How often should you have your car serviced?

Every car is different, but here we offer a guide to how often you should service your car and the extra checks you should have carried out in-between service intervals.

An Arnold Clark Service Centre

Standard or manufacturer servicing

Generally speaking, most cars will need to be serviced once a year or every 12,000 miles.

However, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to car servicing, as every car is different. Each manufacturer has a recommended service schedule for its cars; check your owner’s manual for guidance.

Your vehicle manufacturer will also have recommendations for things like oil changes and cambelt replacements, so make sure you follow the guidelines for these too.

In-between service intervals

To keep your car in the best possible condition in between services, we’d advise you bring your car in for some other routine checks.

During checks like these, our technicians look over your car to make sure everything is working properly.

Areas checked are:

Tyres
Brakes
Oil and screenwash levels (including top up if needed)
Windscreen wipers
Steering
Suspension

Major service

Although you should carry out a standard or manufacturer service roughly every 12 months or 12,000 miles (depending on your vehicle), it is also advisable to carry out a major service every 24 months.

A major service includes checks that are not covered in a standard service, such as: