Cars are complex machines with a huge number of moving parts, transporting us all over the country and abroad, and most of us rely on them every day.
Unlike most other machines and devices, our cars operate in very harsh conditions for long periods at a time. Rain, snow, mud, heat and dust are all par for the course for a car, which you can’t say for your television or washing machine. Even the most reliable car will fail if it is not properly maintained on a regular basis.
Having a regular service keeps your car running in good order. It will prolong its lifespan, head off potential problems that could get worse later, plus help to retain the vehicle’s value by showing that you have looked after it.
But many car owners let their regular servicing lapse, or they wait too long between each visit to the garage. Maybe they’re busy, or they’re not sure where to find a suitable dealer or workshop, or are worried about how much it might cost.
Some owners want to have their vehicle serviced by their main dealer and there are incentives to do this, such as a free valet or continued membership of a breakdown recovery service.
But if you’re not concerned about that, there are a range of excellent organisations that offer car servicing and it can be arranged in minutes from your laptop or smartphone. Everything is explained, including pricing, so it’s a safe and convenient way to organise your servicing.
These organisations take the grief out of servicing and organise it all for you, whether you need a full, interim or other type of service, such as a major which includes additional elements like pollen filter. Some groups even offer to send a mobile mechanic to your home or workplace to do the work, while many will collect and deliver for you.
More car servicing tips and features:
RAC*
URL: rac.co.uk
You have almost certainly heard of the RAC. Once a members’ breakdown organisation, the historic group goes back to the turn of the century. But the RAC’s breakdown recovery services were sold off in 1999 and today it’s owned by several investment firms. It now offers far more than just recovery.
One of those features is servicing. From the site’s landing page, use the drop-down menu across the top to select ‘Service & Repair’ followed by ‘Book a car service’.
Scroll down again, and you’ll have a choice of a mobile mechanic or an approved garage. From either choice, enter your car registration number and either address for the mechanic to visit, or your postcode to find you a list of workshops able to carry out the service.
Membership of the RAC is not required. ‘You can even be a member if the AA and we won’t hold that against you!’ it says. It’s a simple and straightforward site that also offers lots of news, tips and advice on owning and running a car.
AA*
URL: theaa.com
It’s probably still the most recognised motoring organisation in Britain, with its familiar yellow rescue vehicles and famous badge that once adorned radiator grilles of cars long gone. The AA goes back to 1905; members had the use of roadside emergency telephone boxes and AA mechanics would salute them.
Book a service through the AA, and you might not get a salute anymore but your car will get the right treatment. Go to ‘Vehicle maintenance’ and drop down to ‘Car servicing’ to be offered an AA-approved garage. To start, enter your registration number and postcode.
Choose the date you want and select an approved garage from the list given. The AA also provides mobile mechanics in some areas, while some garages will collect your car and return it.
Cost-spreading over four payments is available in selected cases, and there’s a one-year guarantee on work. The AA site offers lots of easy-to-understand advice and, in the servicing section, news and tips are specifically about car servicing.
MotorEasy*
URL: motoreasy.com
MotorEasy has become one of UK’s leading car management platforms, helping you to find tyres, different types of insurance, servicing, MOTs and more.
Booking a service starts with your car registration and mileage, your postcode and requested booking date. You’ll then need to enter your contact details, and then the site will find suitable workshops and provide you with a quote.
MotorEasy books everything with the garage, and you pay the garage directly on the day. The company claims that it can save you up to 40% off the cost of main dealer servicing.
Book My Garage*
URL: bookmygarage.com
Want to compare prices when deciding on a garage to service your car? That’s what Book My Garage can help with. The comparison platform assists with decisions on MOTs, servicing and repairs, making finding a garage simple. The company claims it has helped more than 24 million motorists compare prices for car maintenance.
From the landing page, select ‘Service’ and drop down to ‘Book car service’. ‘Top locations’ of big UK cities are listed separately, but by entering your car’s registration number and postcode, you can whittle your search down to the area that suits you.
A list of relevant garages is presented to you almost instantly, including ‘Official dealership’ for your car, if there is one, and ‘Featured garage’, chosen for a unique or special reason. Each garage includes an ‘About’ section with details of the business, plus an ‘Availability’ tab for you to choose a suitable date.
A different way in is via the ‘Find a garage’ tab and select an area near you and then choose the type of maintenance you want – you can also book an MOT at the same time as your yearly service, a good time-saver.
Click Mechanic*
URL: clickmechanic.com
It’s all about price with Click Mechanic, and why not? The site gives you a fixed-price quote before you book a garage or mechanic. Click Mechanic has more than 1,000 vetted specialists across the UK to choose from.
You can select a mobile mechanic to visit you, or you can choose a garage and organise collection from your home or business. The first thing you have to do, of course, is enter your car registration number and postcode.
Using your vehicle identifier, you’re offered a list of services, including repairs, tyres, MOTs, and servicing. Select that choice, and it’s broken down again to full, major and interim options as well as items such as a vehicle health check.
Once you have decided what level you need, the ‘Next step’ tab will take you to a page to enter your personal details, including address and contact information and a calendar from which to choose a date and time. There’s a section too to leave a note for your mechanic. It’s a simple, no-frills site, but easy to use and very useful.
