Where Can I Get My Electric Car Serviced

Electric cars (EVs) have been around since the earliest days of motoring, but it's only in recent years that they've become viable for everyday usage. That means drivers making the switch to their first electric vehicle will often have absolutely no idea of what to expect when it comes to owning and running their new car.

One of the many mysteries of EV ownership is how often they need servicing, and indeed what an EV service actually involves. After all, the engine and assorted other oily bits have been replaced by an electric motor and a controller - a bit like a washing machine, and you don't take one of those to the garage every year to have its vitals inspected.

If you've browsed the reviews and brochures to pin down an economical electric vehicle with enough electric car range to suit your needs and your budget, you don't want to be taken by surprise by the maintenance costs. In fact, by and large the news is good, as most EV servicing regimes are cheaper than their fuel-burning counterparts.

That's because, when compared to a traditional car's diesel or petrol engine, an electric motor is extraordinarily simple. So simple in fact, that some think manufacturers could reduce their service regimes and costs further, were it not for the fact that dealers selling new EVs have expensive overheads associated with traditional vehicle workshops.

Much of what makes an electric motor work is stationary, whereas a fossil fuel-powered engine has hundreds of moving parts – all of which need to be kept in tip top condition to avoid issues. Miss a series of oil changes or fail to change the cambelt on time and a petrol or diesel engine could fail dramatically, causing a similarly dramatic dent in your bank balance.

That said, engines (or electric motors) are only one aspect of a vehicle. Electric cars still feature steering, suspension and brakes that will need to be looked after from time to time. Even though fossil fuel-powered cars and battery-powered cars use similar, if not the same systems for these, there are still a handful of important differences to keep in mind.

Read on for all the details on electric car servicing, including a comparison of prices for maintaining an electric car vs petrol and diesel alternatives, according to the manufacturer guidelines.

Electric car servicing: general information

By and large, the experience an owner has servicing an electric car will be the same as they would have had with a petrol or diesel vehicle. It goes a little something like this. After a predetermined period of time or distance covered you take your car to a garage and get them to service it.

Following a short interlude - normally a few hours - without your car, you will be reunited with it in its freshly serviced state. Depending on how intensive the service needed is, your car may have been cleaned and/or the service could have been performed in no time at all while you waited at the garage. The question remains though, what are you getting for your money with an electric car service?

Which parts of an electric car need servicing?

When it comes to servicing an electric car, the major areas checked include the electric motor(s), battery pack, high-voltage electric cabling, suspension, brakes, steering, wheels, tyres and lights. There can, of course, be more to this list, but these are the major points, many of which will follow a similar assessment method as a petrol or diesel car.

As mentioned earlier, electric motors require little servicing thanks to a handful of bearings taking the brunt of the wear and tear. Other major electrical components commonly touched upon are battery packs and high-voltage cabling.

When you go in for an electric car service any workshop worth its electrified salt should be able to do a health check on the battery. This doesn't mean taking it apart and looking inside. It means plugging into the car's computers and analysing the data.

At the same time, a visual inspection of the high-voltage cabling is important to make sure being out on the road hasn't caused the protective outer layers of a cable to perish or its connectors to break.

Moving away from the electrons (slightly), batteries have systems to stop them getting too hot or too cold and often these rely on some kind of fluid to do so. Making sure there is enough fluid in good condition will form part of an electric car service.

Aside from the electronics themselves, one other major difference in an electric car is the use of 'regenerative braking', which uses the electric motor to slow the car (and recharge the battery) under braking. This system should mean you need to use your traditional friction brakes less frequently, so they ought to suffer less wear and last longer as a result.

Much like traditional cars, electric cars might have minor and major services. This is because not all parts of a car need checking (or replacing) as regularly as others, so for some services it is okay to skip a few parts. Naturally, minor services take less time and cost less, while the reverse is true for major services. - you will of course need to undergo a major service as some stage, so don't be tempted to treat it as a money saving exercise.

Where to get an electric car serviced

The most obvious place to get an electric car serviced is at a main manufacturer dealer and while these will likely be the most expensive option, they should be the most competent. Being that electric cars are still an emerging market in the UK they may well be your only option if your local independent garage is not yet competent in servicing them.

While you don't have to use a main dealer to get the service work done, many manufacturer warranties stipulate that only manufacturer-approved parts can be used in servicing otherwise the warranty can be voided. So make sure wherever you go approved parts are used.

Also, some warranties state that only certified garages can do the work, which means you may be forced to go to a main dealer anyway. That brings us on to the small matter of the bill...

