Ivanhoe and its car
Upper Heidelberg Road
The shopping strip along Upper Heidelberg Road is mostly inter-war, built between 1915 and 1940, and the old Heidelberg Town Hall stands on a hilltop along it. Most local errands are a few minutes along it, so the engine rarely gets a long run.
Two stations in one suburb
Ivanhoe and Darebin stations are both inside the suburb, and Ivanhoe's main station building dates from 1888. When the train does the commute, a car can go a whole year without reaching its service kilometres.
Rivers on two sides
The Yarra forms the southern boundary, with a golf course and a narrow reserve along the bank, and Darebin Creek runs down the western side. Ivanhoe East, Eaglemont and Heidelberg are separate suburbs next door, so put the postcode where the car is.
What a service should include
On RACV's list, a minor logbook service takes in a battery test, the engine oil and its filter, brakes, tyres, lights, the other filters and fluid top-ups. A major one goes further: engine performance checks, fluid flushes, brake cleaning, a wheel alignment, and new parts where the old ones have reached the end of their recommended life.
RACV puts the major service at roughly every 30,000 to 45,000 km, but your car's own book sets the real timing. Car servicing in Melbourne explains logbook servicing and the warranty.
At home, or at the workshop?
A minor service suits a mobile mechanic in a driveway or a quiet side street. A major service with a wheel alignment, or anything that needs the car up on a hoist, is workshop work.
Choose "Come to me (mobile mechanic)" in the card if you'd rather they came to you. Mobile mechanics in Melbourne sorts the driveway jobs from the workshop ones.
If it were our car
We'd have the routine minor services done at home and take the car to a workshop when a major service with an alignment comes round. Either way, we'd keep the itemised invoice with the service book, because that's what a warranty claim or a buyer will want to see.