SAC Automotive Workshops
Motor Vehicle servicing & repairs, electronic & mechanical

You hear names like, Lube Service, Minor & Major Service, Intermediate Service, A, B & C Service, 100 000 km & 200 000 km Service to mention only some of the terms you will come across in the industry.

Your car’s service book makes it no easier to understand what you are getting or paying for.

The service is merely listed and you simply book your car in for that and assume that everything is being taken care of.

But is it?

Very often if we ask, how long since you serviced your car?

The answer is, it was serviced just the other day or a few km ago.

When we do the actual check the surprise is usually unbelievable, sometimes the vehicle was serviced as long as a year ago or it is as much as 15 000 or 20 000 km overdue.

It is no wonder the cars break and develop underserved tags for being unreliable. It is not the car, it is the owner that is not taking proper care of it.

This attitude is becoming worse and worse as more and more cars come with service and maintenance plans.

But again, once these expire or you buy a car with a full service history, who is going to pick up the repair bill when something major fails like the turbo?

To be honest, it doesn’t really matter what you call it, what matters is that your vehicle gets properly serviced and maintained regularly.

That is why we at SAC can offer you a range of automotive service options from a simply oil change right down to a comprehensive and major service that would involve going through your vehicle from front to back.

But an oil change at the very least every 10 000 km is as essential for your car as it is taking care of your diet.

Something that is not always given a lot of thought either is the quality of the oil you use.

Cheaper and lower spec oil is going to degrade far quicker than a higher grade oil, and thus is should be changed more regular.

By allowing your car to die a slow and sludged up death as a result of not changing the oil is the same as going to gym and worrying about your muscles but never eating correctly.

No matter how good you look on the outside, your internal organs will eventually fail, just as your car will. The engine of your car is the most expensive component in your car, take care of it.

Second to changing engine oil is properly maintaining your cooling system. To be safe have the coolant checked along with all the other fluids.

This also needs to be done regularly and do it according to the shortest time or distance recommended, and not the longest.

Coolant, even extended-life variants, although they don’t degrade easily or degrade substantially before they are scheduled to be changed, can be lost as a result of a leak or careless topping up, and then you have the incorrect water to coolant level working its way around your engine and causing serious long term damage.

We have also heard of things like Brake Services, Clutch Services, Cambelt Services etc.

Is all this really necessary?

What is really necessary over and above this is regular oil changes as mentioned, wheel bearing packing, CV Joint Services, Cambelt replacement, brake replacement, diff and gearbox oil changes, injector services, filter services because although this is just some of the important stuff, this is what could ultimately save you money.