Do you keep maintenance records?

[jb3]

I run a pair of work vehicles where all expenditures must be accounted for so i just carry the practice of keeping all service records of any kind for any personal vehicle vehicle as well.

The majority of buyers do seem to appreciate the practice when i go to sell a car. Its mostly for my own reference though.

 

[32vsnake]

depends on the vehicles importance to me.. on my shelby and tundra I keep every record since day one that's associated with the vehicles. The highlander that serves commuter duty, not so much.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I keep a record of regular maintained information and any repairs for both my trucks. I keep things wrote down in a notebook I keep in the glove box.

But I also keep an excel spreadsheet for them in my toolbox. I have a schedule made for regular maintenance. That way I know if there was something I didn't do on my last service. I also have a sheet to keep track of parts replaced. It also helps me keep track of part numbers and where I purchased the parts. It's mainly just for me so I know what I have and have not done. Also so I can remember what I may need to keep an eye on after doing maintenance.

 

[TK-421]

Meh. Yes and no. If the service place gives me a receipt then I'll stick it in my car stuff folder I have in my desk, but I don't keep receipts for stuff I do myself or when I fill up on gas or other small things like that.

I doubt dealerships will give you more for your car if you have the service records, and I don't want the hassle of selling to a private party, so I generally don't worry about keeping them organized or making sure they go with the car when I trade it in.

 

[RVDan]

I was selling a camper van a while ago and everyone called asked if I had maintenance records. The conversation ended when I told them no. It was crazy impossible to sell it without these magical service records. It only had 68000 km on it over 14 years, just how much maintenance could be done?

I ended up changing all the fluids, brakes, and exhaust just so I could print some receipts to make people happy.

 

[Falcon67]

I take the dailies to a dealer, then Ford has the records and I don't have to worry about it. Most dealers will toss any records in the glove box anyway, in my experience. You may not even find an owners manual in a used car. Why? Because they can try to sell you an aftermarket warranty that makes them big $. If you had evidence that a car was well maintained, you'd not be interested in a warranty. Records would help person to person. Just not person to dealer.

Motorhomes, et-all - that's a different deal. I'd agree that no records = no sale or a big hit on price. Those are considered high maintenance type vehicles IMHO.

 

[rlitman]

I have four cars that that get driven at least every few days, and have had as many six cars that were driven regularly. If I didn't keep records, there is no way I could remember which car I last serviced or what was done when.
I keep a small notebook in each car and note date/mileage for oil changes, brake jobs, brake fluid flushes, tire rotations or any other maintenance I did.

I do my own work too, and keep similar records.
I used to keep a notebook, but found it inconvenient. Now I use a Google Docs spreadsheet. That way, I can open the doc up on my phone while I'm performing the work, or check into it at my computer, or whenever I want for whatever reason.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

My notion may already be in existence but I wonder at times and wish that someday ...the vehicle builder's would put a date entry port on the vehicle much like the OBD 2 scanner port.....

Then, all service and maintenance data could be entered in to the vehicles PCM with a laptop PC via this port. The owner and any tech that worked on the vehicle could instantly pull up the data and see what has been done to it, the parts name and numbers...on and on....

Only problem I foresee with my notion is the bad people in this world ....would probably hijack it and program it with lies, just to make the vehicle look like it has been treated with kid gloves.

 

[rlitman]

My notion may already be in existence but I wonder at times and wish that someday ...the vehicle builder's would put a date entry port on the vehicle much like the OBD 2 scanner port.....

Then, all service and maintenance data could be entered in to the vehicles PCM with a laptop PC via this port. The owner and any tech that worked on the vehicle could instantly pull up the data and see what has been done to it, the parts name and numbers...on and on....

Only problem I foresee with my notion is the bad people in this world ....would probably hijack it and program it with lies, just to make the vehicle look like it has been treated with kid gloves.

Interesting. You may be onto something. In the very least, it could stamp any notes entered with the actual mileage and perhaps even the date. That could discourage tampering somewhat.

 

[APEowner]

Yup. The daily drivers had a notebook in the glove box that I record stuff in and a file in the filing cabinet for receipts.

In addition to the sanctioning body log books the race car has a file for receipts a loose leaf binder with build details and software for setup, tire and maintenance records.

 

[mrodgers]

Blue Painters Tape - Under the hood somewhere. I write down the date, mileage and what I did. Makes it real easy for me

8000 miles in 8 years. Drive much?


I keep all receipts in a folder for each car in a file cabinet with everything else I put in the file cabinet. I never gave them with the car when sold/traded and I never bothered to remove and toss so, up until the STBX purged the house of everything I had still in the house (she threw away my 1991 Wheaties cereal with the Penguins Stanley Cup photo, that *****!) I had every receipt from every car I've owned since 1990.

