[Mondaveo]

Thanks all who provided informative responses to my questions in this thread. I have decided to defer this job 12 months, so it will be done to the schedule for the major service in my book (albeit that schedule having slipped some months). Instead I'm hoping this weekend to just do the Powershift service and engine oil DIY. While it's an appealing thought to get the DCT fluid change synced back up to a major service, as it currently stands it was looking appealing to contract everything out to my preferred shop, but I'd already committed to DIY the engine and gearbox fluids this time and it would feel weird to tell them not to do the simple oil change. Even had I synced the Powershift back up to the major service now, who knows what would happen over the next 5 to 10 years so might as well just take it as it comes.

So instead I can spend the time getting more experience at DIY and make the decision next year. To that point, my wife's Barina has presented itself as an opportune practice subject, having an oil leak at the top end, and rupturing a radiator hose earlier this year. It also presents endearingly as "Fisher-Price My First Project Car" in both form (its dorkly little proportions) and function (engine bay is comparatively unobstructed, and most procedures are straightforward), so with those and other little challenges to gnaw on we'll see how we go.