How long it takes to service a car (and what’s done)

Quick answer – between two and four hours.

(depending on the type of car you have, and the type of service you’ve asked the garage to do. However, with most garages, expect to leave your car there all day.)

If you’ve never had your car serviced before – perhaps you’re driving your first car and it’s coming up to the recommended service interval, or perhaps you’ve just never got around to doing it – you might be wondering how long it actually takes to service a car, and what they do while they have your car for all that time. 

In this article we’re going to do a deep dive into how long it takes to service a car, what’s checked and what’s changed, and why you should be servicing your car as often as you can afford to.

Servicing a car – what is actually done at a car service?

So in order to understand exactly how long a service takes, we need to understand all the things a garage will do when they service a car. And of course, this depends on the type of service you’ve selected. 

Generally you’ll have three different types of service:

• Major
• Full (minor)
• Interim 

A major service should be performed on your car every two years (24 months) or every 24,000 miles, and a full service in between. So a typical servicing schedule might look like this:

Mileage	Year	Type of service
12,000	1	Full
24,000	2	Major
36,000	3	Full
48,000	4	Major
60,000	5	Full

If you do more than 12,000 miles per year, you might also want to give your car interim services – which is something we discuss below. The above figures are based on years or mileage, whichever comes first – meaning if you get to 24,000 miles before you’ve owned the car for two years, you need to have a major service at that point. However, if you get to two years and you’ve only done, say, 18,000 miles, you still need a major service as it’s been two years.

What’s changed at a major service?

A major service is the most comprehensive piece of maintenance you can do to your car and includes checks and replacements on all major engine filters and fluids. This is generally recommended every two years or 24,000 miles to keep your car in tip-top condition.

A major service will generally involve the replacement of the following:

• Engine oil and filter
• Engine air filter
• Cabin filter (sometimes called a pollen filter)
• Brake fluid
• Fuel filter (diesel or petrol)

A major service will also involve checks of all the major components of your car, including steering, brakes and suspension. They will also do things like ensure your car isn’t leaking oil (and will tell you if it is), check the level of your gearbox oil (manual or automatic) and top it up if required, ensure your tyres are at the correct pressure, lubricate the battery terminals, etc. However this might change between garages, so if you’re unsure of what’s actually being done to your car, you should ask. 

Good garages and repair shops will give you a checklist after the fact to prove to you that everything that should have been checked and changed, has been. If your vehicle requires any further repairs, your mechanic will tell you.

What’s changed at a full service?

A full service (sometimes called a minor service) is slightly less comprehensive than a major service (and as a result, costs less). During a full service, the following will be changed:

• Engine oil and filter
• Engine air filter
• Cabin filter (sometimes called a pollen filter)

Similar checks done on a major service will also be done on a full service, although to a slightly less thorough degree – they may not bother checking if your gearbox oil is topped up, for example, or may not lubricate the battery terminals as they likely would on a major service.

What’s changed at an interim service?

An interim service is generally recommended for high mileage drivers who might surpass the manufacturer’s recommended yearly mileage before the twelve month period is up. For example, if you’re a travelling businessman and you do 20k miles per year, you’re going to significantly surpass the 12k mile point where you’d need a full service in less than a year.

This is why interim services are recommended. They are different from other types of service in that they generally only include an oil and filter change as well as checks of other major components. This ensures that you aren’t running your car with oil that’s contaminated or is of a depleted quality due to the mileage you’re putting on the car.

How long does it take to service a car?

An interim service is likely to take about two hours. A full service is likely to take around three hours, and a major service around four to five hours. This is reflected in the price you pay for each. However, I would expect that you’d be required to leave your car at the garage all day to ensure they have the appropriate time to complete the work you’ve requested. There are some places, however, that will do servicing while you wait.

Do you really need to service your car?

Yes, you need to service your car. There are some people on the internet that will tell you this isn’t true (there was one great comment I saw on a forum somewhere where someone said “if my car passes it’s MOT, it doesn’t need a service” – which I thought was unbelievable) but if you want your car to last longer than a few years, you need to service your car.

Engine oils now are generally made fully synthetic – they’re not like the mineral engine oils that we used to run our cars on. As a result, they can go longer between services and oil changes. However, it’s after around 20,000 miles that even a fully synthetic oil will begin to get more viscous. The oil in your engine lubricates the moving parts, and the more viscous and gel-like it gets as it hasn’t been changed, it will do a worse and worse job at lubricating those parts.

The engine oil also cleans the inside of dirt and debris that can inhibit the engine running well. Coupled with the increased viscosity, which also increases fuel consumption and means the engine needs to work harder, you will eventually get to the point where your oil is so thick and viscous that it does not effectively lubricate the moving parts of the engine and the engine will fail. 

And trust me, once you’ve run an engine on no oil, it’s not the case that you can just change the oil and everything will be fine again – the moving parts will get so hot that when you cut the ignition, the engine will weld itself together and will be impossible for it to run again. You will be requiring either an engine rebuild or a brand new engine.

And a brand new engine is always far more expensive and inconvenient than simply getting your car serviced every year. So get your car serviced!

What happens if you miss a car service?

Missing one service isn’t the end of the world. It could invalidate your car’s warranty and make your car worth less on the second hand market – but if you don’t do a lot of miles, it won’t kill your engine if you miss one service. Miss more than one, however, and you are running into the risk of causing damage to and prematurely ending the life of your engine.

Long story short – if you care about your car, service it according to the manufacturer’s schedule.

Is a car service the same as an MOT?

No, it isn’t. It’s surprising that there are people who believe this, but a service and an MOT are completely different things.

An MOT is a yearly test that’s a legal requirement in the UK. It ensures your car is roadworthy and doesn’t pose a hazard to either you or other road users. It does not entail an engine oil or filter change, or any of the other things that are part of either an interim, minor or major service.

A service as we’ve described above, is a procedure where engine oil and filter are changed, as well as other essential components required for the engine to run at its most efficient. A service technician may do similar checks to those on an MOT, but ultimately they don’t make any legal record of it and you’re required to have an MOT done separately to fulfil your legal obligation.

An MOT and a service are two completely separate things, and while most people get them done at the same time due to the fact that it’s more convenient, and that some garages offer discounts on combined servicing and MOTs. However, they are different things and must be thought of independently. You are legally required to have your car MOT’ed every year – you should also get your car serviced every year.  

How much should I expect to pay for a service?

At a local independent garage, an interim service will set you back around £100 – and this will include all the parts, labour and VAT. A full service is likely to set you back around £150 – £200 depending on where you have it done. A major service could be anywhere from £250 – £350. 

You should be aware that depending on the type of car, and where you take it, you could be paying much more than this – I’ve heard stories of quotes for £500 – £700 for a service at main dealers, so ensure you find somewhere where you’re aware of what the price will be before any work is done.

Check out some more of our servicing related articles!