Service history - how important is it really?

[willsy]

Bit of a strange one to come up, I'm sure most like myself are very keen to get or see service history & general maintenence receipts when buying a vehicle.

So this thread comes at being surprised when swapping in my Ibiza last week for a new car.

I'm excessively anal with any aspect of my cars and went in on trade in day with a folder which I'd proudly compiled with all my receipts saved from when I bought it (from the same place) all nicely divided into sections with original purchase receipts, service interval receipts, all general maintenance etc etc- thinking it would be nice for the next owner to have a record of and even make it easier to sell.

Yet the only piece they wanted from it was the V5! The rest of it they asked me to keep and shread at my own convenience :fcuk:

Naturally I mentioned the above, the answer which I was given "we don't keep or transfer anything with your personal details on unfortunately"

I'd already been conscious of removing anything which contained more than name and address which will easily be seen on the new V5 for the new keeper.

Anyone else had any similar experience? Is service history really that necessary anymore or as important as I'd believed it to be?

[willsy]

Feck that post was longer than I thought it was.

[Ryan]

Will have dealership stamps for full service history. Data protection maybe the reason for them not wanting your folder?

[logic_guy]

I'm not too bothered with stamps so as long as receipts for oil/ filters is present and it runs fine then that's it.

I do my own servicing but keep the receipts, forget paying £100 just for a stamp for half hours work.

[mattknight1984]

I'm not too bothered with stamps so as long as receipts for oil/ filters is present and it runs fine then that's it.

I do my own servicing but keep the receipts, forget paying £100 just for a stamp for half hours work.

Depends on the value of the car too, £100 service is nothing on a 40k Audi, for example.

[holdawayt]

I'm a bit different in that I don't let mileage put me off, as long as the car has a decent service history. I like to look up the previous MOT failures / advisories too.

[willsy]

Will have dealership stamps for full service history. Data protection maybe the reason for them not wanting your folder?

Aye for the service intervals I did have the service done there so they did say its all kept on their systems, still I'd always assumed a hard copy to hand is ideal.

Quite a bit of general maintenance items which will go forgotten about though.

[Bedford126]

Dealership stamps mean nothing any more. I have customers of high value audi's that have said on a few occasions "It's okay I can stamp the book when I get home, I got a Audi stamp from ebay."

[willsy]

I'm a bit different in that I don't let mileage put me off, as long as the car has a decent service history. I like to look up the previous MOT failures / advisories too.

This too, previous MOT history is always nice. I find its a good way to gauge how well looked after a car is if it has had any advisories and receipts show they've been tended to quickly rather than left to ride out another year hoping it'll still pass the next MOT

[jones91]

Normally I'd say good service history is pretty important when it comes to buying a fairly expensive car, but however all 3 of the cars I've bought have had little service history and I've had very few problems with my cars (until I piss about with them lol)

On the other hand, I'd say you can generally see how well a car has been looked after by looking at the interior/exterior condition, and most faults can be found out with simple basic checks before buying the car

[blackie_2k5]

Doesn't bother me, I go and look, properly

If it looks good ill buy it and do the servicing myself and any belts etc needed, service history means nothing, can never be sure it was done, is legit or any paperwork was even related to the car, I trust no one

If its in good shape etc, general indicator to how well it's been looked after, so long as nothing looks dodgy ill do as above

[stigsdump]

I believe the newer the car the more important the history. As a seller I believe when they get to a certain age the history no longer adds value/ sellabilty to the vehicle.

I've had my current daily drive from new and it was 10 years old at xmas with a genuine 50K on the clock. It has a full service history but at a local garage who I can trust. Since its last service tho' its no longer any benefit to have the stamps in the book so i'll do it myself. All the general maintenance has been done by me such as brakes etc so is only the oil thats extra anyway

[LSOfreak]

its nice to have but wouldnt put me off a car with it not being there. I've bought plenty of decent reliable cars which have only come with the v5 and last mot

[L33h]

I bought the audi without any service history at all. did a full service myself and saved about £500 all together. The cars never really flickered unless its mechanical faults.

Just cos the book hasnt been stamped doesnt mean the cars been looked after. I think if you give the car a good look around you'll be able to tell if it has or not

[Manu]

On an audi it's at least nice to know if the cambelt/water pump has been serviced or not, it's not a small job and expensive if you can't do it yourself.

