Here's the fallacy of "doesn't need service". Everything mechanical needs service. As one of our long time contributors says "Make the time to maintain your equipment or it will make the time for you."
The problem arises now that we have vehicles that take very minimal periodic service, no grease fittings, etc.
This is very convenient, people like it (and I do too), but since nobody ever looks at anything - remember, it doesn't need service - small issues that could have been caught and corrected early and cheaply don't get seen, and one fine day, something goes kaplooie (tm) and the car that "never needs service" comes in behind a tow truck and is about to cost the owner a big pile of money.
"Never needs service" does not mean "just ignore it", it should actually mean "take a careful look at it from time to time".
I have a Honda Accord, which has the reputation of "never needs service". That's simply not true. At 120,000 miles, all kinds of things are breaking and falling off, disintegrating plastic parts, check engine light nobody can cure, multiple window actuator failures, the car has been demoted to a "beater" - and I am not hard on machinery.
Dear Bride has a Subaru Forester, which has the reputation of being almost bulletproof. I have the defective lower control arms, two sets of rear wheel bearings, defective brake backing plates (factory TSB - originals were poor quality), caliper seals, scored brake discs and so forth in my recycle pile. The car just turned 120,000 miles. She's a little rougher on cars, but these are not normal wear items - the car is just "fragile".
The last car is one that has the reputation of being an expensive, cash hungry parts hog. Mercedes convertible. That reputation can best be described by Jerry Springer: "That was a lie."
What it does have is a "time or miles" function in one of the (many) onboard computers which whines about "A checks due" and "B checks due".
The dealer charges a lot for this, but dealers charge a lot for anything. The "A" check is nothing more than a look-over of about 15 or so items. Oil level, water level, PS fluid level, belt tension and look for frayed belts, look at the brakes (check for scoring), check all the lights, wiper blades, and so on. This is the kind of thing that ought to be done on ALL cars on a regular basis, but never is. Minor discrepancies found during the "A" check get fixed so they never grow into major problems.
The "B" check is everything in the "A" check plus an oil change, air and cabin filter changes, spark plugs at 60K miles if needed, flush and change the brake fluid after two years, and so forth. Since it is more comprehensive, it costs more, and since we are now changing more parts, that costs more, too.
Any competent DIY semi-mechanic can do all of this at home. MB sells the wiper blades for $55 each (!), eBay has the identical item (Robert Bosch) for $12 each.
Is it worth it? Simply for peace of mind, I think so. For reliability, definitely.
I had a few moments to spare (how did that happen?) and was cruising Craigslist. I found a car just like mine, same model, same year, with 301,000 miles on it! Why was it for sale? It got rear-ended. Ad said "Running well when hit."
So it is a question of pay me now or pay me (a lot more) later. Make the time to maintain your equipment or it will make the time for you.
Have a great weekend!
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
