The first service sets the pattern for the relationship between you, the car and the workshop. It is worth arriving prepared.
Before you go
- Write down every noise, rattle or behaviour that has bothered you, and when it happens — cold start, over speed bumps, only in the morning. “There is a noise” is very hard to chase.
- Note the odometer reading yourself.
- Take out anything valuable.
- Ask for the estimate in advance, not on collection.
At the counter
Ask for a printed job card listing what will be done, and ask to be called before anything is added to it. A good workshop offers this without being asked.
When you collect the car
- Check the invoice lists part numbers, not just descriptions.
- Ask for the old parts back if anything significant was replaced. You are entitled to them.
- Check the odometer against the reading you noted.
- Look at the service record before you drive away.
Afterwards
Drive it for a few days before deciding you are satisfied. If something is not right, come back while it is clearly connected to the work — a problem raised a week later is far easier to resolve than one raised three months later.
Want this applied to a specific car?
Send us the model and variant and we will put the actual numbers against it, in writing, with every line itemised.