Car Servicing in Newton Abbot

Newton Abbot is a market town at the head of the Teign estuary, with a racecourse, a railway station, and busy A380 and A382 junctions. It is also a gateway to Dartmoor and Torbay, so many local cars are doing commuting miles, school runs and weekend trips in several directions.

At Automaster we service petrol and diesel cars from our garage at Longcombe Cross near Totnes. Drivers from Newton Abbot, Milber, Abbotskerswell, Bickington and Heathfield bring cars to us for servicing and maintenance. This page explains the options.

What is the difference between an interim, full and major service?

An interim service typically means an oil and filter change and a round of safety checks. A full service is more comprehensive, usually replacing parts like the air filter and, depending on the engine, spark plugs or a fuel filter. A major service picks up longer-interval items such as brake fluid or coolant, depending on the vehicle.

Commuters often do enough miles that an interim service between full services makes sense. We will advise based on your car and handbook.

Whichever level you choose, we check tyres, lights, brakes and fluid levels and let you know what we see, so there are no surprises on the next MOT.

How does commuting affect when my car is due?

High mileage brings you to the handbook's mileage limit quicker than the calendar suggests, so keep an eye on the odometer and the last service entry. Junction queues and fast dual-carriageway running both take their toll in different ways.

Booking ahead of the due date means you are not driving on tired oil, and it makes it easy to fit the work around your week.

If you also head up towards Dartmoor or down to the coast, tell us. Hill work and lane driving change how the brakes and suspension wear.

Why follow the manufacturer-schedule servicing?

It keeps the car running as the maker intended and gives you a clear record, which counts when you sell. The handbook sets the intervals and tells you which jobs fall due at each stage.

If you have lost the service book, tell us the make, model and year and we will work from the relevant schedule.

Can you do a vehicle health check or a pre-purchase inspection?

Yes. A health check looks over tyres, brakes, suspension, lights and fluids so you can see what needs attention soon. A pre-purchase inspection checks a second-hand car for leaks, wear and signs of neglect before you buy.

With busy dealers and private sellers around the town, an independent look is a sensible step.

The report is written in plain terms, with the issues listed by how urgent they are, so you can plan around them.

Do you take cars from Newton Abbot and the surrounding area?

Yes. Our garage is at Longcombe Cross, Longcombe, near Totnes, and drivers from Newton Abbot and nearby villages come to us for servicing, oil changes, maintenance, fault finding and MOT tests.

When you ask for a quote, give us the registration, mileage, fuel type, the service you want and any symptoms. We can then be specific rather than guess.

If you are bringing the car in on the way to work, tell us when you ask for a quote and we will discuss what is practical.