What do I look for when servicing a Mercedes-Benz A-Class?

Home servicing is a great way to learn about your car and get a better idea of what makes it tick. It also means you might even become a more `mechanically sympathetic’ driver and be kinder to the car in a long-term sense.

The service booklet in the car’s glove-box will tell you a lot about what you need to know when it comes to what’s required for a service. But remember that not all services are the same: Some are minor services and some are major. Others require one-off actions such as changing a timing belt or checking the tension of a timing chain, but you can’t afford to ignore any of these things. Other things required by the factory service schedule include checking the thickness of brake material, changing fluid beyond just the oil and plenty of other tasks that might not occur to you naturally. Most of these tasks are either time or distance-covered dependent (sometimes both).

The bottom line is that you really need to be on top of these tasks and know how to do them before you rip the car apart in the driveway one Saturday and then discover you don’t know how it all goes back together. Home maintenance extends way beyond just oil changing, particularly on a modern design such as the Mercedes A-Class. Modern cars are very complex devices and keeping them running sweetly and safely is often the work of a specialist. That said, I’m loathe to try to dissuade you from tackling a job that can be very satisfying and could save you money in the process.

A lot of TAFE colleges once offered car-maintenance courses for the home mechanic, but sadly, many of these seem to have disappeared due to budget cuts across the education system. It would still be worth talking to your local TAFE, though, to see if there’s a short course that might help you out.