 

[thepipe]

Our household has 4 vehicles, a whole-house generator, 2 lawn tractors, a log splitter, a backhoe, etc... I do 99.99% of the repairs and maintenance on all of them. Without some sort of documentation, I could never keep track of it all.
I use mycarprojects.net to keep track of everything. There are columns in which you list the service performed, the mileage at the time, the date, and the cost. At the bottom of the page, these costs automatically add for you, so you can see at a glance how much was spent during its lifetime. This has served me very well indeed when I sell one. For every type of service performed, you can choose to create alerts to remind you for upcoming services required. These can be set for mileage, time, or both. There is also a comments section for each entry to make a note indicating what brand, part number, size, viscosity, etc... was used. In the master notes section I keep all VIN numbers, which are frequently needed when I order parts. There is also a mobile app I find very useful, which can read from/write to the database and also calculate (and store) fuel economy numbers. It is a terrific app and website. Best of all... it's completely free!
I cut-and-pasted an entry from my last service to give an example of what is there. It is not neat here, but is in neat columns on both the website and app.

Replace Brake Hoses 166,261 6/6/2016 $70.00 Dorman H620950 (LF), Dorman H620951 (RF), Dorman H620964 (LR & RR).

 

[gtabasso]

I don't keep a log but do keep all receipts in a file folder.

 

[MXmaniac]

I use a Google Sheet, so I can access the spreadsheet from a computer, iPad, or phone. I keep records for all of our vehicles, each have their own tab within the sheet. Receipts are kept in a folder. I'm more diligent with the vehicles that are still under warranty.

 

[hifi_hokie]

Excel sheet for the Jeep, plus receipts of major work.

 

[LAROKE]

i use software called CarCare. Relatively painless once you get into the habit of entering the data as it happens.

http://www.carcaresoftware.com/

 

[Joemctag]

What I write under the hood somewhere is the type of oil maybe brand and wrench size for drain plug, which is also the first thing in the little log book I start. I leave a few pages blank for oil change info. and then just everything else as it happens chronologies gically. And, for example, if wheels were off to replace tires and I see that the pads are worn so much I’ll write that after the tire replacement note. Nowadays I can’t remember doing brakes, say 2 months ago. Really need the little record book. My dad gave me the idea, but of course when I was young I could remember everything. I don’t keep parts receipts , just tire and battery warranties.Can some of you guys with 7 or 8 vehicles actually keep all that in your heads?
“The best memory is not so firm as faded ink.”

 

[thomfr]

Even with only 3 cars I learned the hard way (engine damage due to failed long overdue spark plug) that I have to make notes.. (Just a simple school cahier).
Thom

 

[sberry]

If its important I write it under the hood with a marker. On occasion write a note in the OM for equipment. Save a few part numbers on hard to find stuff. I aint reading about every oil change a used car ever had.
Had a guy work for me wanna write it down every time he tighten a belt on a 20 yr old golf cart.

 

[kaehlin]

I keep records, and also log in an ap (Fuelly). The ap tells me total maintenance costs plus costs per mile for gas. I can do a quick back of the envelope depreciation calculation, and this makes it very easy to see how much it really costs to own each car. It's actually a great motivator to keep what I have rather than buy new. Depreciation is the killer cost on most new cars. And I find that each car has had minor issues that I fix and forget, so it's a reality check on actual maintenance costs, too.
Of all the cars I've sold, only one buyer was really interested in looking at maintenance records in detail. Several have been happy to see that I kept the records, though. I'm sure dealerships just throw it all away if trading in.

 

[mark#3]

I keep a little notebook in every vehicle I own, write down maintenance, parts.The one 38A1 jeep I sold, the buyer was impressed with that.

 

[Cobra5150]

Once, I traded in a car at a dealership, and had to bring in the title the following day. I brought the title, along with a manila folder about an inch thick and gave it to the salesman. He laughed, and waved it in the air and exclaimed to all in the showroom, "Look!, He brought us everything!"

That guy just made a nice pay check from your deal then makes a joke to the dealership??????
That would piss me off.

 

[mark#3]

I second that feedback, if I was that buyer, I would be no more

 

[Lucid Moments]

I honestly don't keep any maintenance records. But I rarely sell cars, I tend to keep them forever.

 

[n20junkie]

Yup, on aircraft.

On anything else? F no.

 

[Spareparts]

Wife's car goes to the dealer for everything, all statements are filed, my trucks I do myself and the oil filter box lid get's the date,milage and type of oil used printed on it and stored in the glove box. If a salesman smarted off like that to me he would get the 3 day law pulled on him, in Kansas you have 3 days to return a vehicle, wonder how his boss would like him after that.

