Service day in Bentleigh
RACV says a minor service takes a few hours and a major one can take most of a working day. With Bentleigh and Patterson stations both on the Frankston line, leaving the car with a mechanic and catching the train to work is an easy way to fit it in.
Bentleigh's streets
Centre Road
The strip along Centre Road has over 250 retail businesses, the biggest in the area, and the 703 SmartBus runs through it. Short, stop-start trips up and down it wear brakes and batteries more than the kilometres suggest.
No more boom gates
The level crossing at Bentleigh station went in 2016 under the Level Crossing Removal Project, so the gates no longer hold up traffic there.
Errands stay local
There's a second shopping centre on Patterson Road and a weekly market beside the station, so plenty of a Bentleigh car's driving is short local runs.
Minor or major service?
| Minor service | Major service | |
|---|---|---|
| How often, by RACV's general rule | Every 10,000 to 15,000 km or 12 months, whichever comes first | Generally every 30,000 to 45,000 km |
| How long it takes | A few hours | Can take most of a working day |
| What's covered | Battery test, engine oil and filter, brakes, tyres, lights, filters and fluid top-ups | All of that, plus engine performance checks, fluid flushes, brake cleaning, wheel alignment and parts at the end of their life |
| What decides it | Your car's own service book | Your car's own service book |
RACV puts the maker's own schedule first, so the logbook beats any general rule. If the book and the table above disagree, go with the book.
Where we'd start
We'd open the logbook, see which service is next and tell the mechanic that, with the kilometres. If it's a major one, we'd drop the car off on the way to Patterson or Bentleigh station and pick it up after work.