A diagnostic check is carried out on your vehicle by a mechanic, who will plug your vehicle into a specialised code reader. It can detect problems with your vehicle which may be difficult to spot manually.
The main components which are tested in a diagnostic check are the car’s:
A diagnostic check is very important as it can detect a potential problem with your car, even before a breakdown. The computerised equipment scans your vehicle’s system to check for any faults, no matter how minor or major. A diagnostic test is a quick, easy and accurate way to discover any faults and will give you the chance to get them fixed before they turn into bigger and more expensive issues. When your car has a fault, this may show as a warning light on the dashboard. If the light goes out the system will store the fault code so the garage will find this when they do the diagnostic check.
There are many different signs which will indicate that your vehicle needs a diagnostic check. Essentially, if you suspect that there is an issue with your car but don’t know what, you will probably want to book a diagnostic check to find out what the problem is. Here are some of the key signs:
You can expect a diagnostic check on your car to take approximately 90 minutes. You may want to allow for more time though as the mechanic who will be carrying out the check might not be available to start right away.
The price of a car diagnostic test can vary, depending on the garage that you visit. Each garage has a fixed price for diagnostic checks, ranging from £30 - £100.
Enter your vehicle registration number and post code into BookMyGarage (at the top of this page) and you can instantly compare diagnostic check pricing from all of the garages in your local area. As well as price, you can see the garages’ reviews, distance from your post code, extra services offered and availability. You don’t even have to register to get access to all of this information. When you have selected a suitable garage, you can choose a date, any optional extras (such as collection and delivery, loan car etc.) and book online.
As every garage owner will tell you, there are some tried and tested ways to cut down on your petrol costs (and consumption) while you’re out and about in Blaydon-on-Tyne or beyond. One is to shut your windows. If you can hear that wind noise in your car it’s costing you more to drive. This is because the car becomes less aerodynamic and has to work harder to motor along. Removing a roof rack will improve your fuel efficiency for the same reason. Another useful tip is to combine short trips into one; each time you drive after your car has been parked for a while the engine will be cold and need to use a lot more fuel for the first 5 miles or so. If you do one trip from school drop-off to supermarket to office you’ll use far less fuel than if you do all those trips individually.