Describe your perfect service/maintenance inspection.
Many, many years ago, before the War, the service department at the local Volkswagen dealership used to be very good. Although their prices were high I was more than happy to pay them because I knew that my car was in really good hands. Every annual service was extremely thorough, I remember that they inspected many things, battery, coolant, transmission, they lubricated every lock and hinge and the sunroof railings, cleaned the sunroof drain, rotated the tires, every time the spark plugs were changed the compression was checked, and they gave you a very detailed report about the state of your car.
And their attention to the costumer was really good, one time my car broke down one block away from the dealership so I immediately went into the service department, 5 minutes later they told me I had a failed coil pack, that the coil pack wasn't available and it will take more than a month to be available, so they were unable to fix it because they could only use original parts. So right there in the service bay they taught me how to change the coil pack and told me to buy an aftermarket one. But by then one tech suggested to use the coil pack of a wrecked car that happened to be there, so they transplanted the coil pack and my car was functional again and they let me go without charging me a dime. About a year later the coil pack failed again and even though I knew how to change it, I just let them replace it.
Anyway, those were the golden days, those days when spirits were brave, when men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Now fastback into the present, into the dark times, when finding a good garage is like finding the Ark of the Covenant.
Now it appears that every single dealership and private garage is just focused on offering the cheapest service they can, now the normal service is just the oil and filter change and a 15 point "safety inspection" but those inspections are really lacking because they are just a visual check and many of those points are there just to make the list longer like "check the operation of the horn", come on!!!, I use the horn every day in normal traffic and I am pretty sure I will notice when it stops working.
This situation has forced me into doing the services myself but I need to compile a good check list and here is when I ask for your help.
So, excluding the obvious checks that are responsibility of the driver, like tire pressures, windshield wipers, lights, fluid levels, the horn!! What are the checks or actions that must be done in a regular (yearly) service?
So far I got this (I include many of these things because it was something VW did back then, I don't know if some or them are still valid or necessary)
Check transmission fluid level (specially those that doesn't have a dipstick)
Check brake pads and discs (measured with an instrument not just visually)
Check tread depth (also with an instrument)
Rotate tires
Balance and alignments
Lubricate seat railings
Lubricate locks
Test battery capacity
Test battery level
Pressure test the coolant system
Test coolant density
Scan for trouble codes
Check timing belt
Check PCV valve
Check and adjust clutch play
Adjust drum brakes
Adjust hand brake
Tighten wheel nuts to the specified torque
Check alignment of headlamps
Clean radiator
Clean AC ducts and change filter
What else? Or are some things in my list not necessary that often?
Many, many years ago, before the War, the service department at the local Volkswagen dealership used to be very good. Although their prices were high I was more than happy to pay them because I knew that my car was in really good hands. Every annual service was extremely thorough, I remember that they inspected many things, battery, coolant, transmission, they lubricated every lock and hinge and the sunroof railings, cleaned the sunroof drain, rotated the tires, every time the spark plugs were changed the compression was checked, and they gave you a very detailed report about the state of your car.
And their attention to the costumer was really good, one time my car broke down one block away from the dealership so I immediately went into the service department, 5 minutes later they told me I had a failed coil pack, that the coil pack wasn't available and it will take more than a month to be available, so they were unable to fix it because they could only use original parts. So right there in the service bay they taught me how to change the coil pack and told me to buy an aftermarket one. But by then one tech suggested to use the coil pack of a wrecked car that happened to be there, so they transplanted the coil pack and my car was functional again and they let me go without charging me a dime. About a year later the coil pack failed again and even though I knew how to change it, I just let them replace it.
Anyway, those were the golden days, those days when spirits were brave, when men were real men, women were real women and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri. Now fastback into the present, into the dark times, when finding a good garage is like finding the Ark of the Covenant.
Now it appears that every single dealership and private garage is just focused on offering the cheapest service they can, now the normal service is just the oil and filter change and a 15 point "safety inspection" but those inspections are really lacking because they are just a visual check and many of those points are there just to make the list longer like "check the operation of the horn", come on!!!, I use the horn every day in normal traffic and I am pretty sure I will notice when it stops working.
This situation has forced me into doing the services myself but I need to compile a good check list and here is when I ask for your help.
So, excluding the obvious checks that are responsibility of the driver, like tire pressures, windshield wipers, lights, fluid levels, the horn!! What are the checks or actions that must be done in a regular (yearly) service?
So far I got this (I include many of these things because it was something VW did back then, I don't know if some or them are still valid or necessary)
Check transmission fluid level (specially those that doesn't have a dipstick)
Check brake pads and discs (measured with an instrument not just visually)
Check tread depth (also with an instrument)
Rotate tires
Balance and alignments
Lubricate seat railings
Lubricate locks
Test battery capacity
Test battery level
Pressure test the coolant system
Test coolant density
Scan for trouble codes
Check timing belt
Check PCV valve
Check and adjust clutch play
Adjust drum brakes
Adjust hand brake
Tighten wheel nuts to the specified torque
Check alignment of headlamps
Clean radiator
Clean AC ducts and change filter
What else? Or are some things in my list not necessary that often?