Servicing costs

[mikeno monti]

As u can c i dont currently have a Montego or Maestro at the minute mores the pity.What i do have is a K reg white Fiat Tipo 1,4ie formula. Today i went and purchased the basic items needed to sevice said car.£20.10p later i had most of the items ie Timing belt oil spark plugs and oil filter. I didnt get an air filter as ther is 2 different types. As is usually the case, said wholesaler didnt half the write one. I couldnt get an alternator belt either. Same reason. This time i have to buy 2 incase i get the wrong one.I do get my money returned on the unused one. Thus another £20 to get the rest of the stuff once good old VAT is added. Why is is revelent to Montegos and Maestros?. Well i have owned various Montegos over the years and never has it cost that much. Even when i got HT leads and half decent oil. My 2l efi and my 1.6 Estate cost give or take half that amount. One is not impressed. Come back D41 Jea all is forgiven. R I P DJEA.

[MaestroMatt]

Goodness knows where you bought your Maestro/Monty stuff but I would expect to pay £80 inc. VAT to buy everything to properly service my car. It cost me about that last month for...

Decent engine oil
Oil filter (an MG Rover one - cheap ones aren't as good at filtering oil!)
All important copper-washer
Air Filter
Dizzy Cap
Rotor Arm
HT Leads
Bosch Spark Plugs
Cam cover gasket (admittedly not a service item but I needed one!)

Only the oil filter was from Rover. I think £40 was quite a bargain for the service items for your Fiat!

[e692wtt]

I'd expect to pay £30 to £40 for the items listed above except for the cam cover seals. I use a trade motor factor who supplies the motor factors and garages around town, called Andrew Page, and don't even get a trade discount. Andrew Page operate in the North of England, but you could try Partco, for example. The pathway to cheap servicing...

I'd beg to differ regarding Oil Filters - I use an established 'brand name' such as Champion or Purolator(?) from the motor factor mentioned above.

The other other Rich.
:cool:

[MaestroMatt]

Good brand name oil filters like the ones you named are fine, the cheap ones that you have never heard of aren't as capable of filtering out the smallest debris in the oil. I forget where I read this but if I remember I will post the link. I actually like the ones from Rover as they have a rather tasty MG Rover branding all over them and look the part under the bonnet. Very superficial, I know! :rolleyes:

[mikeno monti]

OK OK fair enough. My better half reminded me that it was a we while ago that i bought servicing stuff for the car. Recently we half been using garages and since ther last Montego went we havevt kept a car long enough for it to need a service.I still think that a monti is cheaper to run in the long run.How ever we all live and learn. The stuff i got wasnt top of the range but neither was it bottom of the range either. Middle of the road stuff.

[topgear]

how about your Halfords branded oil filters? would you anticipate these to be useless or ok at filtering oil?

[MaestroMatt]

To be honest I don't know - I have read that all oil filters are not created equal so cheaper probably means inferior. There is an (American I think) study on them here:

http://www.frankhunt.com/FRANK/corvette/articles/oilfilterstudy/oilfilters.html

Apologies for the long URL.

[e692wtt]

Just paid £20.47 at Andrew Page's, with no trade discount and including VAT, for:-

Mann Air Filter,
Mann Oil Filter,
Intermotor Rotor Arm and
Intermotor Distributor Cap

I can get Duckhams Q 20w/50 for about £7, then that's the car serviced for another year/6000 miles. Mebbe get another sump plug and copper washer though, for once...

Bearing in mind that a Rotor Arm and Dizzy Cap for the late, unlamented VDP were £15 from a reputable motor factor in December (ANdrew Pages supply places like this) I reckon that's a bargain.

How's about that then, guys 'n' gals? (I'm still stoned from a weekend in Amsterdam!!!)

The other other Rich.
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: