Do you have questions about car maintenance or opinions on your previous experiences when sorting out an MOT or service? Ask Quick Lane - £200 voucher to be won

[LucyBMumsnet]

Quick Lane CEO David Alexander and Centre Manager Vicky Oakes have answered Mumsnet users questions on car maintenance and MOTs. Click here to read what they had to say.

Your car’s MOT may have you worrying about the amount of work that will need doing, how long your car could be out of action for and how much you’ll be out of pocket, but it’s crucial that your vehicle can get you from A to B safely. However, lots of people find the world of car maintenance and servicing confusing, and aren’t sure about what they should expect.

With this in mind, Quick Lane is here to help answer your questions about the car servicing industry and what you should expect when you’re getting an MOT or your car serviced. They’d like to hear about the experiences you’ve had in the past, and whether there’s anything putting you off of engaging more heavily with car maintenance, so that they can help you understand how to have a less stressful experience in the future. Quick Lane CEO David Alexander and Centre Manager Vicky Oakes will be answering your questions.

Do you have questions about whether your experience of car servicing or getting an MOT was what it should be? Perhaps you have questions about the car servicing industry and your perceptions of it? If you’re distrustful of the car servicing industry, perhaps you have questions about what you should look out for?

Here’s what Quick Lane has to say: “Quick Lane is a movement to change previously disappointing, intimidating or surprising interactions when looking to get your car serviced or worse, in a disruptive situation like a punctured tyre or an MOT failure. At Quick Lane our ambition is to build a business whereby a community of vehicle owners can be confident that any question regarding their vehicle will be addressed in the right way by experts – we’re supporting this with our Quality Assurance Check. It doesn’t cost Quick Laner Customers anything and we complete them on all the vehicles we see to provide our customers with all the information they need to keep them and their families safe and mobile.”

Want to know who will be responding to your questions and comments? Find some information on David and Vicky from Quick Lane below:

David Alexander, Quick Lane CEO
David has been the CEO of Quick Lane for just over a year, after working for likes of British Gas and Europcar. He was brought into Quick Lane for his experience within customer services and his non-automotive background to try and bring new energy to the sector rather than the tried and tested.

Vicky Oakes, Quick Lane Centre Manager
Vicky started her time with Quick Lane as a Service Advisor receiving high volumes of 5-star customer reviews. Because of her dedication to customer satisfaction and continuing the brand mission detailed earlier by CEO David Alexander, Vicky has been promoted to Centre Manager.

Whether you’ve got a burning question or an experience to share, let Quick Lane know by posting on this thread and their experts will join the conversation and address some of the queries raised.

All who post on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

[BarefootInTheMoonlitSnow]

My v old car currently has a fault in the coolant warning system but no fault in the coolant system. It doesn’t beep all the time, only 3 times since last MOT, I check coolant, wiggle the wire connection and all good to go.

My question is if it went off during the MOT would it be a fail? My mechanic says it is a waste of money to repair ‘in case’ it goes off during that 30mins & needless to say I agree 😂

But my MOT is due in spring (if they are not locked down) and as it approaches I’m a bit more nervous! Are sporadic warning light faults an automatic fail?

[BristolMum96]

What's actually involved in a car service? Is it worth paying for with an older car? (10+ years old)

[ItsCovidOutThereThisChristmas]

Is a service now much more computerised than it used to be? Do certain car manufacturers try to stop independent car service companies from being able to do a service?

[ConquestEmpireHungerPlague]

I'd like to learn how to do more of my own car maintenance. Years ago you used to be able to do evening classes etc but these seem to be a thing of the past. Have advances in technology made vehicle maintenance an impossible thing for ordinary people to accomplish without specialist equipment/knowledge, or is it still reasonable to think I could manage some tasks at least - and if so how can I go about learning how? Are there some types of car that are more amenable to amateur intervention than others, and if so which?

[MadisonErin]

What is the process of servicing my car ?

[Cliffdonville]

I always feel unsure about what to ask after a failed MOT, just kind of accept what they say and agree the cost to fix it I would love to be more assertive in these situations, any tips?

[Ashhead24]

There are lots of different levels of service and I never have any idea which ones I need. How do I know?

[FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue]

Is it true (as I've read online) that some garages/car maintenance chains fail you at MOT on small points that shouldn't be a fail, so that they make money on the repair or replacement part?

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

What are the points that need to be covered in a comprehensive service and do all these flushes, bells and whistle expensive adding really make a difference to a card overall performance.

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

*A car’s not a card

[emphasisofmatter]

What's the best ways of treating tyres yourself?! It seems every time I take the car for a service I need at least two new tyres and to me they didn't look that bad! Is it worth shopping around for tyre prices too? I normally just say 'ok fix them'. And how often should brake pads be replaced?

[Quietvoiceplease]

Are the longer term service costs of an electric car lower than those for cars with internal combustion engines?

[lovemyflipflops]

What is more important - service annually or per 1,000's mileage ? - I have low mileage generally and service annually

[pushchairprincess]

The last time I took my 3 year old Corsa for a pre-mot check at a 'named' garage who were advertising this service - I was told it needed a new exhaust - costing £300 - I thought my car was still pretty new to have this requirement - I took my car for the MOT (without this work) to a local garage and the car passed with no 'advisorys' I just feel that some garages are getting unnecessary work from unsuspecting customers - Have you heard of this happening to others.

[alwaysataldi]

What is the difference between an interim and full service - and do you have to have these done at a the garage you bought the car from (they say my warranty would be affected if I did not stay with them)
2 year old Peugeot.

[Summergarden]

I always wonder which level of service is worth paying for.
There are bronze, silver and gold levels at my garage with price tags to match and I usually opt for bronze as have low mileage.
Would a gold level likely save money further down the line?

[jitterbugintomybrain]

Is it better to have a service at the official dealer eg. Volvo, or are independent garages just as good and better value?

[NowImmeagain]

The orange engine maintenance light has come on several times in my Merc A180 12 reg. What triggers this? I've been told various things by the garage but it kept coming on again. The last time they says the fuel injection needed recollaborating and it should now be sorted. So far, so good! Why couldn't they tell the first few times if they run a diagnostic check?

How often do tyres really need air putting in? I hate doing it and there's no one else to do it. Is there anywhere that will do this for a very small fee? Without making me feel stupid!

Thanks.

[librarypictures]

Do manufacturers build in a few potential weaknesses as a money making tool down the line? All models seem to have known problems which surely could have been rectified at the design stage. For example my car’s weak point is thermostat housing / water pump leaks and it was a known problem on the previous two generations.

[letsnotscaretheneighbours]

Tbh I'm more disappointed in the misogyny in garages still. My Dad taught me basic maintenance, and I'm not too shabby at diagnosing a fault. I even have a code reader that I know how to use and most garages still treat me like I'm a stupid little girl.

[Montydoo]

If you do not get your service done by a dealership (which costs an arm and a leg) is it worth the risk - it's less than half the price at my local garage, and with my car being 3 years old - if there is a major engine fault would the warranty be affected by not having the service done with them - if I have all of my service stamps. ? TIA

[spaceghetto]

What are the different levels of service?

[Whatohbertram]

My experiences with garages have been shocking, a few that come to mind - being told that you cannot change an air filter you have to have a complete new exhaust, a garage trying to make me have a new camshaft instead of a new sensor, being told I needed a new clutch cable when the car had a hydraulic clutch, I could go on for hours about the crooks out there. I now use a council MOT centre which massively cuts down on faults being found, I pay for a local garage to do a basic service, I refuse to pay for ridiculous things that are included in a full service like a bonnet catch being greased or my coolant level being checked. With things like YouTube, forums and code readers there is a huge amount that you can diagnose and do yourself.

[BoobsOnTheMoon]

Do you give your staff any guidance on who to address their talk about the car and any repairs needed to if a couple come in? My DP doesn't drive but on more than one occasion when we have taken the car to a garage together (if he's been with me for some reason), the staff have directed all their questions and comments to him despite watching me get out of the drivers seat

I now walk out of any garage where that happens. Luckily I've found a great local mechanic (not part of a chain, they're the worst in my experience) who are always mindful of the fact it's my bloody car!!

[burwellmum]

Is it worth paying the extra for a car to be serviced at a dealership once out of warranty?