Car Dealers and 'FSH'
Discussion
I went to look at a 7 series at the weekend at a local dealer. Very nice, Individual spec with unique paint and extended leather.
I asked the dealer, does it have any service history? He says "Yes, Full service history"
We go into his office to take a look at the paperwork, and he pulls out the Service Book and Invoices. After looking through all the paper work there are 2 gaps of 10k where a service has been missed...
I've had this a couple of times now - it seems the stock response from some car dealers is to always claim 'full service history' when in fact it blatantly hasn't got it.
Anyone else had this experience? Is the dealer just being lazy or is a common trick in the trade?
Really getting fed up with Car dealers - there are a few good ones out there, but many just seem to try and blag a sale with b
ks and made up crap. If there were more privately advertised cars I'd be there in a shot!
I asked the dealer, does it have any service history? He says "Yes, Full service history"
We go into his office to take a look at the paperwork, and he pulls out the Service Book and Invoices. After looking through all the paper work there are 2 gaps of 10k where a service has been missed...
I've had this a couple of times now - it seems the stock response from some car dealers is to always claim 'full service history' when in fact it blatantly hasn't got it.
Anyone else had this experience? Is the dealer just being lazy or is a common trick in the trade?
Really getting fed up with Car dealers - there are a few good ones out there, but many just seem to try and blag a sale with b
ks and made up crap. If there were more privately advertised cars I'd be there in a shot!RichTBiscuit said:
Anyone else had this experience? Is the dealer just being lazy or is a common trick in the trade?
One occasion was on an approved Lexus. They didn't have the actual book, but said "full service history" and they'll get a new book printed up as it's all on their computer anyway. Part of being on the Lexus approved scheme was that this was a must, so I wasn't worried. I chased it for a few months, never came. A year later when I needed a service I got back on to them again for them to finally admit it missed one.They offered me a free service, which I took great offense at, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing I actually got a new (used) car. The dealer wasn't great, Lexus GB were brilliant.
- The car was 10k overdue for a service on two separate occasions!TonyHetherington said:
One occasion was on an approved Lexus. They didn't have the actual book, but said "full service history" and they'll get a new book printed up as it's all on their computer anyway. Part of being on the Lexus approved scheme was that this was a must, so I wasn't worried. I chased it for a few months, never came. A year later when I needed a service I got back on to them again for them to finally admit it missed one.
They offered me a free service, which I took great offense at, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing I actually got a new (used) car. The dealer wasn't great, Lexus GB were brilliant.
Sounds like possibly a genuine mistake - but glad to hear Lexus GB were good to deal with. I still wonder if the 'full service history' line is often used in a knowingly misleading way by some dealers They offered me a free service, which I took great offense at, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing I actually got a new (used) car. The dealer wasn't great, Lexus GB were brilliant.
RichTBiscuit said:
Sounds like possibly a genuine mistake
I'm not so sure - the messing around they gave me when I tried to get the service book from them was far more than necessary, which made me question their motives, only for it to then be revealed it had missed one. It could have been, absolutely, but their constant avoidance made me warey.It was the joyous insistence of the dealer that it wouldn't make any difference to the value of the car (a £20k Lexus only a few years old at the time) that really offended me most. To be frank, I doubt the car would have been physically bothered at all; it was purely my resale value I was worried about.
Full service history = Record of every service that has been carried out.
Serviced according to manufacturers guidance and maintained to the highest standard backed up by itemised invoices = What people want to see and often assume from the acronym FSH.
Some of the best cars I have owned have either had no history, or a service book that is patchy but a raft of receipts detailing what has been done when.
Serviced according to manufacturers guidance and maintained to the highest standard backed up by itemised invoices = What people want to see and often assume from the acronym FSH.
Some of the best cars I have owned have either had no history, or a service book that is patchy but a raft of receipts detailing what has been done when.
Yes. This happens a lot, both private and with dealer. I can excuse a private seller for pulling a fast one if they have a gap in the history, but it's not on for a dealer to do it, and goes to show they live up to the 'dodgy dealer' name too well.
The amount of times I've viewed a car, specifically because it may have been at a premium, but it had full service history when others had gaps, only to find said vehicle also has gaps. Wasting my time with travelling, thanks.
The amount of times I've viewed a car, specifically because it may have been at a premium, but it had full service history when others had gaps, only to find said vehicle also has gaps. Wasting my time with travelling, thanks.
TonyHetherington said:
I'm not so sure - the messing around they gave me when I tried to get the service book from them was far more than necessary, which made me question their motives, only for it to then be revealed it had missed one. It could have been, absolutely, but their constant avoidance made me warey.
