Even though my 12-year 530d has been as reliable as an Innova Crysta, it spends about 15-30 days off the road every year.
GTO recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
This awesome new thread by BHPian Themomomonsterr ignited the thread idea.
How many days off-the-road does your car spend each year for repairs & maintenance?
My list:
530d = 20 to 30 days of downtime every year. High-end German luxury cars are really not for the faint-hearted, required a LOT of TLC and endure a high amount of costs / downtime. I don’t think these cars can be your primary ride – you need another car in the house. Even though my 12-year 530d has been as reliable as an Innova Crysta, it spends about 15-30 days off the road every year. Scheduled maintenance takes longer than with normal cars, as does the spare parts waiting period, and back-and-forth discussions on repair quotations. Beautiful machine. Recently shot picture. But takes a lot of effort & money to keep in top shape (average of 2 lakhs per year). One fast drive on an empty highway early in the morning though…and it all seems worth it. What an engine, what a gearbox!
Thar = 1 single day in 2024 for its scheduled service (2 days combined in 2024 & 2025 for its annual services). An extremely dependable, robust machine:
Skoda Superb = Between 2 to 3 days (averaged) per year. Still in warranty period, things are simpler. I expect a week or two of downtime once she is 6+ years old (DSG, Skoda Electronics…)
Meanwhile, here’s what BHPian Dr.AD had to share other enthusiasts:
I voted for 1-7 days per year.
My BMW 320d has been extremely reliable all these years (touch wood) and has not needed more than a 1-day visit for regular service (oil change approximately every 10,000km , brake pads change somewhere about every 25,000km etc). In fact, most of these services are only half-day affairs. I take my car there at 9AM. Wait there and do my work from the customer lounge in the service center, and by around 1PM the car is ready and I drive back. That has been my routine for last 3-4 years for maintenance of the 320d.
So on average, BMW 320d needs 3 service days per year (half-day or at max 1 day per visit, and about 3 visits per year) in the service center.
My Mahindra Thar has also been very reliable so far. Again, apart from regular service visits (oil change etc) it has not needed anything else, and each of those service visits have been half-day affairs only.
So cumulatively, in 2 full years, the Thar has did about 4 visits to service centers, half-days each!
My previous car was Maruti SX4 (sold now), and even that was as reliable as it could get. Apart from 1-day visits for regular oil changes every 10,000km, it required nothing else.
Here’s BHPian Themomomonsterr’s reply:
Feeling really honoured right now.
Since I can’t actually participate in the poll being a newbie, here goes…Kia Seltos 1.4 TGDi MT – 1-3 days every 10k kms
BMW 530d – averaged 2-3 months a year. consistently.
VW Ameo – 1-2 days every 10k kms
Hyundai i20 N-Line MT – 1-2 days every 8k kms.
INT650 – 1 week every time it requires a service.
Meanwhile here’s what BHPian Jeroen had to say in this matter:
I won’t bore you with how much time I spent on my classic cars doing all kinds of routine maintenance and just about all repairs myself.
When it comes to the two daily runners, our 2015 Ford Fiesta and 2010 Mini one it is anywhere between 2-3 hours to maybe 6-8 hours, per year, depending on what needs doing.
There have been big jobs on the Mini you would need to consider of normal maintenance when a car gets older. E.g. Replacing the thermostat housing which is a big job! Check my fiddling with cars thread.
On average here in the Netherlands most cars will spend only one day a year at the dealer or independent garage. All necessary parts tend to be stocked and everything that isn’t will be delivered early afternoon. With most modern cars going easily up to 10-15 K, between regular services most people will only visit their dealer or independent garage once a year. If you clock a lot of miles, you are also likely to have a diesel car that can do 20-30k between regular services.
We have so called annual APK test, basically an MOT. On our daily cars that will take an hour max. Usually done as part of the annual service if you use a dealer or an independent garage.
I would say, rule of Thumbs, the actual number of hours required to service a well maintained modern car is around 3-6 hours per year max. Cars that go over 100K kilometers are more likely to need additional time. Think distribution belts/chains suspension work, exhaust work and so on.
Most folks here will take their car to a specialist tyre fitter. Dealers and independent garages are notoriously expensive and lack a good choice of tires. A good the fitter will swap and balance a pair of tires in 45-60 minutes max. You make an appointment, have a coffee, make a few calls and your car will be ready.
Jeroen
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
