Service History, How important ?
Discussion
How much importance do people on here put on service history (stamps in the book) when buying a car.
Reason I ask is many on here appear to be more than capable of wielding a spanner and could easily service their own cars as I do. However every time a read anything anywhere about buying a used car it goes on about service history.
I don't have a lot of experience of garage servicing, but stories from family and friends as to stuff the garages have missed, failed to do, lied about etc, make me feel that a stamp in the book has little relevance to how well the car has been cared for.
Would you would be much better with a car with no stamps but owned by a guy with oily finger nails?
Reason I ask is many on here appear to be more than capable of wielding a spanner and could easily service their own cars as I do. However every time a read anything anywhere about buying a used car it goes on about service history.
I don't have a lot of experience of garage servicing, but stories from family and friends as to stuff the garages have missed, failed to do, lied about etc, make me feel that a stamp in the book has little relevance to how well the car has been cared for.
Would you would be much better with a car with no stamps but owned by a guy with oily finger nails?
4mo said:
How much importance do people on here put on service history (stamps in the book) when buying a car.
Reason I ask is many on here appear to be more than capable of wielding a spanner and could easily service their own cars as I do. However every time a read anything anywhere about buying a used car it goes on about service history.
I don't have a lot of experience of garage servicing, but stories from family and friends as to stuff the garages have missed, failed to do, lied about etc, make me feel that a stamp in the book has little relevance to how well the car has been cared for.
Would you would be much better with a car with no stamps but owned by a guy with oily finger nails?
If the guy with oily finger nails has receipts to back up what work he has done, that carries more weight (to me) than a stamped up book.Reason I ask is many on here appear to be more than capable of wielding a spanner and could easily service their own cars as I do. However every time a read anything anywhere about buying a used car it goes on about service history.
I don't have a lot of experience of garage servicing, but stories from family and friends as to stuff the garages have missed, failed to do, lied about etc, make me feel that a stamp in the book has little relevance to how well the car has been cared for.
Would you would be much better with a car with no stamps but owned by a guy with oily finger nails?
I service all my cars myself, and do all the work to them myself. The receipts are kept for all parts, and I have had a rubber stamp made up that I stamp the service books with. All it says is "Wing Commander, Motor Engineer" and has a space for a date underneath. I explain it to anyone that buys one of my cars, and never had any problems.
You can size up a seller pretty quickly. If they have been servicing a car themselves, I expect them to know a few things about cars, so will drop in a few cheeky questions that I would expect them to know, ie "what weight engine oil did you use" or "what items did you replace at the last service".
I always like to see a service history, but stamps in the book mean nothing unless you know what was done, so receipts and invoices to show exactly what was done is always a bonus.
As for home servicing, I wouldnt run away from an older home serviced car as long as you can show detailed records of all you did, receipts, invoices for parts etc, photos even. The more the better and if you sound enthusiastic and knowledgeable when selling it'll really seal the deal.
Just don't skip anything, if something is beyond your ability or you lack the tools, get it done professionally, a mixture of dealer and home servicing done correctly is better than a poor home mechanic history and will help you in the long run.
As for home servicing, I wouldnt run away from an older home serviced car as long as you can show detailed records of all you did, receipts, invoices for parts etc, photos even. The more the better and if you sound enthusiastic and knowledgeable when selling it'll really seal the deal.
Just don't skip anything, if something is beyond your ability or you lack the tools, get it done professionally, a mixture of dealer and home servicing done correctly is better than a poor home mechanic history and will help you in the long run.
It depends what you mean by service history really. If it's simply stamps in the book then all that tells you is that it's had an oil change and basic routine stuff at the right times. No small thing on a 3 or 4 year old car, as many owners are pretty negligent about things like that.
If it's reams of receipts then it can be more telling but it's not really any guarantee of anything.
For an older and/or interesting car I would be much more interested in a knowledgeable and honest owner who can say what was done when and why, what has gone wrong and what hasn't gone wrong yet.
If it's reams of receipts then it can be more telling but it's not really any guarantee of anything.
For an older and/or interesting car I would be much more interested in a knowledgeable and honest owner who can say what was done when and why, what has gone wrong and what hasn't gone wrong yet.
It depends on the car as well....run of the mill shopping car or rep mobile? probably get away with home servicing,receipts odd dealer stamp or odd independant stamp.
However,
A serious performance/prestige car its a definate requirement IMO...Petrolheads/enthusists will want to see a through service book with dealer stamps etc.
For example a M3 no one will touch them without the 1500mile running in service? ive heard ones that havent had it or proof its had it can go for literally thousands less.
