Generic Car Service History Maintenance Record Book for All Car Makes Models

Product Information

You can then write to them and ask if they know the service history details – though you will be at the mercy of them replying and remembering the service details and/or having the service book. You should only consider paying extra money for a used car with a full service history if it has been done by the manufacturer official service centres. If the servicing has been done by a non-approved garage, it’s not worth any extra money –regardless of what a car salesman tells you. How much is a full service history worth? Basically, the car has been serviced by an official dealership on time, every time. All regular work has been undertaken, as well as major items like cambelts when they fall due. You do not have to pay us for our services. However, a funder or broker we work with will typically pay us for introducing you to them. Different funders/brokers pay us different amounts, but it will typically be based on a fixed percentage of the amount borrowed.

This is a straightforward method to seeing at what mileage a car has had work done, the time between services and where work has been carried out. A workshop should always give you a detailed invoice and breakdown of all the work undertaken on your car during a service. A car’s service history is a little bit like a health record. It shows when work has been carried out, where it was done and — for those particularly well kept — the cost of maintenance. Depending on your average annual mileage, cost car manufacturers recommend a servicing schedule which alternates between interim and full services. But how do these servicing types differ? And what areas do they cover? Thanks to modern technology, you can now find your car’s service history in several places. However, if your car is a bit older, it may be a challenge to find all of its data.There’s no one-size-fits-all formula here sadly, but being realistic, the best way to find out if service history is authentic or not, is just to use a bit of common sense. Let’s start with the basics: What this can’t tell you is the extent or cost of any work carried out. It’s also possible the owner no longer has the service book for the car and holds no record of services — in which case, it may be best to look at other examples. Ask to see receipts or invoices for work

Your Digital Service Record (DSR) is the online version of your vehicle’s service history documentation. Since 2022, DSRs have replaced traditional printed service booklets. A strong service history proves how well looked after a car is, meaning it’s much less likely to go wrong compared to a car without it. In turn, this increases the value of a car comparatively. Although an MOT-certified vehicle meets the minimum standards for road safety, this does not necessarily mean that it is running at an optimal standard. Conversely, the servicing guidelines outlined by vehicle manufacturers are much more thorough. During a service, mechanics may replenish engine oil and replace parts such as spark plugs, fuel and air filters to help keep the vehicle running smoothly.

If some of the car's service history is missing, then fret not. You may be able to recover it. If the vehicle was maintained by a franchised dealer, your local showroom should be able to produce all of the documentation relating to the car's maintenance. However, older vehicles are less likely to have records stored online, so keep this in mind.

A service history is a booklet that details when and where a car received its routine service. Each entry is accompanied by a stamp from the garage that confirms a professional mechanic completed the service. Likewise, any repair work that's been done will be listed, along with the car's mileage. If you’ve ever had any type of servicing done on your car, it’s important to ask the garage for an itemised receipt that documents all of the work that has been carried out. This includes details such as the date and mileage of the service, the type of work performed, who carried it out, and any parts that were replaced. If you miss a service interval by a just a couple of months or a thousand miles, this is unlikely to significantly affect your vehicle’s condition or performance, but we would recommend booking it in for a service sooner rather than later. Failure to take your vehicle for a service at the recommended intervals could invalidate the manufacturer warranty.

Vehicle history check

A car’s service history contains dated records of the repair and maintenance work carried out on the vehicle. This information is extremely useful for car valuations, as it provides valuable insight into how well the car has been looked after – and the vehicle’s condition. A well-maintained car will not only last longer, but will also perform better and more economically. You should always be given an itemised invoice whenever your car is serviced, which lists exactly what work has been done and how much each job cost. Make sure you keep this information somewhere safe so you can refer to it again later if needed and so that it’s there when you want to sell the car. Whilst the repair of parts like these is essential, these repairs fall outside of the manufacturer’s servicing schedule given the fact that the mileage of the car will not decide when these parts need to be replaced. Sometimes you may find the owner of the car you’re looking at has held on to invoices or receipts for work carried out both at services and outside.

If you're planning on selling your vehicle, potential buyers will be keen to see the its full service history to confirm there aren't issues which could cause problems later on. An MOT test is a legal requirement to prove the roadworthiness of a car, and its history shows if a car has failed tests previously and on what points.Traditionally, a car’s service book would be stamped at every service, with the date and mileage noted down. However, most new cars now have a ‘digital service record’, which means that the data is stored on the manufacturer’s database and the service books are not stamped. If a car has not been serviced on time, every time, or has been taken to a non-approved garage for a service, then it would be considered to have a partial service history. As per the Telegraph article here from a few years ago, according to their research: a vehicle *without* Full Service History (FSH), i.e. only partial, will sell for around -23% less, than the equivalent vehicle with full dealer service history. If you have used a franchised dealership or national garage, then they will likely keep digital and paper records of the work carried out on their vehicles.