Things to Check After Getting Your Car Serviced

Posted by Mark on November 27th, 2019

Since your vehicle is one of the most expensive purchases you make, you need to look after it. We are well aware of how important it is to go to the doctor’s office for a checkup to ensure everything is running smoothly; similarly, your car needs a checkup, too! It’s better to maintain your car by ensuring its basic upkeep rather than neglecting it and being bulldozed by high repair costs. Many people fail to take care of the basic maintenance of their car due to silly reasons, but little do they know that this is the most common way to damage a perfectly good vehicle. Operating the same spark plugs for too long, not getting the oil changed at the right time or pretending like your brakes aren’t making noise will just speed up the process of your car ending up at a junkyard.

If you aren’t sure about the kind of service required by your car, then make sure to check your car’s manufacturing guide. To make sure you’re not getting duped by the service providers, you have to inspect your car thoroughly to ensure everything is running smoothly. For thorough and reliable servicing of your car, head down to the Chevrolet service department at the Chevy dealer Naperville, IL.

Here’s what you need to inspect after your car has been serviced:

Work Order Sheet

Every service station has a job sheet, as that it’s standard practice. This work order sheet acts as a communication medium between the mechanic and the service advisor. When giving your car for servicing, you probably have some notable issues in mind. Tally the job sheet to ensure all issues have been attended to and solved.

Total Bill

At the end of your car servicing, an itemized bill is prepared. Make sure you weren’t duped by checking the price of every individual job or item against the approximate price quoted to you by the service supervisor.

Brake Fluid and Engine Coolant

It’s crucial that the engine coolant is changed after a few thousand kilometres, depending upon the recommendation of the mechanic as the coolant loses its properties after a while. There is no way to guarantee that this has been done. The only way you can make sure is by getting it done in front of your eyes at the service station.

Fuel Tank

The fuel levels are checked and marked on the work order sheet by the service advisors. This is a common practice to make sure the car isn’t being misused by the mechanics or any workers. It is also very common to check the air-conditioning of the car to check if someone else was using it. So don’t forget to check the fuel when you go to collect your car after servicing. At the Chevrolet Service Department, you won’t have to worry about these things.

Odometer

It’s common to take the car for a test drive after it has been serviced. This test drive helps ensure that the car is working properly and there aren’t any issues. A long test drive is required if you want to check the engine overhauling. The odometer reading will clarify if the car was misused behind your back or not.

There are also a few checklists that you can go through to check if your car has been thoroughly serviced:

Basic Safety Checklist

These are the necessities to ensure the safety of the car. In case you take your car for a general safety checkup, you have to make sure that these items are functioning. Check the seatbelts to ensure the belt buckle is operating properly. Check the external lights and replace bulbs if required. Check the handbrake to avoid the vehicle from sliding on a slopy area. Check your windscreen, wiper blades and mirrors for any cracks. You’ll need to see if the horn is functioning properly. One of the main things you’ll need to keep a check on are the fluids that include mainly the engine oil. Get the tires checked to see if they are set at the right pressure.

Fluids Checklist

A great way to ensure your car runs smoothly and you don’t end up at the mechanic to get your faulty engine fixed is by checking its fluids. Some of the fluids that you’ll need to check after servicing are engine oil, radiator coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, gearbox oil, and clutch fluid— in case of a manual car.

Light Checklist

You don’t want to get stopped and charged for a ticket because your brake lights aren’t working. So make sure all the lights of your car are working. Start from the headlights because how else will you drive around at night? Check the indicators and hazard lights because you don’t want to cause any accidents. Also, check your brake, reverse and parking lights after servicing to avoid getting fined or causing any accidents.

Tires Checklist

You don’t want your tire to be punctured on your way to work. After getting your car serviced, check the tire pressure. Check the tread wear and tread depth of the tire. Also, make sure the spare tire is usable and is stored in the trunk along with the car jack and other tools.

Last but not least, you might be in a hurry to leave right after your car has been serviced, but this isn’t a very good idea. Since you’re paying to get your car serviced and maintained, you need to ensure you’re not being duped. Therefore, you should go for a test drive with the service advisor. This way, you can make sure that the issues you’ve pointed out have been resolved because it’s usually the small issues that aggravate and turn into huge costs for you.

Author Bio:

Mark has been involved with the auto industry for nearly 12 years in various capacities. He’s spent time with his in sales and management and not to forget his new Chevrolet Cruze and has a passion for all things automobile.