars and drive them for 4 years for the first NCT with no servicing at all, they never get any upkeep unless the issue stops the car from driving.

paulmclaughlin

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

Some people enjoy things other than cars in life; maybe that's one explanation.

They might not have a life to enjoy if their car fails them in a critical moment.

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

paulmclaughlin wrote: »

They might not have a life to enjoy if their car fails them in a critical moment.

Certainly.

I'd venture to say that if the car has been nct'd the risk is so low as to be negligible.

Atlantic Dawn

No point in walking around in nice flash harry shoes when your car sits on 4 chinese death trap tyres.

challengemaster

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

Certainly.

I'd venture to say that if the car has been nct'd the risk is so low as to be negligible.

That might be true on the day of the test. It means absolutely nothing about the state of the car for the next 365/730 days.

CiniO

I recently bought a car which I'm intending to keep only for next 4-5 months.
It's was a cheap car below €1500. I probably won't do more than 10k km in it.
After purchase, I changed oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, and rear number plate (as it wasn't right size). I also drained water from radiator and put fresh coolant.
As I do work on the car myself, I was doing it in front of my house, and neighbour couldn't believe the work I was doing, as he knew I'm not going to hold on to this car for long. He asked - why? Surely the car could run without it for 5 months he said.

Mental attitude IMO.

corks finest

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

This is the problem in this country, most of the people I know who have said it's a scam yet knowingly drive around in cars with 1 headlight working and a bald tyre or 2 between NCT's, then call it a money racket, some people :rolleyes:. Have a look on your next drive at night and try to count 10 cars in a row with road legal front lights, very hard to do, I can only imagine how bad it would be with no NCT.

Totally agree with you buddy,ppls attitudes need to change big time ,too many ppl taking unnecessary chances driving substandard vehicles here

sabhail

If you're getting nct once a year then unless something goes wrong ie lights, tyres etc then not sure what's wrong with using nct as a means of IDing what if anything car needs. Perhaps the reason people don't get car serviced more is cost, lack of faith in not being over charged or charged for unnecessary stuff etc.

ianobrien

If you want to see the attitude, there is another thread after starting today where the OP is wondering can he ignore the service interval. It's a brand new car and he's wondering if he can "stretch" the first service. He spent between €20k and €25k on a new car and now won't spend the €100 or so on the first service!

With that type of attitude, you can see why I'm slow to buy a second hand car here. Asking to see the actual receipts to back up a service history is like asking to see their bank balance!

CiniO

CiniO wrote: »

I recently bought a car which I'm intending to keep only for next 4-5 months.
It's was a cheap car below €1500. I probably won't do more than 10k km in it.
After purchase, I changed oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, and rear number plate (as it wasn't right size). I also drained water from radiator and put fresh coolant.
As I do work on the car myself, I was doing it in front of my house, and neighbour couldn't believe the work I was doing, as he knew I'm not going to hold on to this car for long. He asked - why? Surely the car could run without it for 5 months he said.

Mental attitude IMO.

Yeah, I always kill my bangers with kindness as I hate driving with a car that I know needs oil changed. This actually has potential to save big money in the future as it makes you to also gel with with the said banger and you may end up driving it for years to come instead of planned "couple of months".

FFS, in case of my last car I even changed the oil just before selling as I had correct oil in the shed for it. Had to spend money on the filter though.

_Brian

Truth is we don't really have a good car culture in this country. This is seen by the poor maintenance records kept with cars.
Irish people hardly wash or Hoover their cars never mind keep up with maintenance schedules.

See the treatment people give cars in car parks, whacking off them with doors.

We run two cars and do a fair bit of milage. Both are dropped in on time and garage does whatever is seen as due.

CiniO

CiniO wrote: »

I recently bought a car which I'm intending to keep only for next 4-5 months.
It's was a cheap car below €1500. I probably won't do more than 10k km in it.
After purchase, I changed oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, and rear number plate (as it wasn't right size). I also drained water from radiator and put fresh coolant.
As I do work on the car myself, I was doing it in front of my house, and neighbour couldn't believe the work I was doing, as he knew I'm not going to hold on to this car for long. He asked - why? Surely the car could run without it for 5 months he said.

Mental attitude IMO.

While my main car wants for nothing and gets its service on time and any preventative/extra bits done always I would still see the above as overkill on a cheap car you are holding for a few months.

