4 of the biggest risks of not servicing your car
27th Nov, 2023
Taking your car for a service is one of those things that nobody gets that excited about, but it’s generally regarded as a necessary evil – after all, you’ll want to get the very most out of your vehicle before you finally decide: I need to scrap my car.
Now, unlike an MOT test, a regular service is technically not mandatory (though it’s strongly advised by manufacturers). As a direct result of that, lots of drivers tend to skip them, especially in the current economic climate. But here are four reasons why that’s not such a good idea!
It can become more expensive
Services are useful for performing what’s called preventative maintenance. Essentially, this refers to your mechanic spotting a developing problem at an early stage, so they can rectify it quickly before it has a chance to evolve into a more serious issue, which could accordingly be more time-consuming and expensive to fix.
For example, during a routine service your mechanic might spot that a certain part is coming loose, and take quick action to tighten it up again. That’s a whole lot more straightforward than what might happen if that part is allowed to loosen further – it could cause leaks of vital fluids, or the part itself might come off and go ricocheting around your engine bay. That could cause a heck of a lot more damage, and accordingly be much more of a nightmare to fix.
It may reduce your fuel efficiency
A routine service provides a good opportunity for your mechanic to check for any leaks or blockages, and to ensure that all intakes and outtakes are working as they should. A clogged or broken air filter, for example, can stop your engine functioning as smoothly as it should do, so it needs to work harder to maintain the same output – accordingly costing you in fuel. Equally, if there’s a leak somewhere, you might end up having to shell out more for other fluids like oil, coolant or windscreen washer fluid.
It increases your chances of a breakdown
By now, you can probably see how a lot of these issues can start to overlap with each other! Leaking fluids in your car, or loose parts, or any number of small related issues, can each cause a rise in the chances you’ll suffer a breakdown while out on the roads – and if you’re unknowingly driving around with several of these problems at once, the possibility becomes exponentially more likely.
Having a breakdown is irritating at the best of times, but it can be even more galling to find out that the root cause was an issue that could have been easily rectified.
It can become more expensive
So far, a lot of the issues we’ve touched upon have been those liable to cost you time and inconvenience than anything – but it’s important not to underestimate that some can put you at very serious risk of harm. An obvious example that springs to mind is your brakes, which can be hugely dangerous if they’re not serviced often enough.
But they’re far from the only thing that can pose a risk to your safety – strained timing belts, bald tyres, broken lights – all have the capacity to put you in harm’s way. Even if nothing else on this list is a cause for concern, it’s always worth booking a regular service for the sake of your own safety on the roads (and that of everyone around you!).
Of course, you may decide that your car is suffering from so many issues (or just a few serious ones) that it’s not worth paying the money to have it serviced. In situations like that, that’s exactly where we can help here at Scrap Car Network. With more than 40 years of experience behind us, we’ve refined our process to make sure it’s never been easier to scrap your car. All you need to do is enter your car reg and postcode into the fields on our site, and we’ll have your scrap car quote to you in seconds. So… curious to find out how much your car is worth?