It was the joyous insistence of the dealer that it wouldn't make any difference to the value of the car (a £20k Lexus only a few years old at the time) that really offended me most. To be frank, I doubt the car would have been physically bothered at all; it was purely my resale value I was worried about.
This adds more weight to my theory that some Car dealers just write 'FSH' as a matter of course when a car has a few stamps in the book. It was the joyous insistence of the dealer that it wouldn't make any difference to the value of the car (a £20k Lexus only a few years old at the time) that really offended me most. To be frank, I doubt the car would have been physically bothered at all; it was purely my resale value I was worried about.
The bloke selling the 7 series even tried to convince me the tape player in the dash was 'better' than a CD player because I can plug my iPod into it with an adapter
It's a common car dealer con. I went to see a 7 series last year with 138,000 miles on the clock. It hadn't been serviced since 118,000 miles. There were some big gaps before that too, and the last time it mentioned whether it had had Inspection 1 and 2's carried out was with the original owner, who sold the car at about 50,000 miles!
I was less than impressed with this patchy history and questioned why the dealer had told me it had full service history over the phone. He said "oh, all it needs when you get it is a service for a stamp in the book and then you've got your full service history". What a load of bks.
It's the same as the 'trade sale/part ex to clear' stock where they will state there is no warranty given or implied on the car. What they really mean is that the car is a heap of st and they're hoping that the customer will be daft enough to accept this rubbish when their new car blows up three days later, as if the SOGA is flouted by these wafer-thin terms.
I was less than impressed with this patchy history and questioned why the dealer had told me it had full service history over the phone. He said "oh, all it needs when you get it is a service for a stamp in the book and then you've got your full service history". What a load of b
ks. It's the same as the 'trade sale/part ex to clear' stock where they will state there is no warranty given or implied on the car. What they really mean is that the car is a heap of s
t and they're hoping that the customer will be daft enough to accept this rubbish when their new car blows up three days later, as if the SOGA is flouted by these wafer-thin terms. We looked at one of the few Minis that didn't have the tlc free service pack from new.
"Yeah, it's mint, well looked after".
I think it must have been about 4 years and well over 10,000 miles old when we looked - never ever been serviced.
Service indicator was showing a negative number 1500 - dealer was convinced it was still 1500 miles until the service was due, not 1500 miles past it.
"Yeah, it's mint, well looked after".
I think it must have been about 4 years and well over 10,000 miles old when we looked - never ever been serviced.
Service indicator was showing a negative number 1500 - dealer was convinced it was still 1500 miles until the service was due, not 1500 miles past it.
Baryonyx said:
It's the same as the 'trade sale/part ex to clear' stock where they will state there is no warranty given or implied on the car. What they really mean is that the car is a heap of st and they're hoping that the customer will be daft enough to accept this rubbish when their new car blows up three days later, as if the SOGA is flouted by these wafer-thin terms.
I've seen a couple of Cars advertised like this recently. Is it always the case they have major defects, or could the dealer use this line for a non-suspicious reason? I'm assuming sometimes a dealer just wants rid of some PX's because they don't fit with their normal stock.Chrisw666 said:
Full service history = Record of every service that has been carried out.
Serviced according to manufacturers guidance and maintained to the highest standard backed up by itemised invoices = What people want to see and often assume from the acronym FSH.
Some of the best cars I have owned have either had no history, or a service book that is patchy but a raft of receipts detailing what has been done when.
Oooh, that's a bit slippery, and I dont think all dealers stick to your first definition. Serviced according to manufacturers guidance and maintained to the highest standard backed up by itemised invoices = What people want to see and often assume from the acronym FSH.
Some of the best cars I have owned have either had no history, or a service book that is patchy but a raft of receipts detailing what has been done when.
Certainly the main dealers i've dealt with mean "full service history according to the manufacturers recommended schedule" when they put FSH
hornetrider said:
It does - BMWs are condition based servicing, not every 10k. In fact I'm sure pretty much no BM serviced according to normal guidelines will be every 10k.
HornetRider - I notice you have a e38 728i in your profile - How do you find the e38, and do you find the 2.8 underpowered?Your car matches what i'm looking for....
Chrisw666 said:
Full service history = Record of every service that has been carried out.
Serviced according to manufacturers guidance and maintained to the highest standard backed up by itemised invoices = What people want to see and often assume from the acronym FSH.
Some of the best cars I have owned have either had no history, or a service book that is patchy but a raft of receipts detailing what has been done when.
Definitely slippery. I'll watch out for this one..... Serviced according to manufacturers guidance and maintained to the highest standard backed up by itemised invoices = What people want to see and often assume from the acronym FSH.
Some of the best cars I have owned have either had no history, or a service book that is patchy but a raft of receipts detailing what has been done when.
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