Does anyone else struggle to motivate themselves to work on their car at this time of year?  Mine's unfortunate enough to be due a service every December but I just can't be bothered to get out there.  Have to work on the street as well which is a bit of a pain gathering all my tools together and not being able to leave them. Last weekend I ended up just doing the pollen and air filter as that wasn't much effort but can't be bothered to jack her up and get under there to do the oil! I just dream of having a heated double garage next to the house lol

I did mine with an oil suction pump in October...saved messing around with jack and stands!  Of course mines not a delicate DV6 though...and it was already 11months overdue a service!  

I need to service my car even though I probably haven't much miles. With my new uni and going in 5 days a week my mind is gone off the car. Need to service it, replace the reverse camera as the image is going wrong and spray the front calipers black. 

2 hours ago, Albert27 said:

Does anyone else struggle to motivate themselves to work on their car at this time of year?  Mine's unfortunate enough to be due a service every December but I just can't be bothered to get out there.  Have to work on the street as well which is a bit of a pain gathering all my tools together and not being able to leave them. Last weekend I ended up just doing the pollen and air filter as that wasn't much effort but can't be bothered to jack her up and get under there to do the oil! I just dream of having a heated double garage next to the house lol

the cold puts me off🙂

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

I did mine with an oil suction pump in October...saved messing around with jack and stands!  Of course mines not a delicate DV6 though...and it was already 11months overdue a service!  

Lol you're giving me ideas!  Would i get away with it on the 8v?  

1 hour ago, dezwez said:

the cold puts me off🙂

I'm gonna go out one day in my 3 weeks off and clean the car 😂. Going to put boiling hot water in my rinse bucket so my hands don't freeze up. 

Just now, zain611 said:

I'm gonna go out one day in my 3 weeks off and clean the car 😂. Going to put boiling hot water in my rinse bucket so my hands don't freeze up. 

lol👍

1 minute ago, dezwez said:

lol👍

Has to be done. The car has gone filthy and hadn't cleaned it since September. Going to give it a good seal and wax to further protect during the winter months with this salts on the road. 

I just do the lights and plates and all the class that's it for me to cold 🙂

I certainly clean mine less (on the outside at least) in the Winter.

I know that it's fully protected by wax underneath the dirt and it would stay clean for literally 0 days at this time of year. If it gets really cold and they start putting salt on the roads I give it regular pressure washes but that's all. I'll give it a full wash next weekend though because I won't be using it during the Christmas break.

Service is in April, but Ford do that for me.

Washed my car yesterday  for the first time since Oct. Was going to carry on today and do inside then polish but the cold rain came this morning and put me off for the day. I need to service my partners fiesta ecoboost which is over due since sept. And look at my daughter's fiesta . New front wing and service. 

Oh and my son's fiat Grande Punto needs the wiring looking at for the heater fan as it's inop at the moment. 

Could make a start on Xmas day as I'm not working. Lol 

6 hours ago, Albert27 said:

Lol you're giving me ideas!  Would i get away with it on the 8v?  

Tbh, I was amazed at how much oil it did pull, I seriously doubt there was any more left in the sump than there would have been with a plug out change.  

Obviously it's up to you though, I don't want to take responsibility just in case!

 

4 hours ago, iantt said:

Washed my car yesterday  for the first time since Oct. Was going to carry on today and do inside then polish but the cold rain came this morning and put me off for the day. I need to service my partners fiesta ecoboost which is over due since sept. And look at my daughter's fiesta . New front wing and service. 

Oh and my son's fiat Grande Punto needs the wiring looking at for the heater fan as it's inop at the moment. 

Could make a start on Xmas day as I'm not working. Lol 

How did you get your son to get an Italian car. Will you do the authentic Italian tune up 🇮🇹

I think if I did an Italian tune on his Punto it would go bang. 

It's his first car and was cheap to buy and insure 08plate for £700 . To be fair it's not given him or me any grief except for a rear coil spring , a seat tilt cable and rear exhaust in 18 months. 

That was one good thing about the c class I had.  Top mounted oil filter and a cheap suction pump off ebay meant no more lying under the car covered in rubbish.

I can't even motivate myself to hoover out Poppy's dog hair atm.

12 hours ago, Albert27 said:

Does anyone else struggle to motivate themselves to work on their car at this time of year?  Mine's unfortunate enough to be due a service every December but I just can't be bothered to get out there.

No way would I work on a car outside in this weather! Even in milder winter weather I avoid it like the plague. If I touch metal without thick gloves, I turn to a block of ice in an instant. (slight exaggeration, but cold, numb hands and white fingers are useless )

My car had a November oil change date when I bought it in 2011. I took advantage of the longer change interval on the 1.8TDCI to service at 13-14 month intervals, paying a local chap to do the oil change in the winter. My mileage is way below the max., so I could get away with the extra time.

Now the service is in about August, and that is the time for all the underside cleaning, checking and rust prevention as well as oil change, so I do that at the same time. Also MoT is October, so I have time to fix any problems I see. No problem with the cold, though rain can still be a bit annoying.

I do have a garage, but it is so full of junk (and some very useful stuff), that there is no chance of getting the car in. The big door has been broken for the last 20 (about!) years anyway, and I am not 100% sure the rather fat Focus would fit through. So I have to work outside, but do have the luxury of a substantial driveway to work on.

I recall working in the road, not a lot of fun! Once I put my tire pump out beside the car to try to keep oncoming cars a foot or two away while I was working, but some nutter ran over it, and dented the cylinder . At least it was not me.

 

33 minutes ago, mozz said:

I can't even motivate myself to hoover out Poppy's dog hair atm.

None of our dogs go near my car. Our Poppy (Cocker Spaniel) is the worst for shedding hair and even brief brush against any part of my clothes leaves me looking like a Yeti.

I did however manage to motivate myself to jet wash, clean and finish the outside of the car last weekend. This evening I got round to installing the LED dipped and high beams though I did cheat slightly by taking off the head lights and bringing them inside the house to do it.