What Aspects of a Skoda Service Can You Do Yourself?

If you want to take care of your new Skoda, car service should be your first priority. Regular servicing is essential to keep your new vehicle operating at peak efficiency, safety, and performance. However, while many of us are happy to leave this task to the professionals, there are some who insist on DIY car maintenance. Unfortunately, modern cars are extremely complex, so what aspect of a service should you attempt yourself?

Things to Avoid:
If you have a reasonably new vehicle, you need to first look at the aspects of a Skoda service you shouldn’t tackle. Unfortunately, this list is fairly extensive, as most vehicles have sensors and computers attached to practically everything. Some models don’t even have a dipstick so you can check your oil. Even changing a battery or headlight bulb can have some unseen complexities. This means that unless you want to invalidate your warranty, you need to be very careful not to mess with any key systems including safety systems, such as the brakes.

What’s Safe for DIY?
In a fully warrantied, new car, the prospects for DIY elements of a Skoda service are limited to monitoring and performing minor top ups. You should check that fluid levels are topped up, tyres are in good condition and inflated to the correct pressures and that all your lights are working. You should also check and replace your wiper blades where necessary.

On simpler new cars or older models, you can also attempt battery and light maintenance. Standard light globes shouldn’t pose an issue, and if your battery has caps, you can adjust the levels if needed.
Older vehicles tend to be simpler. With minimal DIY skills, you can tackle spark plug, oil, and filter changes. However, you need to be aware of your own limitations. Even these seemingly straightforward tasks can create problems if you don’t tackle the job in the right way. Don’t just start a task without proper research beforehand. Additionally, you shouldn’t rely on watching one video online; you’ll need extensive knowledge of how your particular model operates before you attempt any maintenance.

Err on the Side of Caution:
As with any aspect of DIY, it is best to err on the side of caution. If you are unsure how to tackle any element of your Skoda service, it is a good idea to check in with an experienced technician.

If you need a Skoda service, Perth drivers should speak to us. We are not only an authorised Skoda dealership but also offer a full after sales program including Skoda car service and maintenance. Our team of experienced technicians would also be happy to answer any queries you have about any aspect of Skoda service or maintenance.

3 Reasons to Use Genuine Skoda Accessories and Parts

When you purchase a car, it’s a significant investment, for many people it may be the largest purchase that they ever make. If you decide to add accessories or need to replace parts, it’s important to use pieces that are engineered to work with your car. This will ensure that they are tested rigorously and have met Skoda's safety, quality and performance standards. This will help to protect your investment because fitting non genuine parts can compromise your entire system. Let's’ take a closer look at three reasons why you should only ever use genuine Skoda parts and accessories.

1. Superior Engineering

We have seen a spate of cases here in Australia of counterfeit parts being sold as genuine. These parts are usually a little cheaper, but they are simply copies and will not stand up to any real test. It should come as no surprise that these fake parts fail earlier that genuine parts and are unsafe to use. A car is a complete system, and poor quality parts can affect how well connected parts work and shorten their useful lifespan. Fitting fake parts may seem like good financial sense at the time, but the actual cost of fitting them may be far higher in the medium to long term.

2. Parts Performance

A part may look genuine, but the quality goes far further than skin deep. The fake part may even work OK under certain normal operation, but it will not have the tolerances necessary to work under other pressures. A prime example of this would be a vehicular collision where a fake part would most likely fail. If this is a non critical part, it could be an annoyance, but in other cases, it could make a crash far worse and result in a casualty or even a fatality.

3. Good Financial Sense

Genuine equipment lasts longer because it’s engineered to higher tolerances and designed to work with the other systems and parts in the Skoda car. Many people judge the value of a car by how many kilometres of driving they can get out of it before it finally is uneconomical to fix. The world record holder for running a vehicle is Irvin Gordon with 5 million kilometres driven in a 50 years old Volvo P1800, and it should come as no surprise that he only ever used genuine parts in his car.

If you’re in the market for some genuine Skoda genuine accessories and parts, contact us here at Skoda Perth. We have a large selection of aftermarket  Skoda accessories available. If you book your car in for a service, we only ever use genuine Skoda parts or designated alternatives. Our staff is standing by to offer advice on servicing and accessories, and they can answer any other questions that you may have.