French words for a service

[TroisChatNoir]

Hi,

I will shortly need my car serviced but the garage is 50km away and

would like to make sure they have all the parts when I book on the

telephone so would like a translation if possible for things like

"Fanbelt", "Valve Clearances", "Brake fluid check", "coolant level"

etc, I have looked around in various phrase books etc but can't find

any reference to "getting your car serviced in France" and to be fair

it's not something you would expect to find is it? any help is greatly

appreciated

[YCCMB]

Hi! Try http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ressources/gdt.html. It's Canadian, but it's a not bad online dictionary for technical terminology and I tried a couple of the terms you were asking for and it gave them together with a list of the industries they're used in so you can pick the right one for automobiles. I used to work for a French car company and we had a good one, but only on our intranet unfortunately.

[basquen]

Here's a great english>spanish & french glossary of automobile terms - certainly enough to make sure you're talking about the right parts.

Most garages describe a 'service' as a 'révision'. Just as in the UK, a main dealer will have a standard checklist to trun through according to the car's mileage. A smaller garage will probably be more flexible and will draw up a list of what you /he thinks needs checking. Centres such as Feu-Vert & Norauto offer different fixed price deals for servicing. They can be cheaper than at a normal garage, but you won't get the individual attention or flexibility of a small local garage and in the event of a problem they can be stubbornly unhelpful.

[Bones]

The problem I have with these dictionaries is that whilst the translations are correct they might not be in common use - but if the garage gets your point I suppose that's okay.

Joints de cardans = cardan joint = universal joint = croissillion... whilst cardan = driveshaft = arbre de transmission = propshaft....

As esoteric in english as it is in french! Depends on which mechanic you speak to I suppose and which type of vehicle you drive?

I know an english mechanic over here, and he still has trouble ordering some parts, which makes me feel better about the whole thing.

[Chancer]

You mentioned "valve clearances", if your car is of an age that these require checking or adjustment then I wouldn't trust a modern garage to service it, not to mention setting the contact breaker points!

Funnily enough being a car enthusiast, having raced over here and helped a french friend restore a classic (british) car I have a better than average vocabulary for these things, which has often surprised my french teachers (usually women) when I have had cause to correct them!

[laspalo]

[quote user="TroisChatNoir"]Hi,
I will shortly need my car serviced but the garage is 50km away and would like to make sure they have all the parts when I book on the telephone so would like a translation if possible for things like "Fanbelt", "Valve Clearances", "Brake fluid check", "coolant level" etc, I have looked around in various phrase books etc but can't find any reference to "getting your car serviced in France" and to be fair it's not something you would expect to find is it? any help is greatly appreciated

[/quote]

Service is "révision" in france.

What's your car, she still have a fanbelt ?

[TroisChatNoir]

Thanks for the tips, I found a local dealer through pages juane who has

an english speaking service manager he was very helpful and didn't mind

servicing my 20 yr old Merc so no worries. Fanbelt = Courrielle if

anyone needs it

[basquen]

Glad you got it sorted!

Slight correction with the translation: 

courriel is actually the French 'e-mail' less popular than the English word even in France, but it's the official term !

The word you were looking for was

courroie = belt

for example - courroie du ventilateur = fan belt

courroie de distribution = cambelt