Missing service record

[bungeejumper]

The last poster's problem with a wrongly entered mileage on a service log reminded me of a query that came up recently when a friend was looking at cars to buy. She'd been offered a tidy two year old petrol Golf, 16K, ex lease, for about £12K but with a missing service book (which, to be fair, the dealer had pointed out), and she asked me if she should consider it?

I expressed reservations - it seemed odd to me that a leasing company would lose the service log, and I said there was a possibility that somebody had skipped the first service and they hadn't wanted it to be known. (Another full service had been done at 16K by the dealer.) It didn't seem all that likely that it had been clocked, because it was in excellent physical nick, and anyway, lease companies surely don't do that sort of thing?

In the event, we quickly found an identical car, also ex-lease, with 4K more on the clock but for £500 less and with a full service record, and she bought that one (and loves it). But how worried would other Lemon Fools have been by the missing paperwork?

BJ

[redsturgeon]

The last poster's problem with a wrongly entered mileage on a service log reminded me of a query that came up recently when a friend was looking at cars to buy. She'd been offered a tidy two year old petrol Golf, 16K, ex lease, for about £12K but with a missing service book (which, to be fair, the dealer had pointed out), and she asked me if she should consider it?

I expressed reservations - it seemed odd to me that a leasing company would lose the service log, and I said there was a possibility that somebody had skipped the first service and they hadn't wanted it to be known. (Another full service had been done at 16K by the dealer.) It didn't seem all that likely that it had been clocked, because it was in excellent physical nick, and anyway, lease companies surely don't do that sort of thing?

In the event, we quickly found an identical car, also ex-lease, with 4K more on the clock but for £500 less and with a full service record, and she bought that one (and loves it). But how worried would other Lemon Fools have been by the missing paperwork?

BJ

My understanding is that you can check service records electronically these days with the main dealer...I may be wrong though.

[DrFfybes]

The last poster's problem with a wrongly entered mileage on a service log reminded me of a query that came up recently when a friend was looking at cars to buy. She'd been offered a tidy two year old petrol Golf, 16K, ex lease, for about £12K but with a missing service book (which, to be fair, the dealer had pointed out), and she asked me if she should consider it?
BJ

My understanding is that you can check service records electronically these days with the main dealer...I may be wrong though.

When we bought the Z4M there was no record of the apparently essential first service that means the car will explode if it is missed.

A phone call to BMW UK with the VIN revealed all was well, which is exactly what the previous owner did. The car was registered with a dealer, used for 3 months, then exported to Ireland, then back 3 years later, so the reg no and history is a bit hard to piece together.

Paul

[ten0rman]

I had this with 2 year old Focus 1.8tdci in that my local independant sourced the car with 27K on it, but no service record. Obviously having contracted to buy the car I was, in a way, stuck, but I thought no big deal, it's a diesel, and the previous diesel car had performed very well with an even higher initial mileage at the same age.

I then tried to find out info about the car, and ran into obfuscation, with data protection etc being quoted, which I suppose should have warned me, but eventually, the man coughed up. It turned out that it had indeed missed a service, that there had been some sort of problem with tyres, and there was something else. Sorry, this was 10 years ago, and I can't remember what it was.

Ultimately, the car was an absolute disaster, a Friday pm & Monday am car rolled into one, and over 57K miles (27K to 84K) I had two or three complete tyre changes, a new clutch, a new engine, new fuel filter, new air flow sensor, and other things as well. To be fair, I don't think this was anything to do with the missing service record, but one can never be sure.

I should point out that the preceding car, and the succeeding car did/do exactly the same style and type of work with the same two drivers and neither car have/had anything like the same problems, which to me rules out the drivers and points fairly and squarely at the car.

And to those who remember my previous comments re this heap of scrap metal and plastic, yes, it still rankles that a car can be this bad.

Regards,

ten0rman