Strathfield's roads and schools
Big roads on the edges
Parramatta Road runs along the north and Liverpool Road, which carries the Hume Highway name, along the south; the A3 marks the west. The M4 itself sits just outside the suburb's boundary.
The school run
Strathfield has an unusually large number of private and public schools. A car that does drop-off and pick-up a few kilometres at a time rarely gets the engine fully warm, and that's hard on the oil and the battery alike.
Towers by the station, houses beyond
High-rise towers surround Strathfield station, a major interchange for Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink, while the boulevardes and large houses sit further out. Either way, a mobile mechanic can usually work on a car parked at home, with the building's say-so for a basement.
Which service schedule fits a school-run car?
Most service books carry a normal schedule and a harder one. RACV puts short trips where the engine doesn't fully warm up on the list of conditions that can call for a service around every six months, and the Wikipedia entry on motor oil counts frequent trips under about 15 km as severe use, because water and fuel build up in oil that never gets hot.
Check which schedule your book says applies and tell the mechanic, who should then work through the checks the book lists for that kilometre reading. Car service in Sydney covers the written estimate.
Our take
For a car whose week is mostly school drop-offs, we'd follow the harder-use schedule if the book has one and have the battery tested at each service. A mobile mechanic who comes between drop-off and pick-up saves you losing the car for the day.