However some one will come along and no doubt prove me wrong!! lol...
So in summary i think it depends on the car.
However,
A serious performance/prestige car its a definate requirement IMO...Petrolheads/enthusists will want to see a through service book with dealer stamps etc.
For example a M3 no one will touch them without the 1500mile running in service? ive heard ones that havent had it or proof its had it can go for literally thousands less.
However some one will come along and no doubt prove me wrong!! lol...
So in summary i think it depends on the car.
If someone had lost the stamped book but had lots of receipts that would be fine.
If the other way round some investigation to find what had been done and make sure it had been serviced not a load of fake stamps.
If its an older car lots of specialists stamps are probably better than main dealer where the new staff will probably know little about cars sold before the training they had,rather than working day in day out on these models like a specialist would.
If the other way round some investigation to find what had been done and make sure it had been serviced not a load of fake stamps.
If its an older car lots of specialists stamps are probably better than main dealer where the new staff will probably know little about cars sold before the training they had,rather than working day in day out on these models like a specialist would.
I have 2 cars, an Impreza i have owned since new and a polo i have owned since 4k. The Impreza has had a full and recorded service history but i have carried out all the servicing on the polo. I guess it depends on the car. People seem to fear a performance car that hasnt been stroked by an official mechanic.
I have come across some rather poor mechanics over the years and 9 times out of 10 they dont give a s
t about the car they are working on. I work for a training company and often place teenagers in garages for work experience and the first real job they get to do after proving they can sweep the floor is generally the basic fluid/filter service, book still gets stamped. Im pretty sure i take more care of the polo than jo bloggs work experience kid. Not that there is anything wrong with this, its just the first basic job any learning mechanic will tackle.
Some cars are rather basic and simple though, i wouldnt want to tackle a plug change on the Impreza thats for sure!!!!!
I have come across some rather poor mechanics over the years and 9 times out of 10 they dont give a s
t about the car they are working on. I work for a training company and often place teenagers in garages for work experience and the first real job they get to do after proving they can sweep the floor is generally the basic fluid/filter service, book still gets stamped. Im pretty sure i take more care of the polo than jo bloggs work experience kid. Not that there is anything wrong with this, its just the first basic job any learning mechanic will tackle.Some cars are rather basic and simple though, i wouldnt want to tackle a plug change on the Impreza thats for sure!!!!!
^As mentioned above, depends on the car.
20 year old E30, not important. At this age, many would be serviced by enthusiastic owners. Other more difficult work might be done by local garages or independants. Would be looking for receipts for parts in the history however. Ultimately, with older cars (esp 20+) you buy on condition as you see it, rather than paper in a folder.
3 year old m3, very important. Anyone remember the thread linked here about the the 3 series that hadn't had the oil checked for 60k miles?
20 year old E30, not important. At this age, many would be serviced by enthusiastic owners. Other more difficult work might be done by local garages or independants. Would be looking for receipts for parts in the history however. Ultimately, with older cars (esp 20+) you buy on condition as you see it, rather than paper in a folder.
3 year old m3, very important. Anyone remember the thread linked here about the the 3 series that hadn't had the oil checked for 60k miles?
History is very important.
So many people that I've known, have very weird priorities. Many place complete importance and priority on a car that has no history of being taken care of, but 'never seen a track, or paint and un-molested'. Rather than something which has a complete and totally documented history.
It's usually very obvious right off the bat whether a car has been taken care of properly or not.
When looking for a replacement for the daily recently, went to see a 328i that I was told was excellent condition, and full BMW service history.
Even though it had loads of stamps, they weren't all BMW. Car was extremely tatty, obviously hadn't been taken care of at all. It drove sloppily and badly. If it actually had services for those stamps, I'd be very surprised.
So many people that I've known, have very weird priorities. Many place complete importance and priority on a car that has no history of being taken care of, but 'never seen a track, or paint and un-molested'. Rather than something which has a complete and totally documented history.
It's usually very obvious right off the bat whether a car has been taken care of properly or not.
When looking for a replacement for the daily recently, went to see a 328i that I was told was excellent condition, and full BMW service history.
Even though it had loads of stamps, they weren't all BMW. Car was extremely tatty, obviously hadn't been taken care of at all. It drove sloppily and badly. If it actually had services for those stamps, I'd be very surprised.
As above, depends on the car.
Ultimately, when it comes to the effect on value, it just comes down to the value of trust. A car is worth more with stamps from someone with credibility - main dealer or respected specialist - than with backstreet garage stamps or an assurance from the owner that he has maintained it correctly himself. Not because an individual or backstreet can't look after it properly, simply because the next buyer won't know the individual or garages concerned to make his own mind up.
