Service history - how bad is this?

[cljsf]

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying an AMV8 Vantage Roadster. There's one that I like the look of, but the service history is less than perfect. It was sold and serviced by Lancaster Reading.

Registered - 24/12/07
1st service - 30/1/09 @ 8,078 (1 month late)
2nd service - 1/9/10 @ 20,682 (7 months late)

The car is now three years and two months old, so should have had three services by now. It has only had two and the most recent was six months ago.

How big a deal is this? If I buy it, should I get it serviced right away to try to put it back on the 3yrs/3 services schedule, or should I do the service at 12 months after the last one? Should I insist on it being serviced by a dealer/specialist prior to purchase? Or avoid completely?

Any help much appreciated!

[Neil1300R]

I would phone an Aston Martin dealer and speak to the Service Dept. Ask them if they would put an extended warranty on it. Will need an inspection first ~£250, but just check with thrm re the principle of putting an extended warranty on it.

[pchmax]

The 2007 AMV8 I just purchased was more than 3 months overdue it's service, all the other services were ok. I called Aston dealer and they said as long as they do the 110 point check and all is ok then the warranty can be put on the car. If you do take out the warranty then normally the £250 is waived and you pay the £1199.99.

Take into account that up to 5 years the extended warranty is more or less full Aston warranty, however after that it's a third party warranty which is really only major mechanical items. I was pleased that I took out the warranty as after 1 week I noticed a couple of things not quote right and all work was done under the warranty, approx £400 worth of repairs.

On a car of this type and especially if you are going to buy private think you need to take out the point check and warranty, only my personal opinion.

[cljsf]

Thanks guys.

My question was more about whether this level or service lapse (i.e. 1 month and 7 months late) is a problem in terms of valuation. Should I expect to pay less because of the imperfect service history, and if so, how much? If I buy the car, I would expect to face similar concerns when I come to resell it, so what should be done to put the car back on the right path? Should I have it serviced immediately to get it close to three services in three years, even though it is only six months since the last service? Or should I simply ensure that I stick to the 12 month service frequency going forward, i.e. I have it serviced on 1/9/11, 12 months on the dot after the last (late) service.

The car is for sale through a non-AM dealer. They are offering a 6 month mechanical break down warranty, but I am awaiting further details. It sounds unlikely to be an AM warranty. You both speak highly of the AM extended warranties. Are these really worth it? For £1,200/yr (?) you are expecting a fair amount to go wrong to just break even on it. I presume the warranty doesn't cover regular services?

Thanks again!

[LC23]

Personally I wouldn't buy that car due to the large gap between the 1st and 2nd service and the fact it's down a service (2 vs. 3). Mine had a gap of about 14 months between its 2nd and 3rd service but the mileage from service to service was only 2,000 and it had been sat at the Dealers (Reading funnily enough) where someone had p/x'd it just as a service was due and them waiting until it sold to service it for the new owner.

[MrOrange]

As per LC23, this is quite common and as the cars can sit around the dealers for months (mine sat from Aug 10 to Feb 11) the dealer wouldn't service until car is sold etc...so I now have a 16 month gap in service history.

[moveover]

MrOrange said:

As per LC23, this is quite common and as the cars can sit around the dealers for months (mine sat from Aug 10 to Feb 11) the dealer wouldn't service until car is sold etc...so I now have a 16 month gap in service history.

Yes, but if the dealer is allowing test drives on the car in the meantime, isn't that still a potential problem?

[cljsf]

In this situation, the 19 month gap was while the previous owner still had it. I don't know why he left it so late.

The last service was performed six months ago, so it isn't overdue a service while it waits for the dealer to sell it.

[michael gould]

lets face it.......if your not doing big miles in a car then servicing which normally invloves changing the oil.....checking your tyre depth.....and fitting a new pair of windscreen wipers, is not a disaster, but it will have an effect on the value

[Grant3]

cljsf said:

In this situation, the 19 month gap was while the previous owner still had it. I don't know why he left it so late.

The last service was performed six months ago, so it isn't overdue a service while it waits for the dealer to sell it.

I do think a service history helps reflect how well a car has been looked after, the bottom line IMO is it's better to get a car with a full and correct service history if possible, unless the car you are looking at is very well priced and passes a full Aston check, I'd wait for the next one.... there are lots to choose from!