PH Service History: Stamped Out
'Full Service History' is a term that's rapidly disappearing from used car adverts. Should we care?
His point was in disagreement with my long-time contention that a full history is worth its weight in gold. True, it doesn't necessarily affect a car's longevity if it's missed a service or two. But a service record which proves it hasn't, and that everything's been done on time, suggests - if not guarantees - diligence by the previous owner in other areas.
Others, of course, might have a looser definition - simply, for example, that there's a record of every service the car's had. To my mind, that isn't a full service history - it doesn't prove that all of the required servicing has been carried out correctly, merely that some of it has.
Either way, if you're like me, you'll lament the fact that the concept of a full history has, in recent years, become a somewhat amorphous one. The proliferation of on-board servicing indicators are in part to blame for that, and have led to the time when your car really should be serviced becoming far more malleable. Some of these systems operate solely on mileage; others work by factoring in the type of driving you've been doing and the loads on the engine, and extending or reducing the interval based thereon; still others actually check the condition of the oil using an oil condition sensor and tell you when it's past its best.
Does that matter? Perhaps not. Indeed, if your car's told you when it needs a service, based on the condition of the oil, you might argue that it's had all the servicing it needs. But as a buyer, I'd counter that it's then impossible to know whether a seller has serviced the car when the light came on - or simply ignored it and waited until thousands of miles thereafter.
Long-life servicing schedules don't help. Nowadays, a nine-year-old car with 90,000 miles on the clock can have a full service history, by my definition, even if there are only four stamps in the book. Doesn't feel like enough to me, but it does meet with the manufacturer's schedule.
Besides, if you happen upon a car that's had an oil change at least every year anyway, regardless of the mileage or any condition-based service indicator or any long-life service schedule, you can be fairly certain the owner knows what he's about and has spent well on other aspects of the car's maintenance. The sort of car you'll probably want to snap up, in other words.
Perhaps the way forward lies in the electronic service history. This involves a service record stored in the car's on-board memory, which can tell you what work was done and when by accessing it through the car's touchscreen or dashboard display, or even through a linked app on a phone or tablet. As far as I'm aware, such systems don't yet tell you whether the car was serviced within a reasonable mileage of the light coming on - but were they to do so, they might provide a much better record of a car's servicing than a simple stamp and a scribbled date.
So it seems to me that there's still a place for for doing things the old-fashioned way; for keeping hold of invoices, or investing in a physical service book to have stamped. But of course, owners who fully understand these new systems and therefore have the presence of mind to do so will likely dwindle, and so, therefore, will the ubiquity of the full service history. Which brings me back to the original question: do you care?
My own history file ....
I need a bigger file
Pete
A good warts and all thread on the readers cars section (or owners club) can also count for a lot.
Pete
What I do like to see is that someone has gone to the trouble of finding a reputable place to do the work. With the service a reputable place should also be completing many other work, mainly checks. The owner should then be rectifying any issues identified at service as well as just paying for the glorified oil change.
I also like to see regular work to the car rather than just assuming as book says it only needs to be serviced every 2 years so that's the only time I bother with any maintenance.
My own history file ....
I need a bigger file
Pete
Also: I would rather have 4 careful owners than one careless one!
I admit an advantage of one owner cars is that you can meet that owner and make an assessment of them.
However, because I viewed the car before asking questions, I had already convinced myself that it was a good 'un and that its condition fully matched its 49k recorded miles.
I did some checking before committing to the purchase though, phoning the dealer on the keyring and satisfied myself that as it was sold as a BMW approved used car with a low recorded mileage in 2010 and that the MOT history showed a consistent pattern of usage and few advisories thereafter.
Basically it all added up, so I purchased it and it has been bulletproof in my ownership. I have self-serviced it since using genuine parts and stamped up a reproduction service book - just for the work I have done.
I will probably be selling it later this year, so we will see how the market values it and whether the lack of / partial history is an issue...
Not everybody cares though. I sold a 997.2RS which was perfect in every way and the buyer did not want the file , not even a test drive.
Inexplicable.
Service books and stamps are easily available
Many garages including Main Dealers don't actually carry out the work anyway !
Two recent examples:
FIL Passat TDi bought from a large garage with FSH and he paid for a cambelt when he bought it - roll on 4 years and it's due another. We discover that the car has had a later engine fitted and that it is on it's original cambelt (year stamped)
I bought my daughter a Honda Civic - one owner and FMDSH from the supplying garage.
I pull the plugs - they are the most worn I've ever seen - clearly original copper NGK at 85K !
The air filter is also filthy again clearly original.
I then checked the cambelt had been replaced - it had but with a cheap Nippon parts one.
My CLS for example has a digital service book but I have a print out for every service as well as any other bits and pieces. I take a sense of satisfaction from having a history with the car is as tidy as the car itself.
If I can find a car with a history that ties in then it's a real selling point for me.
How does everyone view specialist independent servicing? With my GT86 I think I will get the next service at a reputable Japanese tuning/motorsport garage but I'm wary that non enthusiasts might take a dim view on this thinking it's been abused, taken on trackdays etc. Main reason I want a specialist is because so much of the Toyota servicing is inspect or replace if required so it's the same cost if they change everything or nothing which seems like a smack in the face for low mileage drivers like myself.
Service books and stamps are easily available
Many garages including Main Dealers don't actually carry out the work!’
I totally agree, my local garage has a cobble box full of different dealer stamps and for a few pounds will update the service history in a book but from the Internet for a few quid.
I’ll get my BMW serviced by a local garage who I know and trust instead of a BMW full main dealer who has repeatedly attempted to overcharge for unnecessary work and my car has been bullet-proof (so far). I cannot see the value of the main dealer service at all, although a file full of receipts and service history does convince me that the car has been well maintained and I am not sure I would ever buy a car without any service history documentation provided.
I've always kept all the old invoices, even for little things like replacement coolant caps. Sold my old Astra a few years back, chap came and looked at it, he had a look through the service history and I passed over the folder with the receipts and invoices, 'oh keep them I don't need them'.
With all the PCP/lease deals with stupidly low annual mileage around, I wouldn't go near a used car without invoices to back up any work done. I know of a car on PCP, two years old, currently about 36k miles on it (16k over what it should be), never been serviced or had so much as an oil change, but with an eBay supplied service book, ready to be filled in once the mileage mysteriously drops...
Same with MOT. 4 things you need to pass an MOT with zero advisories - mileage, reg, VIN and the mobile number of a dodgy MOT tester.
The last car I sold was 10 years old. We had it when it was a year old. It had a full file of receipts plus fully stamped book. The guy who bought was quite car savvy. I had to persuade him to take test drive. When I asked why he was reluctant he answer was "the high res photos and documented history tell me everything I need to know. I am satisfied that this is a decent car". It pays off as he offered more than I would have settled for.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff