Discussion
Do any of you do your own servicing?
Reason I ask is that as a techy type bloke myself, and I really begrudge paying money for something I can easily do myself......I have all the tools and stuff, the only thing I won't be able to do is the ECU setup cos no laptop, leads or software!!!!!
It's simply the question of re-sale really, I'm probably going to keep the car for some time(3-4 years, maybe longer) and in that time am wondering how much will I lose in value from not having the book stamped. Will the savings from servicing outweigh what i lose in re-sale?
I do all the other repairs and stuff to my car myself, so all it costs it the bits and my time. Which really helps, as I don't earn oodles of dosh.
Any advice
Reason I ask is that as a techy type bloke myself, and I really begrudge paying money for something I can easily do myself......I have all the tools and stuff, the only thing I won't be able to do is the ECU setup cos no laptop, leads or software!!!!!
It's simply the question of re-sale really, I'm probably going to keep the car for some time(3-4 years, maybe longer) and in that time am wondering how much will I lose in value from not having the book stamped. Will the savings from servicing outweigh what i lose in re-sale?
I do all the other repairs and stuff to my car myself, so all it costs it the bits and my time. Which really helps, as I don't earn oodles of dosh.
Any advice
Rappa said:
I can't comment, but as I don't intend selling my car either do you want to service mine? Make your own stamp and set yourself up in business, then you will have oodles of cash and you'll be able to get one of your employees to service it for you.
not thought of that, my current job is more difficult to get out of than most though. And no I'm not in prison!To be honest I really would like to keep all the stamps in the book, however as I said I really feel that I'd be throwing away good money.
It's not that I can't afford to run the car, I've got my 3k set aside for that fateful day. But why pay someone to change my plugs and adjust tappetts, when I can do it myself?
Also in 3-4 years time when I come to sell, I wonder what it'll be worth anyway, bearing in mind it's an early car?
It's not that I can't afford to run the car, I've got my 3k set aside for that fateful day. But why pay someone to change my plugs and adjust tappetts, when I can do it myself?
Also in 3-4 years time when I come to sell, I wonder what it'll be worth anyway, bearing in mind it's an early car?
crazycats said:Not even then. TBH even though that might convince me that it'd been serviced OK, it would cause a problem when I came to sell it.
Not even if you'd seen all the receipts for parts, and : owntrumpeton: knew the owner was a fully qualified car techy, and is now an aircraft engineer : owntrumpetoff: ?????
DIY is a good idea in soem circumstances - why pay hours for a YTS to change all the fluid in the car - if you spot something wrong, or it doesn't sound right, or something is worn, get it to the dealer. Why not just do the work, and get a specialist to verify what you've done, and then stamp it.
It all depends on what your weekend is worth to you - mines gotta be at least £50 per hour!!!!!
It all depends on what your weekend is worth to you - mines gotta be at least £50 per hour!!!!!
crazycats said:
Points taken Carl, valid points mate and all helping to make someone like Joolz a bit richer.
teehee .. if only.
on a personal note I'd happily buy a car that had no service history even a cerbie .. I say go for it - as you say it's an early car and won't be worth massive ammounts later on so go for it
(PS .. please buy your parts from me though ...!)I decided to buy my 200LW without even looking at the service history. I think it tells you very little other than how rich the owner is.
What you should do is give it a very good inspection and extended drive. Not just look at the service history and kick the tyres.
Now when it comes to the money. Lack of service history tells you nothing about the car but does bring the price down cos the sellers expecting people to notice. IMHO its the only use of the service book.
What you should do is give it a very good inspection and extended drive. Not just look at the service history and kick the tyres.
Now when it comes to the money. Lack of service history tells you nothing about the car but does bring the price down cos the sellers expecting people to notice. IMHO its the only use of the service book.
Nope, I'm telling you that I could tell if you'd done that and would avoid your car.
I could also tell you that I've had two offers from garages to be able to use their stamps when I want. So what YOUR saying is that I could totally ignore my car and use his stamp pad two days before I sold it to you and you'd be happy?
I think the real truth somewhere in the middle. I place little faith in the service book because it is a guarantee of nothing other than that the owner likes stamps.
. Read the posts of people on this forum who bought cars just serviced and they turned into dogs. You have absolutely no comeback on the service people.
The problem is people are too trusting and see the stamps as a sign of good care. I would prefer to have them because it gives a future buyer less to quibble about. But I wouldn't walk straight past a good car for the lack of them.
I could also tell you that I've had two offers from garages to be able to use their stamps when I want. So what YOUR saying is that I could totally ignore my car and use his stamp pad two days before I sold it to you and you'd be happy?
I think the real truth somewhere in the middle. I place little faith in the service book because it is a guarantee of nothing other than that the owner likes stamps.
. Read the posts of people on this forum who bought cars just serviced and they turned into dogs. You have absolutely no comeback on the service people. The problem is people are too trusting and see the stamps as a sign of good care. I would prefer to have them because it gives a future buyer less to quibble about. But I wouldn't walk straight past a good car for the lack of them.
Julian64 said:Actually I owned a car like that once -- by the colour of the ink you could tell that a bunch of the servicing stamps had been done on the same day
So what YOUR saying is that I could totally ignore my car and use his stamp pad two days before I sold it to you and you'd be happy?
[quote=carl_w]Lack of service history tells you the car hasn't been looked after.
quote]
Completely untrue unfortunately .. I see some cars that have full TVRSH and they are bloody awful, likewise I have many cars I se for big jobs (cams, replace cyl heads etc) that are owned by enthusiasts who do their own routine maintenance and they're usually a far higher standard .. there will be neglected cars out there that have not seen a service in years but they stick out like a sore thumb and if you don't spot it you really should decide if a performance car is for you!! .. but likewise a well cared for example will also shine no matter who's done the work on it.
Like I say to everyone who calls for buying advice .. look at the owner as much as the car, if he's knowledgeable and kind to his car, keeps it under a dust sheet and warms the engine gently etc etc it's quite likely a good car.
If he's got shit loads of receipts but the car stands outside not under a cover, gets revved hard fro cold and he can't tell you a damn thing about the history or where the money has been spent, walk a long long long way away...
quote]
Completely untrue unfortunately .. I see some cars that have full TVRSH and they are bloody awful, likewise I have many cars I se for big jobs (cams, replace cyl heads etc) that are owned by enthusiasts who do their own routine maintenance and they're usually a far higher standard .. there will be neglected cars out there that have not seen a service in years but they stick out like a sore thumb and if you don't spot it you really should decide if a performance car is for you!! .. but likewise a well cared for example will also shine no matter who's done the work on it.
Like I say to everyone who calls for buying advice .. look at the owner as much as the car, if he's knowledgeable and kind to his car, keeps it under a dust sheet and warms the engine gently etc etc it's quite likely a good car.
If he's got shit loads of receipts but the car stands outside not under a cover, gets revved hard fro cold and he can't tell you a damn thing about the history or where the money has been spent, walk a long long long way away...
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