Part service history- Why and should I be concerned?

[MrManual]

Currently looking at V8 sports saloons and coupes and I have noticed frequently many of them have part service history.

WHY?

When I check the record with the seller it has a 2 or 3 year gap from 5 years ago when the car was worth close to £40k, why on earth can't people be bothered to do a £350-500 service on a car that costs £40k+ at the time?

I've always been told with any sort of sports/performance car to avoid part service history, am I being too picky or should I just accept the fact that cars come with part service history?

[MustangGT]

It comes down to age/condition/mileage/history/price. If looking at two similar cars, then I would likely go with the better history.

[Cold]

Are you including the effects of lockdown/covid in your appraisals?

[Matt_T]

When we were looking at cars at the big car supermarkets, most of them were missing the service history. I believe that this was because they are ex-fleet cars and they get sold at auction, and for some reason the fleet company doesn't release the service paperwork.

I wonder of someone can explain this better than me?

[Sensibleboy]

I traded in my previous car with full history of servicing/maintenance history invoices. The dealer binned it all leaving just the partly stamped service book.

All to do with Data Protection.

[MrManual]

Cold said:

Are you including the effects of lockdown/covid in your appraisals?

Yes this is before COVID, also even if a car is sitting still it should be serviced, basic oil, oil filter and air filter will keep an engine in good standing order.

[MrManual]

Sensibleboy said:

I traded in my previous car with full history of servicing/maintenance history invoices. The dealer binned it all leaving just the partly stamped service book.

All to do with Data Protection.

Rubbish, can cover up the personal details. Dealers are using it as an excuse.

Also even with private sales I've noticed many part service history, no excuse in my opinion. It's not a cheap £500 banger. We're talking about £30-40k+ cars.

[bqf]

Probably just been laid up. If I have laid up a car for a while I will usually just swap out the oil and filter. no point changing spark plugs, air filters etc if it isn't driving.

"Servicing" can mean many things - getting a stamp in a book for an oil and filter change, and maybe plugs, isn't worth as much as people think it is. You have to look at the cars history in the round....

[Fady]

MustangGT said:

It comes down to age/condition/mileage/history/price. If looking at two similar cars, then I would likely go with the better history.

But when you are looking at that level of car, they are rarely the same in terms of options etc. so can't always compare like for like.

I get the impression that things have got a bit sloppy with service history being recorded digitally. The last car I bought, used approved and from a main dealer, I had to chase them to update 2 missing services which they had already advised had been carried out.

[Fady]

Sensibleboy said:

I traded in my previous car with full history of servicing/maintenance history invoices. The dealer binned it all leaving just the partly stamped service book.

All to do with Data Protection.

Data protection eh. Then they don't erase previous owner's phone number and their contacts!

[SkodaIan]

MrManual said:

When I check the record with the seller it has a 2 or 3 year gap from 5 years ago when the car was worth close to £40k, why on earth can't people be bothered to do a £350-500 service on a car that costs £40k+ at the time?

Probably because it's out of warranty and they don't intend to keep it long term.
It's unlikely to go wrong in the short term from missing a couple of oil changes, particularly on something which is likely to be doing less than the max permitted miles per year. They won't get the cost of servicing back at trade-in, maybe offered a few hundred less because of the missing history but dealers usually seem more bothered about stone chips and interior condition rather than what it's like mechanically when giving a trade in value.

[thecremeegg]

MrManual said:

Yes this is before COVID, also even if a car is sitting still it should be serviced, basic oil, oil filter and air filter will keep an engine in good standing order.

What? Changing the oil will do sod all on a car that isn't started...

[Rich Boy Spanner]

MrManual said:

Sensibleboy said:

I traded in my previous car with full history of servicing/maintenance history invoices. The dealer binned it all leaving just the partly stamped service book.

All to do with Data Protection.

Rubbish, can cover up the personal details. Dealers are using it as an excuse.

Also even with private sales I've noticed many part service history, no excuse in my opinion. It's not a cheap £500 banger. We're talking about £30-40k+ cars.

I wondered with this. My last Skoda company cars never had any paperwork after services, just a 'we send the electronic copy to the lease company' No idea how a future seller gets hold of that or what the process. I would have thought it would be sent on with the car.

[2gins]

Very few people keep the invoices from service work, especially routine stuff on mass produced cars. Most of the time it goes in the bin or gets stuffed down the back of the sofa / in a crumpled pile in the boot and then goes in the bin a year later.

GDPR also means pretty much only small traders and private sales pass on the history file, try getting past invoices out of a franchised dealer even if you have the V5 in your name. That and the fact franchises change hands so there's no guarantee any info was ever kept, or it will be 'on a different system' etc.

[ScoobyChris]

Rich Boy Spanner said:

I wondered with this. My last Skoda company cars never had any paperwork after services, just a 'we send the electronic copy to the lease company' No idea how a future seller gets hold of that or what the process. I would have thought it would be sent on with the car.

