Interim, full and major services: what’s the difference?

These aren’t legal or official terms. Each garage decides what goes into its own services, so two garages can use the same name for different work. As a broad guide:

• Interim service: usually the lightest of the three, with new engine oil, a new oil filter and a shorter list of checks. Some drivers book one between full services.
• Full service: usually oil and filters, with a broader round of checks on the brakes, suspension, lights and fluids.
• Major service: usually a full service plus parts that are changed less often, such as spark plugs and extra filters. Which ones depends on what the maker’s schedule says is due.

Some items often have their own interval in the maker’s schedule, such as brake fluid, coolant or, on engines that have one, the cambelt. Whether a garage includes them in a service or prices them separately varies, so check each quote.

The car’s maker sets what should be done and when, usually by time and by mileage. The schedule is usually in the handbook or the service book, and some makers keep the car’s service history online, as a digital service record, instead of in a paper book. If the schedule lists an item for this service, that matters more than the name a garage gives the visit.

Many cars also show a reminder when a service is due, often a spanner symbol or a message, and some work out the timing from how the car has been driven. It’s a reminder, not a fault, and a garage usually resets it after the service. A warning light is different: see our guide to dashboard warning lights.

The MOT checks that a car meets road safety and environmental standards. It doesn’t cover the condition of the engine, clutch or gearbox, so a car can pass its MOT and still be overdue a service. A service is maintenance: it looks after the parts that wear between tests, and it can catch problems early.

If both are due around the same time, ‘MOT and service’ is one job on Matchanic. In England, Scotland and Wales the MOT itself has to be done at an approved MOT test centre, and Matchanic doesn’t check whether a garage is one, so ask before you accept a quote. Our guide to when your MOT is due explains how to work out the date.

If you don’t know the car’s history, GOV.UK’s MOT history service shows the mileage recorded at each test and, for tests in England, Scotland and Wales, which parts failed and whether any had minor problems. It covers MOTs rather than services, but it gives a garage something to go on.

It’s also worth checking for safety recalls. GOV.UK’s recall check uses the registration to show safety recalls that haven’t been checked or fixed. If a car is recalled for a safety reason, the maker will usually write to tell you what to do. You get it fixed or replaced by the maker, and you won’t usually have to pay for the repairs or parts.

Because the names vary, compare what each quote covers rather than what it’s called. You can message a garage about its quote before you accept it. Questions worth asking:

• What’s on its checklist for this service, and which parts it replaces.
• Which filters are included: oil, air, cabin (pollen) and, on some engines, fuel.
• Whether the oil will meet the specification in your handbook.
• Whether items your schedule lists for this service, such as spark plugs or brake fluid, are included or extra.
• Whether the parts will be the maker’s own or another brand’s.
• Whether it will update the service book or digital record, and reset the reminder.
• What happens if the checks turn something up. Ask to be told, and asked, before any extra work is done.

If the car is under a warranty, check what its terms say about servicing, and keep the invoice. For more on weighing quotes up, see how to compare garage quotes.

The Highway Code says you must make sure your vehicle is legal and roadworthy before you set off, and its annex on vehicle maintenance lists checks you can keep up with yourself:

• Check the fluid levels at least weekly, and make sure you recognise the low fluid warning lights if your car has them.
• Take special care that the lights, brakes, steering, exhaust, seat belts, demisters, wipers, washers and any audible warnings all work.
• Before winter, make sure the battery is well maintained and there’s suitable antifreeze in the radiator and the windscreen washer bottle.

Your car’s handbook usually shows where to check each fluid level.

Add the registration, choose ‘Interim service’, ‘Full service’ or ‘Major service’ from the Servicing list, then add the postcode where the car is. If you only want the oil done, ‘Oil and filters’ and ‘Oil change’ are there too. For an electric car or a hybrid, ‘EV service’ and ‘Hybrid service’ are in the ‘Hybrid & electric vehicles’ list: see Hybrid and electric cars. Items with their own interval, such as a brake fluid or cambelt change, can be posted as separate jobs.

Under ‘Anything else’, give the mileage, when the car was last serviced, anything the schedule says is due, and whether you want the service record updated. If you’re not sure which service the car needs, say so. Garages on Matchanic can see your job and choose whether to quote. There’s more about the job itself on the Car servicing page.