The difference between maintenance and service plans

Before getting into the basics of service and maintenance plans, it’s important to know that these are separate from a warranty. A warranty covers manufacturing failures, and is the manufacturer’s promise that the car you’re buying won’t give you any problems, aside from the normal wear and tear that comes from driving, and that they’ll cover the costs if there are issues. It’s important to remember that neither a service nor maintenance plan will cover your car if you’re in an accident, so it’s important to have car insurance too.

When deciding which plan to take, it’s necessary to consider the cost implications of each, what you can afford now, and how long you’ll likely have your car.

Service plan

A service plan will cover you for the labour and standard parts of your car’s service. It doesn’t include wear and tear on parts such as the clutch, shock absorbers, headlight globes and brake pads. Each service plan is different, but they generally cover things like brake fluid, coolant, all filters, spark plugs, tyre rotations and cam belts.

Service plans start when you buy your car, and continue for a set number of years or kilometres. Generally the lengths are three years, and 100 000 kilometres.

Maintenance plan

A maintenance plan is a notch up from a service plan as it includes additional cover fo mechanical failures, as well as wear and tear on items such as shock absorbers, brake pads and wiper blades. It doesn’t however cover the cost of new tyres. Like with a service plan, a maintenance plan also lasts for a few years or a set number of kilometres.

Good to know

When you take out a MotorHappy Service or Maintenance Motor Plan, you can get additional benefits such as roadside assistance, towing, car hire or overnight accommodation, tyre change, fuel run, jumpstart and locksmith service if you lock your keys in your car.

For more information or to do a quick online quote to see what benefits and limitations there are, click here.