When I bought an ex-fleet car with no history, I just contacted the lease company and they e-mailed me a screenshot of the history (basically when and where it had had any maintenance) and then I rang the main dealers who were happy to tell me all the work that had been carried out at each visit. Bit of leg work and not worthy of a "full service history" valuation come resale time, but at least I was comfortable the car had been looked after.

Chris

[911Spanker]

I find it hilarious to see expensive cars with missing history.

Stuff like GT3s etc having gone a few years without a service because the miles were low. Yet they are still up for top top money.

Sellers should be taking a £15k hit for their laziness/cheapness.

[TREMAiNE]

Frustrates me too.

I think there are a few reasons...
1) It might be a £40k car but a lot of owners have probably put £5,000 down and are paying the monthlies, so to them, it's not a £40k car. A £500 is 10% of what they paid etc. can't afford to do it/don't want to do it.

2) If intervals are every 12 months/10k miles and they do 2k miles a year, they might just think "That'll do, it's well under the mileage" and while I do understand that, it's not good for cars to sit, so a yearly check-up cannot be a bad thing... But if "That'll do" is the attitude for basic servicing that has clearly set intervals, then what other instances of "That'll do" have there been during ownership?

My biggest hate is ads that state "Full Service History" where the car clearly doesn't have that.
I'd consider buying a car with part history relative to what that history consists of... But when the Ad states FSH and it isn't, I will instantly close it.

[Griffith4ever]

911Spanker said:

I find it hilarious to see expensive cars with missing history.

Stuff like GT3s etc having gone a few years without a service because the miles were low. Yet they are still up for top top money.

Sellers should be taking a £15k hit for their laziness/cheapness.

'fraid not. It's not being "lazy" or "cheap". It's often being "wise" - which is how a lot of these people got in the position to afford these cars in the first place - they are not the types to blindly shell out money because you "said so", or because "you "should" ".

When I take my R8 in for a service my guy often tells me there is little to no point as I do so few miles each year (about 2.5k a year). However, it's only around £450 for an oil and filer change , and I DO use it, and I use it hard, so it gets done. If I had to lay it up for a couple of years, would I have the oil and filters changed after 12 months? Of course not - and any buyer in that kind of price range is usually clever enough to understand when looking at the correspending mileage.

Porshe GT3s etc are kind of special and they'll get the asking price almost regardless due to the exclusivity of them. Which goes against the Porsch owner mindset which is anal, to say the least (I owned a C4S and thus frequented the forums - they get anxiety at the loss of a brake caliper decal).

Even my with my Skoda Yeti I know full well I'll get the price the car is worth, not what someone thinks the service record is worth. I bought it with 14k miles on it, and it has never ever seen a skoday dealer since my purchase (into year 3 of the warranty). I use an indy (same one that does my R8) for services that involve hassle (transmission fluid change, belts etc), and I do all the others (oil, filters, brake fluid changes) . I have all the receipts of the oil and filters, and that's it. It'll sell for its condition, not the service history - selling a lot of cars has taught me that much. About to hit 60k miles and it'll go in for a cam belt change next.

I bought the R8 on its condition, the warranty, and the dealer quality (and the price of course). I flicked through some service invoices casually but that was it. Most of the info is locked down by Audi, and no, they won't let me see the past online recods.

You do get the odd obsessive, but you can wave them goodbye and wait for a normal person to come along. When I sold my Griff 500 one guy declined to buy and was quite miffed in attitude. I asked why? His response - he expected the service records (of which I had ALL of the very extensive paperwork) neatly sorted in polly pockets in a folder like "others he's seen". Cya!. Someone else paid the same price 2 week later.

Edited by Griffith4ever on Thursday 14th September 13:27

[Griffith4ever]

TREMAiNE said:

2) If intervals are every 12 months/10k miles and they do 2k miles a year, they might just think "That'll do, it's well under the mileage" and while I do understand that, it's not good for cars to sit, so a yearly check-up cannot be a bad thing... But if "That'll do" is the attitude for basic servicing that has clearly set intervals, then what other instances of "That'll do" have there been during ownership?

You don't get a "yearly check-up" with most annual services. You get an oil and filter change, and that's it. They don't inspect your like you would like them to do. Much as they make out they do. Services have become much less than what they used to be, and, a lot of cars have a 2 year service schedule now. Modern fully synthetic oils are so good that in the majority of cases, near perfect oil is getting flushed down the pan every year.

I think attitudes need to change to align with modern mechanics. Cars are not what they used to be, and that's a good thing.

[anonymous-user]

Griffith4ever said:

You don't get a "yearly check-up" with most annual services. You get an oil and filter change, and that's it. They don't inspect your like you would like them to do. Much as they make out they do.

Not at all. I had several free services chucked in with my runabout lease Seat Leon and the dealer's service department fully inspects the undercarriage & running gear, as evidenced by the video they send you. Same with a recent Toyota I had a few years ago.