Why dont people keep service records?

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by racedoll

It's not hard, people just don't take the time to do it. And most won't ask for it so why take the extra time.

Who are these "most people"

And what kind of vehicles are you selling to them?

If it's something only worth $2-3K, then I could see your point....The less it's worth, the less people would care about seeing proof that it was maintained.

But what about newer or more valuable stuff?

Let's say you owned a late model VW or Audi with the turbo 4, which has a history of problems if the oil changes weren't kept up.......And you put it up for sale today. Don't you think a potential buyer would be interested to know when and how often you changed the oil (if at all)? If I was the buyer, I would ask for proof. Just saying "oh yeah I changed it every 3K" isn't going to satisfy things. Everyone says that.

Or, even more importantly, how about if your car has a timing belt which requires changing at 80K miles. That is a pretty expensive service, and if you don't get it done, your engine could be damaged if it's an "interference design". So you get it done, drive another 5K, and then decide to sell the car. Wouldn't you want to show that you had that service done?

['73 H1 Triple]

Major work that's done by my mechanic, I can get copies from him if neccessary ( for a pain in the ass buyer )

Oil gets changed every 3K on the '01 Jeep Cherokee ( regular oil ) and that has 155K on it. '01 Suburban gets the Mobil 1 changed every 5K and that just turn 140K on the home home from Canada on thursday.

Last vehicle I sold was my '90 Suburban back in '05. It had 183K on it and a local guy stopped to ask about. I told him about what was done, he test drove it and offered 2300 cash on my 2500 asking price. SOLD

I saw it two weeks ago and it still looks good.

[derf]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Who are these "most people"

And what kind of vehicles are you selling to them?

If it's something only worth $2-3K, then I could see your point....The less it's worth, the less people would care about seeing proof that it was maintained.

But what about newer or more valuable stuff?

Let's say you owned a late model VW or Audi with the turbo 4, which has a history of problems if the oil changes weren't kept up.......And you put it up for sale today. Don't you think a potential buyer would be interested to know when and how often you changed the oil (if at all)? If I was the buyer, I would ask for proof. Just saying "oh yeah I changed it every 3K" isn't going to satisfy things. Everyone says that.

Or, even more importantly, how about if your car has a timing belt which requires changing at 80K miles. That is a pretty expensive service, and if you don't get it done, your engine could be damaged if it's an "interference design". So you get it done, drive another 5K, and then decide to sell the car. Wouldn't you want to show that you had that service done?

The answer to your questions is no. the selling price wont change, and the only thing it might affect is the amount of time it takes to sell. Its like having aftermarket goodies on a bike, an aftermarket pipe doesnt increase the value just makes it sell quicker

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by derf

The answer to your questions is no. the selling price wont change, and the only thing it might affect is the amount of time it takes to sell. Its like having aftermarket goodies on a bike, an aftermarket pipe doesnt increase the value just makes it sell quicker

You THINK it doesn't change your selling price, but I'd wager that a person who can document what he's done comes across as more professional and can justify asking for more than the average person.

And you said it might take longer to sell.....So isn't that an inconvenience to you? IMO that's a bigger inconvenience than saving your receipts.

I mean some of you guys act like putting a piece of paper into a manilla folder in yoru drawer is so difficult. I just don't get it.

[Mr Lefty]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

You THINK it doesn't change your selling price, but I'd wager that a person who can document what he's done comes across as more professional and can justify asking for more than the average person.

And you said it might take longer to sell.....So isn't that an inconvenience to you? IMO that's a bigger inconvenience than saving your receipts.

I mean some of you guys act like putting a piece of paper into a manilla folder in yoru drawer is so difficult. I just don't get it.

because we don't give a fuck. I've never been asked for them, so why keep them? I know I did the maintenance so what's the point of keeping it?

[Captain Morgan]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

You THINK it doesn't change your selling price, but I'd wager that a person who can document what he's done comes across as more professional and can justify asking for more than the average person.

And you said it might take longer to sell.....So isn't that an inconvenience to you? IMO that's a bigger inconvenience than saving your receipts.

I mean some of you guys act like putting a piece of paper into a manilla folder in yoru drawer is so difficult. I just don't get it.

we don't all care enough to be anal retentive.

[101lifts2]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

You THINK it doesn't change your selling price, but I'd wager that a person who can document what he's done comes across as more professional and can justify asking for more than the average person.

And you said it might take longer to sell.....So isn't that an inconvenience to you? IMO that's a bigger inconvenience than saving your receipts.

I mean some of you guys act like putting a piece of paper into a manilla folder in yoru drawer is so difficult. I just don't get it.

Keeping service records IMO is only good to prove your engine didn't blow due to lack of maintence for a warranty claim. It doesn't increase the value at all. Dealer's go by wholesale numbers.

In my dealer mechanic days, I used to do used car inspections and then fix whatever was broke. There are things you look for to determine maintenance in the tranny fluid, engine oil and coolant. Look under the engine oil cap, smell the trans fluid and look at the color of the engine coolant. Then of course you test drive it.

I would say things you cannot detect like a timing belt record would be useful, but if the motor doesn't slap the valves when the belt breaks, I'd say just run the engine until it breaks. You can probably get 2x the life out of a stock belt vs. what the manual says.

I only keep records in my head.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by 101lifts2

Keeping service records IMO is only good to prove your engine didn't blow due to lack of maintence for a warranty claim. It doesn't increase the value at all. Dealer's go by wholesale numbers.

In my dealer mechanic days, I used to do used car inspections and then fix whatever was broke. There are things you look for to determine maintenance in the tranny fluid, engine oil and coolant. Look under the engine oil cap, smell the trans fluid and look at the color of the engine coolant. Then of course you test drive it.

I would say things you cannot detect like a timing belt record would be useful, but if the motor doesn't slap the valves when the belt breaks, I'd say just run the engine until it breaks. You can probably get 2x the life out of a stock belt vs. what the manual says.

I only keep records in my head.

First, it seems more and more engines are interference design. So if the belt breaks your valves get bent. Personally I don't know why more engines don't have chains instead of belts.... I guess it's so the dealers can make money replacing them.

Also, it's easy for a guy to change his fluids before showing his car to anyone. Let's say he does this at 30,000 miles......Sure the fluids look nice, but he could have skipped the first couple of changes. I would rather have a guy who obeyed the first one or two recommended intervals, or even went ahead of schedule. I know most of you do that, so why wouldn't you want to prove it if asked?