Change the oil and oil filter fair enough but the rest I would see as a waste of money to be honest as none of them are going to cause any real problem for the car and you wont see any of that money back when selling it in a few months.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

dr.fuzzenstein

Katalina Jealous Human wrote: »

While my main car wants for nothing and gets its service on time and any preventative/extra bits done always I would still see the above as overkill on a cheap car you are holding for a few months.

Change the oil and oil filter fair enough but the rest I would see as a waste of money to be honest as none of them are going to cause any real problem for the car and you wont see any of that money back when selling it in a few months.

I'm with CiniO on the coolant. Too many cars use rusty water as coolant.
The thinking is that you're only holding the car for the next person, so when he/she gets it, it's well looked after. It's more of a holistic approach. If I buy a car and I see the reservoir is a nice shade of pink or blue, the oil isn't pitch black (unless diesel of course) and generally it looks well looked after, I'm more positively inclined towards it.
Also, if you're holding the car for longer in the end, you're only being kind to future you, who will thank you for it.
Even when I had 15 year old bangers that were practically worthless, I would be paranoid that everything worked and that everything was looked after. I believe this approach will be beneficial in the long run, I think I wouldn't have been able to run my CMax for nearly 250k km otherwise, because once you neglect 2 things and then a 3rd thing crops up, it gets difficult to put it all right. And if something else goes wrong on top of that, you're screwed.

TL/DR: Keep on top of it and do what needs doing right away or the bills will mount beyond critical mass

quadrifoglio verde

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly wrote: »

Certainly.

I'd venture to say that if the car has been nct'd the risk is so low as to be negligible.

The drivers side drop links went on my car two days after the nct. While they were fine the day of the nct, they weren't two days later.
NOw it was only a drop link.
But if they can miss a drop link that's about to fail, what else could they miss

The nct only guarantees that everything was fine and dandy on the day of the test, not next week, next month or next year.

AndyBoBandy

I think the poor maintenance culture most likely stems from the celtic tiger years (sure if it breaks down, I'll just buy another) and the attitude it brought to disposable things.

I was on a work assignment in Lithuania for 18 months a few years back, and to say they look after their cars is an understatement.
Probably 70%-80% of the cars I saw over there were more than 20/25 years old. Mainly Audi's (but not limited to) as they love them over there. and every one of them looks and drives like new. This culture derived from them being a 'poorer' Soviet country with limited resources, and limited options for buying newer (expensive) cars. This is also a country which has hot (25-30 degree) summers, and cold (-20) winters, so the cars go through a hell of a cycle every year, but they are all still driving, and safely.
(as a side note, based on what I saw in Lithuania, I only have my BMW worked on by a Lithuanian BMW expert based in Dublin, because I know where he's come from and how they look after cars)

Cuba is another example of how well they look after cars.

Whereas in Ireland, you'd hardly see any 80's cars nowadays, and not very many pre 1995 cars either, even pre 2000 cars are becoming rarities these days.

I work in the power generation industry, and preventive maintenance on the turbines is what keeps the lights on and the kettle boiling, and it's a mantra that should be applied to but sadly isn't applied to car maintenance here.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

jca

Patww79 wrote: »

Insurance companies are forcing out anything older than 2005, definitely 2000 so there's not much point in minding anything old now though.

Will ya stop spouting rubbish...

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

AndyBoBandy

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

would/could this be driven by the fact that we are terrible at looking after our cars?

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

dr.fuzzenstein

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

I'm with CiniO on the coolant. Too many cars use rusty water as coolant.
The thinking is that you're only holding the car for the next person, so when he/she gets it, it's well looked after. It's more of a holistic approach. If I buy a car and I see the reservoir is a nice shade of pink or blue, the oil isn't pitch black (unless diesel of course) and generally it looks well looked after, I'm more positively inclined towards it.
Also, if you're holding the car for longer in the end, you're only being kind to future you, who will thank you for it.
Even when I had 15 year old bangers that were practically worthless, I would be paranoid that everything worked and that everything was looked after. I believe this approach will be beneficial in the long run, I think I wouldn't have been able to run my CMax for nearly 250k km otherwise, because once you neglect 2 things and then a 3rd thing crops up, it gets difficult to put it all right. And if something else goes wrong on top of that, you're screwed.

TL/DR: Keep on top of it and do what needs doing right away or the bills will mount beyond critical mass

As I said something I was planning on keeping I'd make sure everything was perfect (though for something only worth 1500 euro I wouldn't be as bothered to have everything perfect). But with something worth so little and the intention to move it on I'd only do the essentials which would be an oil change or something like break pads etc if they were needed. The person buying it at that price isn't going to be looking it over either like you would something worth more.

jca wrote: »

Will ya stop spouting rubbish...

This is a fact, it's very difficult to insure cars over 15 years old at the moment (unless they are old enough for classic insurance then it's easy and cheap). Some companies are refusing altogether.

dr.fuzzenstein

It used to be worse. I came over here in 1994, well before the tiger, the NCT and insurance companies crapping on anything old (they were just crapping on everything then).
Cars crabbing sideways, cracked headlights, cracked windscreens, windows replaced by perspex gone completely blind, plumes of smoke, 4 different (and bald) tires on a car, every car drinking oil because it was never changed, air filters that I thought were oil-bath filters (they were not), rustholes the size of your fist, the famous blue baling twine holding it together and so on and so forth.
It has improved massively from then on and the "scam" that is the NCT would be the biggest reason for that in my mind.

ianobrien

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

I work in the power generation industry, and preventive maintenance on the turbines is what keeps the lights on and the kettle boiling, and it's a mantra that should be applied to but sadly isn't applied to car maintenance here.

You should try the pharma industry where if the service is overdue by one day, the machine is taken out of service and can't be used until the PM (Programmed/Preventative Maintenance) is complete. Can you imagine what would people say if the cars were designed to stop working if theyexceeded the service interval?

mickdw

ianobrien wrote: »

Asking to see the actual receipts to back up a service history is like asking to see their bank balance!

Sure come and buy mine. I've got everything since day one - 2008. Main dealer stamps to last year together with invoices. All receipts for any parts fitted myself. All old nct certs and reports and just to show that I'm alittle on the obsessive side, all tax discs since new in chronological order together with a simple sheet listing by date and mileage all the works carried out.
Problem is people are all talk and much as they want a good car, they will opt for the cheap car every time so if my car is available and a similar one with no history just in from uk on donedeal for a small amount cheaper, they will buy the one with no history every time and cod themselves that the mileage is genuine.

dr.fuzzenstein

Fully stamped dealer service history isn't always everything if you know what you're doing, though.
My current car was one of 2 near identical cmax available on the day. Mine was the one with higher mileage, obvious signs if wear, engaged child locks in the back and covered in dings said family car, missing engine cover and at 120k km service history consisted of 2 stamps. But underneath it was completely sound, so I bought it over the better example.

166man

CiniO wrote: »

I recently bought a car which I'm intending to keep only for next 4-5 months.
It's was a cheap car below €1500. I probably won't do more than 10k km in it.
After purchase, I changed oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, and rear number plate (as it wasn't right size). I also drained water from radiator and put fresh coolant.
As I do work on the car myself, I was doing it in front of my house, and neighbour couldn't believe the work I was doing, as he knew I'm not going to hold on to this car for long. He asked - why? Surely the car could run without it for 5 months he said.

Mental attitude IMO.

Tbh I see where your neighbor is coming from. Hardly a mental attitude to question changing spark plugs for 6000 miles (given they last upto 60k miles these days).

I'd agree on the oil and filter, I'd only change the air filter and coolant if they were in dire need of changing. This is assuming it's bangernomics and the goal is to keep cost minimized.

5 months really isn't that long. The car would want to be in fairly rag order if it wasn't capable of doing that mileage.

jca

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Fully stamped dealer service history isn't always everything if you know what you're doing, though.
My current car was one of 2 near identical cmax available on the day. Mine was the one with higher mileage, obvious signs if wear, engaged child locks in the back and covered in dings said family car, missing engine cover and at 120k km service history consisted of 2 stamps. But underneath it was completely sound, so I bought it over the better example.

Why?

Jesus.

CiniO wrote: »

I recently bought a car which I'm intending to keep only for next 4-5 months.
It's was a cheap car below €1500. I probably won't do more than 10k km in it.
After purchase, I changed oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, and rear number plate (as it wasn't right size). I also drained water from radiator and put fresh coolant.As I do work on the car myself, I was doing it in front of my house, and neighbour couldn't believe the work I was doing, as he knew I'm not going to hold on to this car for long. He asked - why? Surely the car could run without it for 5 months he said.

Mental attitude IMO.

There's nothing mental about that Cinio. You're only keeping the car 4-5 months so there's no need to do all that to it, unless you really want to. She'd run grand for that amount of time with no work surely. I'm with your neighbour on this one.

dr.fuzzenstein

jca wrote: »

Why?

Cheaper and basically in good shape.
Lower price due to visual blemishes and higher mileage. Compared to the mileage I did in it, the difference was negligible.

George Dalton

mickdw wrote: »

Problem is people are all talk and much as they want a good car, they will opt for the cheap car every time so if my car is available and a similar one with no history just in from uk on donedeal for a small amount cheaper, they will buy the one with no history every time and cod themselves that the mileage is genuine.

Absolutely 100% spot on post. Sums up the Irish car buyer mentality perfectly.

wonski

166man wrote: »

Tbh I see where your neighbor is coming from. Hardly a mental attitude to question changing spark plugs for 6000 miles (given they last upto 60k miles these days).

I'd agree on the oil and filter, I'd only change the air filter and coolant if they were in dire need of changing. This is assuming it's bangernomics and the goal is to keep cost minimized.

5 months really isn't that long. The car would want to be in fairly rag order if it wasn't capable of doing that mileage.

What if everyone followed this thinking, including previous owners?

He did it himself, not at main dealer ffs...

Cars fail at some point, how do you make sure they don't?

wonski

wonski wrote: »

What if everyone followed this thinking, including previous owners?

He did it himself, not at main dealer ffs...

Cars fail at some point, how do you make sure they don't?

Wanted to quote Jesus post above 166man, not yours. Sorry.

wonski

Jesus. wrote: »

There's nothing mental about that Cinio. You're only keeping the car 4-5 months so there's no need to do all that to it, unless you really want to. She'd run grand for that amount of time with no work surely. I'm with your neighbour on this one.

He basically serviced his car, 4-5 months is relatively long time...

What's mental about this?

Sure she would run grand and then pop up on donedeal after he is done with her.

Jesus.

If I was only keeping a car 4 or 5 months I certainly wouldn't be putting such time & effort into it. Unless you like fiddling with cars which I think Cinio does, it'd be a daft move in my opinion.

166man

Jesus. wrote: »

If I was only keeping a car 4 or 5 months I certainly wouldn't be putting such time & effort into it. Unless you like fiddling with cars which I think Cinio does, it'd be a daft move in my opinion.

I can see the value in changing oil and filter. But air filter and spark plugs I just cannot see the point financially.

wonski

166man wrote: »

I can see the value in changing oil and filter. But air filter and spark plugs I just cannot see the point financially.

These parts are cheap ( spark plugs not always, though), but easy to change and see no reason why not, especially if no service history is available.

Basic stuff when it comes to car maintenance.

CiniO

This is brilliant. Thread about lack of maintenance on cars in Ireland. OP is giving out about people not bothered to maintain their cars and if someone actually does maintain it, other's are surprised and bewildered.

JumpShivers wrote: »

My boyfriend was making small talk in work and happened to mention that he is sending his car to get a look-over by a mechanic and fix up whatever needs to be done.

He was then asked "is your NCT due soon?". My boyfriend said that it's not for another year.

He was then met with looks of bewilderment asking him why he's "wasting money" and why he won't just wait for the NCT.

Is this attitude commonplace? Do people really have such an apathetic attitude towards looking after their car? Are people happy to never change oil, sail merrily along with bald tyres and poor alignment?

Why are people so unconcerned about car maintenance? The same person also gave out about the NCT calling it a scam etc. Are these people happy just to drive around in death traps?

And once I say that I did basic servicing on my car after purchase, there's plenty of posts confirming exactly what OP was saying - people ask why and what for...
Nuts.

Katalina Jealous Human wrote: »

While my main car wants for nothing and gets its service on time and any preventative/extra bits done always I would still see the above as overkill on a cheap car you are holding for a few months.

Change the oil and oil filter fair enough but the rest I would see as a waste of money to be honest as none of them are going to cause any real problem for the car and you wont see any of that money back when selling it in a few months.

Katalina Jealous Human wrote: »

As I said something I was planning on keeping I'd make sure everything was perfect (though for something only worth 1500 euro I wouldn't be as bothered to have everything perfect). But with something worth so little and the intention to move it on I'd only do the essentials which would be an oil change or something like break pads etc if they were needed. The person buying it at that price isn't going to be looking it over either like you would something worth more.

166man wrote: »

Tbh I see where your neighbor is coming from. Hardly a mental attitude to question changing spark plugs for 6000 miles (given they last upto 60k miles these days).

I'd agree on the oil and filter, I'd only change the air filter and coolant if they were in dire need of changing. This is assuming it's bangernomics and the goal is to keep cost minimized.

5 months really isn't that long. The car would want to be in fairly rag order if it wasn't capable of doing that mileage.

Jesus. wrote: »

There's nothing mental about that Cinio. You're only keeping the car 4-5 months so there's no need to do all that to it, unless you really want to. She'd run grand for that amount of time with no work surely. I'm with your neighbour on this one.

