Did you know your driving style actually influences how frequently your car needs servicing? It also determines how soon your engine oil degrades, the likely wear and tear on brakes and even your timing belt.
There are two ways to looking at it; you could be either wasting money servicing more often than necessary or you could be putting your car in danger of an important part giving way on you because you’re not servicing regularly enough.
A driver who lives in a high-density area, drives a lot of short trips but also takes long drives to visit family and on weekends and never drives in extreme conditions can safely stick to their car’s recommended service schedule. As a result, the car would run like clockwork, only require minor repairs, and save hundreds of dollars a year on fuel.
By contrast, a driver who does a lot of short city trips and rarely drives on a highway, zips through traffic and often leaves heavy things like gym gear in the boot would need to service their car at least every six months or more frequently. If they don’t, they’ll find their car often makes strange noises, the vehicle will be more likely to break down and the result will be heavy expenses.
This quick quiz below will tell you what kind of driver you are and how that affects your service schedule…
Rate each of the following questions from 1 to 5 to see what type of driver you are and how that will affect your maintenance schedule.
1. What type of driver are you?
A. I’m a calm and smooth driver. I could chauffeur the queen!
B. My friends say I’m a crazy driver and refuse to take a ride with me.
2. Where do you drive?
A. I enjoy frequent weekend highway drives.
B. I’ve never left a traffic jam.
3. How much weight are you carrying?
A. Not much, it’s just me.
B. I’m a taxi driver for my family.
4. What’s in your boot?
A. My car’s as clean as a whistle with no junk in the trunk.
B. I use my car as a storage facility.
5. What conditions do you drive in?
A. I avoid any road debris and road works and would never think of off-roading.
B. I love taking my car to the beach and sand dunes.
Now add up your B’s. Your number of B’s equates to where you sit on the scale below. For example, if you had five B’s, you should be halving your car’s recommended service schedule to 5000 to 7500km, or every three to six months.
| 1 – 2 | Conservative Driver | Stick to your service schedule every 10,000 to 15,000kms or 6-12mths |
| 3 – 4 | Heavy Driver | You will need to service your car more often than your service schedule, every 7,500 to 10,000kms or 6-9mths |
| 5 | Extreme Driver | Halve your service schedule so that you’re servicing every 5,000 – 7,5000kms or 3-6mths |
If you’re not sure what your service schedule is, check out this guide for what to service and when.
Ultimately, whether you’re a conservative, heavy or extreme driver is down to you and your lifestyle. While your car may prefer that you’re a conservative driver, there is nothing wrong with being a heavy or extreme driver. As long as you’re aware of the type of driver you are and adjust your service schedule accordingly you will be able to ensure that you don’t end up broken down or with a big unexpected bill from your mechanic down the track.
