Now here's a thought

[Claws]

I do very low mileage annually circa 3 - 4K, she sits on the road all week, occasionally at the weekend she'll get a little bit of town driving 5 minutes to shops and back, and then for approx 10 months (it's a caravan season thing!) twice a weekend it'll be motorway when she gets a good blast! 

So a couple of questions spring to mind, is there a risk of any unwanted deposits or something building up, that would normally be burned off  on a vehicle used on a daily / regular basis? and would I only need an interim service rather than a full service ?

thanks for any tips 

Steve

[Old Peter]

Hi Steve,

My s type does about 6,500 miles a year,  [similarly with the other cars] and normally has an MOT and a service at the same time by the mechanic I have used for about 13 years.      As I only do a relatively small mileage he has sometimes told me that he has only done an interim service as it didn't need a full service.

As long as you are doing the normal things like checking the fluids  etc and the car is performing well I guess than an interim service would be OK.

Regards,

Peter.

[Claws]

Thanks Peter

apart from wanting to know about any nasty stuff building up, that normally would be dealt with as part of a full service I.e. Oil and filter change / plugs / filters etc I'm conscious of the service book and keeping it stamped, the next stamp for a full service is due at 10 years (clearly long gone now) or 100,000 miles, which by my annual usage is nearly 4 years away! That is quite old for Oil etc and that presumes the dealer actually changed the Oil as a service he said was done (cough!) So I guess just interim would do then as you suggest until she gets to the 100k mark and then get a full service. What would you normally expect to get done as part of an interim service?

Touch wood, she is running fine, and I have no particular concerns, it's just about maybe keeping an eye on stuff because of the low mileage 

[Old Peter]

Hi Steve,

At an interim service I would expect a full check on all fluid levels, including screen wash and top up where necessary. Battery, steering and suspension should also be checked, and I would also expect exhaust and tyres too.

Possibly some garages would also change one engine Oil and filter.  Some oils are guaranteed for two years.

They will also stamp the service book, but I think a note from the owner saying that he/she has done that job using Jaguar recommended fluids should suffice.

I would also expect a full report on any faults found and recommendations on what to do.

Regards  

Peter. 

[Claws]

Cheers Peter 

thats a good stear for me, I will make sure those things are checked / sorted when the mot comes around. And will ask for a note rather than a stamp be added to the service log

sorry just an after thought, in regards to an Oil / Oil filter change any idea of the cost involved? I think, for peace of mind I would rather get that done so I know it's been done.

as always appreciate your advice 

Steve

 

[numkelfutumch]

Steve, if it's a petrol then you have no need for concern. If it's a diesel the only thing i would highly recommend is that you REGULARLY get it up to full working temperature on runs, don't just keep doing short runs that don't really get it baking hot. Lots of short runs that don't warm it up properly (and of course diesels take much longer to warm up) can cause problems for you, most noticeably would be problems with the DPF.

[Claws]

many thanks Phil

Its a petrol Phew!

[Russ68]

Some people say annual Oil change, regardless of mileage, but this is probably OTT, if as Peter say that oils are guaranteed for 2 years, then that would seem a reasonable time for a change. I'm on a 5K annual mileage policy with my insurance, but I've enjoyed driving her so much, we may well exceed this! If you haven't done already, you'll need plugs and coil packs at some point, the left bank is a bit of a sod as the inlet manifold need to come off to get to them. Well worth it though, what an awesome engine :)