14 May My service plan doesn’t include what?
You are finally in the position to buy a new car and have thought long and hard about which make, model and colour is the best fit for your budget, style, personality, job or family. With all this excitement and anticipation rushing through your veins, what you may not have thought about is which plan will keep you and your car happy on the road. A service plan or maintenance plan? Are they the same? What exactly do they include?
What’s the difference?
A service plan and maintenance plan are not the same – far from it.
A service plan* comprises services done either annually or at a certain mileage, for a particular period (depending on the manufacturer), such as an annual service for two years or two services, the first at 15 000kms and the next at 30 000kms.
A common misperception is that a service plan* is completely comprehensive but this is not the case. If there is a ‘clink’ or a ‘tuk-tuk-tuk’ coming from your car, chances are that it’s not included in your service plan* and fixing the problem – if not included in your warranty*, car warranties* or maintenance plan* – will then come out of your own back pocket.
Service plans*
A service plan* caters for a few specific items in isolation, items which – in most cases – need to be replaced at the time of service (according to your manufacturer’s guidelines) to keep your car running optimally. When determining when services should take place, manufacturers also take the environmental context of your car into account because – for example – the quality of South African roads and petrol are not in the same as that in Europe, Asia, America or the UK.
Service plans* include items like the air filter, oil and spark plugs (depending on the manufacturer specific plan).
Maintenance plans*
Far more comprehensive, a maintenance plan* includes a service plan as well as the replacement of items damaged or worn out through ‘wear-and-tear’. These wear-and-tear items often include brake pads, globes, fuses, wiper blades and v-belts.
In addition, a maintenance plan* also comes into play when the failure of a specific item – like your clutch, engine, gearbox or electrical components – occurs as a result of normal wear-and-tear and that are not included in an existing warranty*.
Being armed with a maintenance plan* and extended warranty* would then put you in a good position for both wear-and-tear as well as defect
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