On my previous car I had all service history and one owner from new, it was interesting to see that the last driver(s) would go through a pair of premium tyres every 5.000 miles. Clearly had been ragged around a bit though I didn't mind considering it was fully and properly serviced. Tyres are probably the first thing I look at, says a lot if they're premiums or budgets and what condition they're in.

That said I don't mind too much since I service most of it myself, sod paying a mechanic to change the air filter and/or other simple bits for instance. You can get cables/software on amazon and plug your laptop in should you need diagnostics, reset faults etc...

[smiith]

I'm excessively anal

lol.


I only buy cars for £1000, if they have some history with them, its nice.. My CRX, that i got for £500, had every MOT, old tax disk, receipt for work, the lot.. Then i swapped that for the Polo, which literally had the V5, thats it.. Not a problem with either..

I service a car as soon as i get it, so as long as its running fine when i buy it, i see no issues.

If i was buying a decent car though, I'd want it there, to show its been looked after a bit

[Bean]

It's mainly beneficial for private sales, it's a lot more appealing to the potential buyer if it has proof of its history

[0rang3peel]

It kind of depends, if it's a car for a grand of less then fuck it who cares.

If it's a fairly expensive car or a car you plan on owning for some time then yes I suppose it's important to have a documented history (not so much dealer or garage stamps).

[hellonpluto]

people who dont know, the service history goes along way. If people in the know they couldn't give a fuck.

[Gandi699]

as said depends on the car but if its a cheapy service history doesnt bother me. I do all the usual checks, then whack a new cambelt on it and change all the fluids

[davidharvey]

I believe the newer the car the more important the history.

Not always true. If a vehicle is old/collectable and highly modified, for instance a MK1 Escort rally car, which could be worth I believe nowadays in excess of £50K, then receipts can be very useful in finding out what that broken bit that is not standard is called and where it was previously purchased. The same applies to a modified VW camper van, which potentially could have various VW/Porsche/Audi/aftermarket parts. These are just two examples of course, any modified vehicle that comes with a big folder is better than one that has nothing

[MuZiZZle]

I'd say it boils down to if you actually care?

if the car has a full history it may still go wrong but you'll know how it's been looked after and what's been done

A car with no history could have been looked after just as well, but you don't KNOW that

having said that they could have both been given utter death, or not

[L33h]

On an audi it's at least nice to know if the cambelt/water pump has been serviced or not, it's not a small job and expensive if you can't do it yourself.

On my previous car I had all service history and one owner from new, it was interesting to see that the last driver(s) would go through a pair of premium tyres every 5.000 miles. Clearly had been ragged around a bit though I didn't mind considering it was fully and properly serviced. Tyres are probably the first thing I look at, says a lot if they're premiums or budgets and what condition they're in.

That said I don't mind too much since I service most of it myself, sod paying a mechanic to change the air filter and/or other simple bits for instance. You can get cables/software on amazon and plug your laptop in should you need diagnostics, reset faults etc...

I changed the belt and waterpump as soon as i got it. already knew how much of a nightmare it was because i had to change one on the golf 6 month before. Didnt stop me shouting and swearing tho haha

[Stissy]

Off topic: What did you trade your Ibiza in for?

On topic: i wouldn't buy a car without service history.

[Prickle]

I've had 2 cars without service history and 1 (VTS) with FSH. All have been as reliable as each other.

[Nik_L]

IME it mainly helps sell a car for what its worth.

[devilsadvocate]

Just bought a BMW without the service book.

Called BMW and they gave me all the past service info over the phone, including mileage, what was done and the garage.
Sent the BMW garage a blank service book and they send it back stamped up.

Apparently BMW dealers register every service with HQ :).

[L33h]

Just bought a BMW without the service book.

Called BMW and they gave me all the past service info over the phone, including mileage, what was done and the garage.
Sent the BMW garage a blank service book and they send it back stamped up.

Apparently BMW dealers register every service with HQ :).

I didnt know you could do that! Did it cost you? I might give audi a ring

[devilsadvocate]

I didnt know you could do that! Did it cost you? I might give audi a ring

Nope all free other than the stamps.