Fix My Car*
URL: whocanfixmycar.com
The website address gives away what this organisation used to be called. Formerly known as Who Can Fix My Car, the site invites you join 3.6 million other drivers who have used them for car maintenance help and advice.
It’s about finding the right garage at the right price, and Fix My Car does this by calling upon its list of ‘thousands’ of mechanics to match one to your particular needs. So first enter the usual registration number and postcode to bring up the next page, which asks what you need for your identified car.
Common requests such as servicing, MOT, brakes and clutch replacement are already listed but there’s also a box for you to add more specific details if required. The site confirms the car and the job you requested before taking you to the next page.
This is to enter your contact details before requesting your quote. You can also sign up for a regular email of car tips, news and advice here. You then choose your favourite garage based on price and proximity, and book the work from there.
Halfords
URL: halfords.com
Halfords is another well-known brand that’s famous for a range of services for your car, as well as cycling, camping, and other motoring services like towbar fitting. They are well placed for car servicing, and this website describes what they do.
Go to ‘Services’, ‘Car servicing’ and ‘Book a service’ and enter your registration number and postcode. Once you enter your car details, a wide range of work is shown and described, including full, major, and interim services, oil and filter changes, and ‘bundles’ such as service and MOT done together.
Handy tabs will provide details on each offering and let you book if you wish. The site has already identified your most local Halfords branch, so your servicing selection is added automatically to this and placed in a ‘basket’.
Clicking on the basket confirms the servicing and shows the local branch as well as other nearby choices and you can amend the workshop at this point. The next step is to ‘Book an appointment’ to select a suitable time and date to take your car in for its work.
Kwik Fit*
URL: kwik-fit.com
Another well-known brand when it comes to car repairs and maintenance, Kwik Fit has more than 600 centres across the UK and has been looking after UK drivers’ cars for over 50 years. Its core offerings are tyre repair and replacement, and MOT testing, but car servicing is also a big part of its range.
Click on ‘Servicing’ from the drop-down menu, and you’ll find ‘Book your service’. From here, you’re asked to supply the car’s registration number, and a recommended centre is shown on the next page. You don’t have to choose this: ‘Other centres nearby’ are also offered.
Select the one you want, and a clear menu of servicing types and pricing is shown, based on your car. Having chosen the type of service you want, clicking on it takes you to a new page which loads up available dates for that local centre.
Again, select your preferred time slot, and you will then be asked to ‘Reserve your appointment’. It’s a quick and easy site to understand and navigate through.
Servicing Stop
URL: servicingstop.co.uk
Servicing Stop proudly claims to be the UK’s largest servicing network and says it will find you the best price too. ‘Find a better deal and we’ll match it’ they add. The company featured on TV’s Dragon’s Den, seeking further investment to help it grow.
Now it has a network of qualified garages and mechanics, and the offer is to collect your car, service it and return it to you on the same day. The routine is broadly similar to its rivals: enter your registration and postcode online, select the service you’d like, and choose an available date.
You’ll get your quote before moving on to anything else. The price is clearly shown with all options, and a calendar lets you choose your date and time. If that’s all convenient, add in your name and contact details and click ‘Book my service’. It’s simple and easy to follow.
An approved garage close to you is found from which a driver will collect your car between 8am and 10am. The company’s size means it can secure top prices for approved parts, and it will stamp your service record book when the work is complete.
ATS Euromaster
URL: atseuromaster.co.uk
ATS Euromaster is well known for its tyres and tyre services, but, like similar businesses, it has broadened its offerings. Servicing is among these, and the drop-down tab is found across the top of the landing page.
Click on that, and you will be shown levels of servicing such as full, interim and major, plus a simple oil and filter change. Clicking one of these will take you to a new page where you enter, at this stage, only your registration number.
This will identify your car and offer you the right service for its make and model. Selecting one will put it in the ATS basket. Continuing at this point brings up the ‘Find an appointment’ section, where you enter your postcode to see a list of the nearest ATS centres. Beside each centre is a calendar showing available dates. Select one, confirm your personal details and book the service.
The webpage is packed with advice, descriptions at each level, and explanations of costs. There’s little room for uncertainty in this clear and comprehensive website.
National Tyres & Autocare
URL: national.co.uk
National Tyres & Autocare’s name sums them up – well known for tyre repair and replacement the brand also offers a range of car services including repairs, safety checks, MOTs and servicing. It has 239 fitting centres across the UK and thousands of technicians fitting original equipment parts.
Click on the ‘Servicing’ tab at the top of the landing page and select ‘Book a car service’. Interim, full and major services are offered with clear descriptions of what each entails. There’s a useful ‘Instant price’ tab on which you click to get a choice of quotes for the work you’re looking for using your car’s registration number for reference.
Entering your postcode allows the website to suggest your nearest, and potentially most convenient, brand to visit. Change this if you wish from the drop-down menu, select the level of service you want, add any extras like MOT, and click ‘Book now’.
There’s a useful question-and-answer section that explains many of the queries you are likely to have about how long work takes, which type of service to choose, updating digital service records, and what you should take to the appointment.
*The Car Expert has commercial partnerships with the AA, Book My Garage, Click Mechanic, Fix My Car, Kwik Fit, MotorEasy and RAC. If you click through to their websites and view any of their vehicles, or proceed to purchase a vehicle, we may receive a commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
