Twelve Makes, One Set of Hands

Servicing a car correctly is a data problem before it is a spanner problem. Every manufacturer publishes the schedule, the fluid approvals, the torque figures and the reset procedure, and a workshop either subscribes to that information and holds the tools, or it guesses. Twelve is the number of brands we can genuinely hold all of it for.

That is why this is a list rather than the phrase all makes and models. A generic scan tool will read a fault code on almost any car. It will not bleed brakes through an electronic parking brake, reset a variable service interval, or register a replacement battery so the charging system stops treating it as the old one. Those are brand-specific procedures, and they are the difference between a car that comes back working and one that works for a fortnight.

Japanese and Korean models mostly run fixed intervals: a set distance or a set number of months, whichever falls first, with a longer item list every second or third visit. It is simple to plan around and easy to audit afterwards, which matters while a car is still inside its new-car warranty period.

Several European models instead calculate the interval from how the car has been driven, and the number they arrive at assumes conditions that Dandenong traffic does not provide. Short trips, long idles and stop-start running are the hardest kind of use, and an oil that theoretically has thousands of kilometres left can already be loaded with fuel dilution and moisture. Where somebody drives that way, we will suggest a fixed interval shorter than the car is asking for, and explain why.

There are usually three options for any part: the manufacturer boxed part, the same component in the original supplier box, and an aftermarket equivalent of varying quality. We will tell you which is which and where the difference actually matters, which is more often on cooling parts, sensors and timing components than on a set of brake pads.

For European cars we order by VIN as a rule. Build changes land mid model-year, so a catalogue lookup by year and model can offer two water pumps, three thermostat housings and the wrong intake gasket. Reading the build off the VIN takes a minute and saves a car sitting on a hoist waiting for a second delivery.