Think the BMW number is like £1 a minute but did it from the dealers phone who I bought the car off.

[L33h]

sweet ill look into it cheers

[Tarquin]

I agree with the £1000 thing. If its worth less than that then screw the history. The VTR I just picked up was under that and it only had part history apparently. Honestly I didn't even bother looking what's in the folder. Most people don't seem to give a damn. The Audi I just sold had full service history, every old mot and a load of paperwork. He didn't seem to care.

[Yates]

buying an evo id want someone to do as you have wilsy, or any other expensive car

my vectra had some service history, wasnt too bothered

as for a car under 1k it wouldnt bother me

[Yates]

another thing now is, forums, i was able to search the username of the seller and see everything that pops up

[willsy]

Off topic: What did you trade your Ibiza in for?

Wasn't an upgrade unfortunately.

Approaching the time in life where potential family starting is on the horizon so swapped the 60 plate Cupra for a new 5 door diesel Ibiza FR. Won't set the world alight but it'll suit the daily needs and be much more economical for the A to B commuting. Still have my other 2 toys to keep me occupied

[Stissy]

Wasn't an upgrade unfortunately.

Approaching the time in life where potential family starting is on the horizon so swapped the 60 plate Cupra for a new 5 door diesel Ibiza FR. Won't set the world alight but it'll suit the daily needs and be much more economical for the A to B commuting. Still have my other 2 toys to keep me occupied

always a difficult thing to do.
but it seems like you've got your head screwed on.

if you don't mind me asking, what were the miles on the cupra? and how much did they give you for it?

[willsy]

always a difficult thing to do.
but it seems like you've got your head screwed on.

if you don't mind me asking, what were the miles on the cupra? and how much did they give you for it?

27,000 miles. £10,500 trade in price, caught a view of the paperwork and they'd already put a resale price on it of £12,500.

[devilsadvocate]

27,000 miles. £10,500 trade in price, caught a view of the paperwork and they'd already put a resale price on it of £12,500.

Similar thing with my Clio, they gave it a clean and stuck £2k on the price they bought it off me for. Its not worth that by a long way but some plonker will still pay it.

Full Dealer Service History tells me the person who owned the car didn't mind spending a little more to get the stamp (which in reality is all it is). If they are prepared to pay say 30% more for dealer prices, it's a fairly good indication that they would have paid for anything else to be done when required and kept the car in decent condition mechanically.

Not always true but every second hand car is a risk no matter who you buy it off so you have to go with the odds and they say FSH 'generally' means the car has been maintained well.

[griff_106]

I think it depends on the car you're getting personally. I'm ridiculous about the 106 - bulbs and fuel aside, I keep receipts for EVERYTHING, even down to when I fitted its aero wipers and Xsara jets. I like to keep it because (amongst other things, and as sad as it sounds) I quite like going through the service history of the car and reminding myself what was done and when. That thing's my pride and joy (awaits the OMG M8 IT IZ ONLY A 106 comment) but hey - it shows the cars been looked after.

If you're just buying a 'go between' or winter car then I don't think it would matter so much - as long as you've got the current MOT you can track the mileage anyway. Agreed that looking thoroughly around a car gives an indication as to the life it's lead, though...

[Mochachino]

With my last couple of cars they had hardly any history as they had been recently imported.

My lastest car was imported 2 years ago now and has covered something daft like 7k km in the UK in coming up to 2 years. When i bought it, it came with the V5 and MOT certificate and nothing else.

I found an advert for the car when it was imported and it was a very good grade import. Im now making my own history folder for it and I kind of like having a fresh start with it and starting from scratch as though its a brand new car.

[Manu]

I changed the belt and waterpump as soon as i got it. already knew how much of a nightmare it was because i had to change one on the golf 6 month before. Didnt stop me shouting and swearing tho haha


heheh indeed, it's a pig of a job. Wouldn't attempt myself, easy to get one tooth out etc + you really need a garage and some space around to do it.

Did you get much bubbles in the cooling system after that?

[MiniE]

Its good to see it if they have it to verify things, and to see if its had any odd work done etc.
if its not got old MOT's I just look them up online with the MOT number and its shows all previous tests fails and advisories (which they might not want to tell you!!)

All in all it wouldn't put me off a car totally