Service and WoF in one visit
If the WoF falls due around the same time as the service, ask whether the garage does both. Plenty of Christchurch garages inspect cars as well as service them, so the car goes in once, and anything the service turns up gets sorted before the inspection.
Tell us in the note that the WoF is due too. Then the mechanic can say on the call whether they do the inspection themselves.
Is the car still under warranty?
Read the warranty booklet before you choose where to go. The MTA says most extended warranties explicitly need dealer servicing to stay valid, while a maker's new-car warranty usually doesn't stop you using an independent garage that follows the schedule.
Whatever the warranty says, your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act still apply. A service has to be done with reasonable care and skill, and finished in a reasonable time if you didn't agree one.
How Christchurch driving shows up at a service
Before winter
With frost on so many mornings, an autumn service is a good time to test the battery and check the coolant, rather than finding out on the first hard frost.
Short, flat trips
A lot of Christchurch driving is short runs across a flat city. Short trips are hard on oil and batteries, so ask the mechanic whether the maker's schedule for your car has a separate interval for that kind of use.
Hill roads
If you drive the Port Hills often, ask for a close look at the brake pads and discs at each service.
What to ask for on the quote
- The service the maker's book lists for the car's kilometres, by name.
- The oil grade the book asks for, and the filters being changed.
- A stamp in the service book, or an update to the digital record.
- A phone call before any extra work, with the price of that work.
- Whether the WoF can be done on the same visit.
Our take
We'd send the job with the model filled in and the WoF date in the note. Then ask the mechanic to put the maker's service, the oil grade and the book stamp in the written quote, so you know exactly what you're paying for.