Full service history and approved used cars
Discussion
Like many of us I waste quite a bit of time looking at car adverts pondering changes and things that I might not automatically be drawn to. My latest act of procrastination found me looking at the Mini Clubman, including this one, an approved used car that could be a very sensible daily.
For those of you who don't wish to click the link, that's an approved used Cooper S with 62,500 miles under its belt. In the text of the advert I noticed the following "First registered in January 2017, it comes with a full-service history, the latest carried out in July 2019 at 25,131 miles". So that's a 6 and bit year old car that was last serviced almost 4 years and 40,000 miles ago, does that mean that full service history in the eyes of this dealer does mean a record of all the services carried out, rather than serviced in line with manufacturers recommendations, the latter being what most buyers would be led to believe.
I know this is normal practice with many indy or car supermarket dealers, but when buying through an approved scheme you'd hope the car was better than average to justify the premium price.
For those of you who don't wish to click the link, that's an approved used Cooper S with 62,500 miles under its belt. In the text of the advert I noticed the following "First registered in January 2017, it comes with a full-service history, the latest carried out in July 2019 at 25,131 miles". So that's a 6 and bit year old car that was last serviced almost 4 years and 40,000 miles ago, does that mean that full service history in the eyes of this dealer does mean a record of all the services carried out, rather than serviced in line with manufacturers recommendations, the latter being what most buyers would be led to believe.
I know this is normal practice with many indy or car supermarket dealers, but when buying through an approved scheme you'd hope the car was better than average to justify the premium price.
It’s likely a mistake in the advert as I know the workings of BMW and MINI dealerships and bar the oddball old classic that some may choose to retail, the approved used cars will always have a FSH.
The car you mention obviously doesn’t seem to comply with this, so my guess is that the last service mentioned was done at a main dealer but has independent services afterwards.
I know that a local BMW dealer to me actually utilises chatGPT for their adverts, which makes for mistakes and if linked with dealer held SH, it could most likely make inaccurate descriptions like the above.
The car you mention obviously doesn’t seem to comply with this, so my guess is that the last service mentioned was done at a main dealer but has independent services afterwards.
I know that a local BMW dealer to me actually utilises chatGPT for their adverts, which makes for mistakes and if linked with dealer held SH, it could most likely make inaccurate descriptions like the above.
Nope, full service history just means they have the full history of the vehicle. It could literally have one MOT sheet. It's been the same for me across multiple dealers and brands and approved used cars.
Why they do it I have no idea, makes ruling a particular car out rather easy however.
Why they do it I have no idea, makes ruling a particular car out rather easy however.
colin86 said:
A bit misleading surly that’s part service history. A went to look at a car in a big dealership the other week
And the salesman told me you very rarely get a car now with full service history.
Exactly. I personally wouldn't buy a car, particularly one of any significant value where the owner couldn't be bothered to get it regularly serviced.And the salesman told me you very rarely get a car now with full service history.
technically it is accurate...
service history simply means the record of when car has been serviced
full service history in their eyes means that they have all the records of that history
no part of that technically means that it has been fully serviced in accordance with manufacture requirements...
however it has come to mean that in common understanding because we would see it as a service history that is full - i.e. all expected services...
- and that is the issue - a mismatch between expectation and reality.
not sure it bothers me particularly - I am looking at cars at the moment (including minis) and everywhere I have been from dealer to one person in a lockup type garages has had a wallet for the car with all the paperwork in it - so you get to see the history and make a decision.
I have found that far more revealing is items raised as advisories on the MOT which the dealer has / hasn't bothered to sort out before putting the car on sale... some say 'not yet prepped' and list what they plan to do - others, you have to challenge - that tells you a lot about the attitude of the company / individual
service history simply means the record of when car has been serviced
full service history in their eyes means that they have all the records of that history
no part of that technically means that it has been fully serviced in accordance with manufacture requirements...
however it has come to mean that in common understanding because we would see it as a service history that is full - i.e. all expected services...
- and that is the issue - a mismatch between expectation and reality.
not sure it bothers me particularly - I am looking at cars at the moment (including minis) and everywhere I have been from dealer to one person in a lockup type garages has had a wallet for the car with all the paperwork in it - so you get to see the history and make a decision.
I have found that far more revealing is items raised as advisories on the MOT which the dealer has / hasn't bothered to sort out before putting the car on sale... some say 'not yet prepped' and list what they plan to do - others, you have to challenge - that tells you a lot about the attitude of the company / individual
That argument has come up before and it isn't how I would interpret full service history. If a car is never serviced it would technically have a FSH by that definition (e.g. they have full paperwork of any servicing completed, e.g. none!). Love to find a legal opinion on how a reasonable person would interpret FSH in court. Or indeed a car that was 20 years old and had its first three services at the dealer but none since, if they had the paperwork would that be a FDealerSH?
In my opinion any trader using FSH to suggest they have a full record of work done, rather than a full record of all the manufacturer mandated work, should be avoided. To be fair though, once cars get to a certain age reckon most don't follow manufacturer guidelines. Imagine most services become oil and filter changes and not include the yearly pollen filter change that seems to be commonly advised.
Couple of descriptions of FSH here:
The AA say "Usually shortened to FSH, a full service history means that a vehicle has been maintained in line with a manufacturer’s service schedule and comes with all the relevant documents as proof. It also means that any paperwork for repairs is on hand."
WBAC say "If a vehicle has a full service history, this means that servicing has been carried out in accordance with the manufacturer-recommended service schedule – and records of all past services are available."
I'd agree with these interpretations...
In my opinion any trader using FSH to suggest they have a full record of work done, rather than a full record of all the manufacturer mandated work, should be avoided. To be fair though, once cars get to a certain age reckon most don't follow manufacturer guidelines. Imagine most services become oil and filter changes and not include the yearly pollen filter change that seems to be commonly advised.
Couple of descriptions of FSH here:
The AA say "Usually shortened to FSH, a full service history means that a vehicle has been maintained in line with a manufacturer’s service schedule and comes with all the relevant documents as proof. It also means that any paperwork for repairs is on hand."
WBAC say "If a vehicle has a full service history, this means that servicing has been carried out in accordance with the manufacturer-recommended service schedule – and records of all past services are available."
I'd agree with these interpretations...
swisstoni said:
Very simply, a full service history means that all manufacturer scheduled services have been carried out in a timely manner and documented.
Anything else is just playing with words to falsely suggest it.
Also agree with this. Anything less than that is part service history, or no service history.Anything else is just playing with words to falsely suggest it.
Whilst we are going off at a tangent, what about bodywork inspections? Are they part of the service history according to manufacturers or are these a separate check?
If you got a car serviced at an Indy could you then pay for the manufacturer to do the paint inspection? Just curious (and apologies for hijacking OPs thread) but I was fortunate enough to get a rust spot sorted on a 6 year old Ford Focus once even though it didn't have a FSH. So always a bit curious about the paint issue.
If you got a car serviced at an Indy could you then pay for the manufacturer to do the paint inspection? Just curious (and apologies for hijacking OPs thread) but I was fortunate enough to get a rust spot sorted on a 6 year old Ford Focus once even though it didn't have a FSH. So always a bit curious about the paint issue.
swisstoni said:
Very simply, a full service history means that all manufacturer scheduled services have been carried out in a timely manner and documented.
Anything else is just playing with words to falsely suggest it.
The above is exactly what FSH means & they can be carried out by an Independent as long as they've used genuine parts.Anything else is just playing with words to falsely suggest it.
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