Jesus. wrote: »

If I was only keeping a car 4 or 5 months I certainly wouldn't be putting such time & effort into it. Unless you like fiddling with cars which I think Cinio does, it'd be a daft move in my opinion.

So just to clarify.

1. I bought a car for less than €1500, but it's not a piece of rubbish which is going to be scrapped in few months. It's perfectly good car, which has a potential to run for another few years easily.

2. It's really worrying, that people think like that - you buy a car for 5 months, so no point in doing any maintenance with it as it's surely going to run no bother for those 5 month. Problem is people actually really think like that, and sell on car after few months, and after a year or 2 of 5 or 6 owners which just bought the car for few months and did nothing with it, car is completely wrecked and only suitable for scrapping, while it wouldn't need to be.

3. I changed oil + filter even though previous owner said it was changed half a year ago. I must admit I didn't believe him, as oil looked fairly black and filter looked like it was there for a while. I'm also sure previous owner has similar attitude as I mentioned above. Cost me 25 quid (for 5 litres of oil + filter).

4. I changed air filer as it was dirty. Probably wasn't changed for few years. Surely car will work better with fresh filter. Cost 12 quid.

5. I changed spark plugs as old ones were worn. 166man suggests they last 60k miles. I'd say only iridium plugs do. In my car there are regular ones, which normally probably last about 40k km. Ones that were on the car surely exceeded that mileage and it was possible to feel that they didn't work like new at low revs. Set of new plugs - 17 quid. I'm actually fairly sure, I'll save more on fuel saved by properly working spark plugs.


6. Coolant. By looking at it, surely there was mostly water in the radiator. This causes limescale and rust. Also it will freeze at any temperature lower than 0 and cause havoc to the engine block and radiator. 5 litres of antifreeze concentrate and 5 litres of deionised water cost me 20 quid. Issue is sorted - coolant is not going to freeze.

7. Number plate - Possibly legal issue, but mostly esthetic. Rear number plate was standard side, while car has a space for squre one. Looked terrible. Got new one for €10 quid.

Total cost: €82
Time spend on working on the car - about 2.5 hours.

Advantage - I have a car which is properly serviced and I know I don't need to worry that lack of servicing will cause it to die.
And when I want to sell it, I'll show to potential buyer that everything was done properly and car has much more chance to last for a good while longer, than most unmaintained rubbish which is for sale from people who think like posters above.
I might get more on top of sale price from potential buyer, than this servicing cost me.

166man

So just to clarify;

It was overdue an oil and filter change, air filter was overdue, spark plugs were overdue, coolant was pretty much water, and the number plate was illegal.


Doesn't exactly sound like a well minded car that's going to last a few years does it?

CiniO

166man wrote: »

I can see the value in changing oil and filter. But air filter and spark plugs I just cannot see the point financially.

Improved fuel consumption.

As per above post - plugs and air filter cost me 29 quid.
As average fuel consumption is about 11 litres/100km and I'm planning to do 10k km in that car, fuel itself will cost me about €1500
If changing plug and air filter can improve fuel consumption by only 2%, I'm actually gaining.

Cookie_Monster

Every 10,000 km / 6 months without fail over here for every vehicle I've owned or been involved with for work in NZ. And I think ultimately is the main reason you see so many 70ies/80ies/90ies cars still on the roads over here.

Haven't several manufacturers designed in increased service intervals in Ire/UK because they know they won't be done?

CiniO

166man wrote: »

So just to clarify;

It was overdue an oil and filter change,

Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't.
I can not be 100% sure.

air filter was overdue, spark plugs were overdue,

Yes, they were due to be changed.
I actually never said I bought a car which was just serviced and did all the servicing again.
I said I bought a cheap car, and did servicing on it, even though I'm only going to keep it for few months

coolant was pretty much water,

Like in half of all the cars in Ireland.

and the number plate was illegal.

I'm not sure if it was illegal, but it surely looked ugly.

Doesn't exactly sound like a well minded car that's going to last a few years does it?

Fact that service was due, doesn't mean it won't last for another while.
IMO it will.

slimjimmc

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Every 10,000 km / 6 months without fail over here for every vehicle I've owned or been involved with for work in NZ. And I think ultimately is the main reason you see so many 70ies/80ies/90ies cars still on the roads over here.

Haven't several manufacturers designed in increased service intervals in Ire/UK because they know they won't be done?

More likely it's to impress fleet buyers who would be very conscious of servicing costs.