Mechanic charged me for a simple check and not a service

but a new vehicle doing 3/4k a year? I would be more worried out the mechanical components than I would be about the oil.

But that is the exact case for a yearly oil change. Low total mileage probably means mostly or al least mainly short trips. The engine rarely runs for long enough at a time to burn the accumulated moisture from the oil.

Oil is cheap, relatively appealing.

have to be changed annually ( I change mine every 7 months regardless of mileage done)

Looking for bother down the road. ( pardon the pun)

Otherwise

If a car was sitting for 18 months first thing I'd do is oil and filter. I'm not a big fan of suction pups either. Can't beat a good drain out the sump plug after the engines being warmed. Get on with the air and cabin filter and plugs if it's petrol while it's draining.

That or they can't or don't want to get underneath the car. Oil is the lifeblood of the engine so skimping on oil and filter changes is very much false economy.

The guy charged you the minimum for doing checks on your car that you clearly can't do yourself at this point in time - not having the correct equipment. I have no idea why you think this was money badly spent. You think the mechanic's expertise is worthless?

€60 is nothing. Go to a main dealer and see if you can get out for less than €300.

Going back to your OP, you say the mechanic did an oil check and "other things" (unspecified). You also say that it was 7k km short of its next scheduled service. I'm assuming a 15k service interval from that. If it's more, please correct as you don't say what mileage it's done since the last service. What were the "other things"?

You also don't say if this mechanic did the previous service or not. If they did, then they'd be in the best position to evaluate the car and decide what needs to be done.

The price charged of €60 is very reasonable. From your op, it seems you don't think so. Maybe explain why you think their time would be worth less in your opinion?

By the sound of it, you wanted him to do more than he did. That's fair enough, but clearly you didn't insist on an oil change or an oil and filter change. You just assumed it would be done. The mechanic thought otherwise having checked it. But you're blaming him for what appears to be a failure in communication by you.

Ok, that last paragraph is a HUGE assumption. 🤣

I'm not a mechanic and if you looked through my posts, you'd see I've bashed main dealer service departments for their shoddy workmanship and service. Whether you think (assume?) this mechanic earned their piddling €60 or not, the OP says that they did an oil check and "other things". We're taking that at face value.

It's miles off. It's not hard to tell that most people here are car owners primarily and some have varying degrees of experience working on their own cars. But that doesn't make them professional mechanics. But if you want to maintain that position, list the users here who you think are professional mechanics and I'm sure they'll be along to confirm it for you.

Yes, what "other things"? The op hasn't specified, so we're left to guess some of the items that would be checked. Like fluid checks - coolant, brakes, oils. Brake pads and tyres. Air filter condition. Light bulbs, indicators etc.

If you own a car, €60 isn't even a fuel fill these days let alone a mechanical check over. My last ICE car would routinely cost ~€500 for a service. Never seemed to get out of there for less. Yet the same jokers never replaced the glow plugs and I ended up with a blocked DPF and EGR valves that I had to pay (someone else) to clean for me.

So yeah, for a car owner, €60 is peanuts.