 

[PALYDIN11]

I keep an excel spreadsheet of vehicles and service intervals. As far as the records, I scan the records and put them on an external drive. If its not major maintenance or recall work, the paper copy gets tossed.

 

[ambenz]

I built "THE BIBLE" of my car! LOL!

View media item 101358
With an index page.... tire info in the pocket.....

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Vendor modification parts list (just in case I need a replacement)

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Build sheets for painted stripe mod....
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Original purchase ticket with window sticker too....

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TSP, general maintenance reciepts....but I do not have self service ledgers as the cars condition shows for itself....major fluid changes, diff, trans, brake, power steering I have.

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It all came in very handy when valueing the car for full coverage insurance as I had reciepts for all the modifications and extra value items got itemized. But the mileage and age has me weighting whether full coverage is worth the price since depreciation has set in.

 

[engineer2]

Simple Excel spreadsheet: Date, Miles, Service
Another section has
VIN
License plate number
Paint code
Tire size
Build date
Shop manual link
Wiper sizes
Battery type
Air filter type
Cabin filter type
Belt number
Spark plug type
trans filter number
Valve clearances
Headlight bulb numbers
etc.

 

[bczygan]

I will when I start doing scheduled maintenance...!

Bill

 

[Buckaroo5]

I maintain the family fleet along with friends cars as needed. In each of the family cars, I keep a small spiral bound notebook with date, mileage, work completed and notes of any measurements or "watch outs' for the future. All the receipts for parts go into the file cabinet - I have had occasion to use them for warranty replacements. Had a windshield leak after 8 years and it had a lifetime guarantee. Took it back to the installer and they removed and reseated it although not with a happy heart. Drives me nuts when I am working on friends cars and I ask them "when did we replace that last" and they are clueless.

Buckaroo

 

[exranger06]

Yes, I keep records. They're mostly for my own reference, not really for future buyers. I tend to keep my cars pretty much forever. It's how I keep track of when the next oil change is due and when other regular maintenance is due. It also helps me keep track of when I last replaced a failed part, so I know how long the part lasted and if it's still under warranty. I have a filing cabinet with folders of all the important stuff in my life that I need to file (not just car stuff - tax stuff, house stuff, insurance stuff, etc). Each car has its own file in there. I save receipts and keep them in the file. I have sheets of notebook paper in the file - one sheet has oil changes on it. I write down the date and mileage, and the brand of oil and filter. I have another sheet of paper for all other maintenance and repairs. Again, I write down the date and mileage, what I did to the car, and usually write down part numbers of the parts I installed. When I run out of space on a sheet, I start a new sheet and add it to the file.

Two times I traded in my wife's car. Both times, I went back to the dealer the next day and handed them the file for the car, along with the spare keys. Both times the salesman wasn't around and I handed them to the receptionist girl. I didn't get any smart-aleck remarks; they just thanked me and accepted them graciously. I don't know if they just tossed them in the trash afterward though.

 

[jd_1138]

I keep records for myself and if I go to sell the vehicle. It helps with the right buyer. If you're selling to bottom feeders they won't care about the records. All they care about is price, but they can't/won't pay much for your car. It's better to maintain your car well, keep records, and you will get more money for it from a better class of buyer.

Maintaining a vehicle well will result in it lasting you longer and costing less for repairs, so once you get that receipt just chuck it in glove compartment.

 

[sberry]

and you will get more money for it from a better class of buyer.

While its true it cost more up front. I was listening to a case about a Hundy or something, well north of 100K and they were talking about how it was a shame to neglect it,,,, if it was well taken care of would have been worth 1000 more at trade,,, ha Maybe it was a Kia.

 

[cderalow]

i know this seems crazy, but the last four new cars i've purchased have included a 'maintenance log' with their factory owners manuals. I've actually used that and leave it in the glove box.

notes date, mileage, etc, will normally toss the receipt in if i had to purchase something and tape it to the page.

 

[rayra]

medium spiral-bound notebook in my aging Suburban, handwritten notes. I do most of the work myself.
Parts and service receipts in a file folder in my home office.

 

[ripperd]

Yup. I keep a folder in my filing cabinet for each vehicle. I put all paperwork for the vehicle in it, any receipts for major parts or service work. Then in the folder I keep sheet of notebook paper that has dated and odo reading for any service work done. Generally thats oil/filter changes, tire rotations, tire replacements, service work, batteries, etc.

Its mostly so I can keep track of it. But it does help a little bit with re-sale when a prospective buyer sees you are diligent about service.

 

[GMCGarage]

Dont anymore. Sales guy told me they really dont care, they are going off Kelly Blue Book, NEVER take in account of maintenance. Unless mint, they send to second tier buyer to sell to car lots. If I dont get the price I want, I dont trade it in.