Electric car servicing plans

There are two main methods of payment for servicing. You either sign up to a service plan, which is much like a phone contract where you agree to pay a set amount each month (you can also pay it all in one lump sum) and in return get a set period of service cover.

Cover periods typically range from two to five years, depending on how much you want to spend. The other option is to pay as you go, i.e. when you get to the point your car needs a service you simply take it to a garage and pay for the service.

Whether monthly instalments or pay as you go servicing is best for you will likely depend on your financial situation and how long you plan on having the car. The longer you keep a car, the more miles you will put on the clock and therefore the more important it becomes to maintain a car properly.

Bear in mind, too, that if you're financing the car through PCP finance, Hire Purchase or PCH leasing, the finance company may demand that you service the car on time at a main dealer every time, to avoid end-of-contract charges.

Electric car servicing: service intervals

When weighing up your options, it is worth remembering that the service intervals on an electric car are often longer than those of petrol or diesel alternatives, but not always. Nonetheless, it is important to follow service schedules as future buyers will want to see a car has been well looked after. If you're financing the car, the finance company may demand you service the car on time - as they own it until you've made all the finance payments with either PCP or HP - and if you own it, you're likely to get a better price for a fully-serviced car when you come to sell.

That said, intervals vary greatly between makes and models. For example, the all-electric Kia e-Niro should be serviced once a year or every 10,000 miles (whichever happens first) according to Kia. Meanwhile, a petrol Nissan Qashqai only needs servicing every year or 18,000 miles.

Many cars, including recent BMW models, are moving towards condition-based maintenance, where the car tells you when it needs servicing. This means that you should only be replacing components as and when they need it and not at fixed intervals, where there might still have been some life left in an item.

Electric car servicing vs hybrid servicing

Although all-electric cars are easier to service, not all plug-in models are – namely hybrids. Thanks to having both a petrol or diesel engine plus an electric motor (and all the additional parts that go with both), hybrids are quite complicated. Naturally, there are more components to check and service.

The result is that plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and self-charging hybrids are more pricey than the all-electric models and even many petrol and diesel motors to service. As a note, diesel vehicles tend to be more expensive to service than petrols, as in turn they have more complicated technology under the bonnet, such as extra emission control systems, which add further servicing cost.

Electric car service costs

There are differences (both good and bad) between electric vehicle servicing costs and traditionally powered vehicle servicing. As a general rule of thumb, fully-electric cars are cheapest to service, regardless of whether you go for a monthly service plan or a pay as you go service. On the other hand, hybrids can cost as much, if not more than petrol alternatives depending on make and model, with diesels typically costing more to service than petrols, too.

As a guide, below is a table which shows the costs of service plans for some of the most popular electric cars on sale in the UK compared to some of the closest petrol and diesel equivalents from the same manufacturers.

Make/model	Fuel type	Length of plan	Total cost
BMW i3	Electric	3 years/30,000 miles	£540
BMW 1 Series	Petrol	3 years/30,000 miles	£720
	Diesel	3 years/36,000 miles	£720
Kia e-Niro	Electric	3 years/30,000 miles	£259
Kia Niro	PHEV	3 years/30,000 miles	£459
	Hybrid	3 years/30,000 miles	£459
Kia Sportage	Petrol	3 years/30,000 miles	£349
	Diesel	3 years/30,000 miles	£499
Nissan Leaf	Electric	1 year/18,000 miles	£159
Nissan Qashqai	Petrol	1 year/18,000 miles	£209
	Diesel	1 year/18,000 miles	£249
Renault Zoe	Electric	3 years/30,000 miles	£399
Renault Clio	Petrol	3 years/30,000 miles	£449
	Diesel	3 years/30,000 miles	£449
VW e-Golf	Electric	2 years/20,000 miles	£386
VW Golf	Petrol	1.5 years/20,000 miles	£297
	Diesel	1.5 years/20,000 miles	£297

Electric car servicing: exclusions

It is important to note the typical exclusions of an electric car's service plan. Servicing doesn't normally involve fixing any faulty components, it is about maintaining the ones already there. Typically this means visually inspecting items and making sure fluids and lubricants are at the correct levels.

If a major defect is spotted during a service, it will either be covered under your vehicle's warranty - in which case it shouldn't cost you anything - or the garage will price up the option of correcting the issue. Depending on the severity, you may have no option but to pay.

Still baffled by electric car jargon? Check out our electric vehicle glossary to get to grips with all the terms you're likely to come across.

Where Can I Get My Electric Car Serviced

Source: https://www.buyacar.co.uk/cars/1555/electric-car-servicing-explained

Share this post