Why dont people keep service records?

[racedoll]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Again, I don't understand how hard it is to hold onto a piece of paper, even if you do the maintenance yourself.

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.

I don't keep the receipts for oil changes. I do log the mileage, date, and who performed the work. Major stuff I keep the receipts, as well as log the information.

The probe I have most of the data. The bike and the legacy I have everything since I've owned them.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by Mr Lefty

and again, I don't understand how you can take someones word that the slip of paper you have is genuine. like I said before you can buy the part, get the receipt, make a photo copy of it, return it, and boom there's your evidence that I "did the work myself"

While that may be true, you fail to answer my question. Why is it so difficult to hold onto a piece of paper? Let's say you bought a new clutch or set of shocks for your car. Why WOULDN'T you hold onto the receipt? Hell, it takes more effort to throw it away, than to keep it.

[Mr Lefty]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

While that may be true, you fail to answer my question. Why is it so difficult to hold onto a piece of paper? Let's say you bought a new clutch or set of shocks for your car. Why WOULDN'T you hold onto the receipt? Hell, it takes more effort to throw it away, than to keep it.

actually it does take a bit of an effort to keep track of them, keep them organized, and in a safe place.

again, I don't do the maintenance on my vehicles because I plan on selling it. I do it because it needs to be done. I know in my mind that it's accomplished. I've never been asked for any service records on any vehicle I've sold, nor has it ever reduced my accepting price.

[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?

[Tmall]

In response to 'slice's thread..

['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

[dReWpY]

Poll fail: no mandatory Tater's Whore of a Ex-wife option

[Flexin]

I don't for the most part. Some get tossed in the glove box till I get pissed about all the junk in the glove box and they get tossed.

Sometimes I wished I did when I think something was replaced a year ago and I figure out it was done 2-3 years ago.

If I'm thinking of resale when I'm buying it and it isn't for business I shouldn't be buying it anyway.

I never ask for records. If I don't know the shop then I don't know if I can trust the records. Everyone has a "friend".

My Tribute had a rear line go. It must have been repalced because it was put on wrong. I have a hard time believing it happened at the factory but anything is possible. So having a paper saying it was replaced would seem good unless you looked at it and seen what that it was on wrong. There is a tab that should be in a slot. If it isn't in there it will put the hose against suspension parts and start the wear process. So that paper doesn't mean much. I guess you could use that paper as a map of things to look over to see if they were done right.

Bottom line is I don't keep most of them and I never ask about them.

One last thing. In that thread he was talking about how dealers should demand the records or pay them less. I'm guessing he has never tried to trade anything in. Most don't offer much anyway because they need to make a profit (and they will try to get as much as possible) so there isn't much more they can take off and offer without risk of a fat lip.

James

[G-Rex]

If someone can't evaluate a used car for themselves by knowing what to look for and then doing it, then they need to stick to buying new cars for the rest of their life.

I do keep receipts, but that's for parts warranties and *when did I replace that*.

Besides, I've seen what kind of work most *mechanics* out there call service. No thanks. If you want documentation from mechanics/dealerships/etc. you won't get it from me. I don't take my cars or motorcycles to a mechanic unless I just flat out don't have time to do something, which is very rare.

If I do it, I know it's done right. 'Nuff said.