Ultimately, when it comes to the effect on value, it just comes down to the value of trust. A car is worth more with stamps from someone with credibility - main dealer or respected specialist - than with backstreet garage stamps or an assurance from the owner that he has maintained it correctly himself. Not because an individual or backstreet can't look after it properly, simply because the next buyer won't know the individual or garages concerned to make his own mind up.
I wouldn't place much stock on a service history. The general condition of the car is more important to me. But then I've never bought a car that hasn't been up on my ramps.
I would say however that if I saw a service book full of stamps the owner had made himself like 'Wing Commander' I would run a mile regardless of the car.
I don't quite know why that would be my first instinct. An empty service book but lots of receipts and an enthusiatic knowledgeable seller would strike me as normal.
Someone who had gone to the lengths of aquiring a personalised stamp doesn't strike me as 'normal'. Its, a bit, well.......
I would say however that if I saw a service book full of stamps the owner had made himself like 'Wing Commander' I would run a mile regardless of the car.
I don't quite know why that would be my first instinct. An empty service book but lots of receipts and an enthusiatic knowledgeable seller would strike me as normal.
Someone who had gone to the lengths of aquiring a personalised stamp doesn't strike me as 'normal'. Its, a bit, well.......
Good thread topic.
I have a number of vehicles and service mostly myself. They all get more oil/filter changes than recommended, air filters and fuel filters every other oil change. Brakes when required. Cam belts at recommended intervals, and general checks when servicing.
I bought a 2005 535D touring last summer with 45K on the clock and two services plus the 1000m service. It was due another service soon after I bought it, but I was too busy to take into a dealer, and so I have changed the oil and filters twice since (now 63K). I intend to keep the car for a long time, so am not too concerned right now about what a buyer might think. I photograph the work that I do and keep all receipts. My garage will (when I finish the house) speak for itself. I reckon if and when I sell (3 year plus) it will be to someone who is more interested in condition and evidence of a well maintained car, rather than a book full of stamps. If I save 5K on servicing in 4-5 years, I dont think I will loose that much at time of sale. Am I kidding myself?
I have a number of vehicles and service mostly myself. They all get more oil/filter changes than recommended, air filters and fuel filters every other oil change. Brakes when required. Cam belts at recommended intervals, and general checks when servicing.
I bought a 2005 535D touring last summer with 45K on the clock and two services plus the 1000m service. It was due another service soon after I bought it, but I was too busy to take into a dealer, and so I have changed the oil and filters twice since (now 63K). I intend to keep the car for a long time, so am not too concerned right now about what a buyer might think. I photograph the work that I do and keep all receipts. My garage will (when I finish the house) speak for itself. I reckon if and when I sell (3 year plus) it will be to someone who is more interested in condition and evidence of a well maintained car, rather than a book full of stamps. If I save 5K on servicing in 4-5 years, I dont think I will loose that much at time of sale. Am I kidding myself?
bobt said:
If I save 5K on servicing in 4-5 years, I dont think I will loose that much at time of sale. Am I kidding myself?
My logic entirely, I've never taken any of my cars for a service, in fact the only car I've had that's been to a garage is the passat and that was for a cam belt (the thought of 30 valves going bang 
scared me from doing it myself).I'm asking because the other car (Alfa 147) is now due a service it's an 06 plate so the newest I've ever had and currently has a full (stamped) history.
I'm toying with should I pay the money for oil & filter change, wipe over with oily rag and a stamp, or do it myself as I usually do with no stamp (haven't had one made like some
) but the comfort of knowing everything has been checked and done correctly.I'd say some form of service history is really important. To me it matters relatively little whether it's officially entered in a service book or receipts/invoices to back up the work carried out by a competent home mechanic though. What I want to see (at least with something old or specialist) is evidence that the various bits have been replaced as they start to drop off - simply having a rubber stamp to show a basic oil and filter change every 10,000 isn't enough.
4mo said:
bobt said:
If I save 5K on servicing in 4-5 years, I dont think I will loose that much at time of sale. Am I kidding myself?
My logic entirely, I've never taken any of my cars for a service, in fact the only car I've had that's been to a garage is the passat and that was for a cam belt (the thought of 30 valves going bang scared me from doing it myself).I'm asking because the other car (Alfa 147) is now due a service it's an 06 plate so the newest I've ever had and currently has a full (stamped) history.
I'm toying with should I pay the money for oil & filter change, wipe over with oily rag and a stamp, or do it myself as I usually do with no stamp (haven't had one made like some
) but the comfort of knowing everything has been checked and done correctly.Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff