Stamping service book

Skuxx · 09-07-2012 7:01pm #1

I was out with the 'ol lady today trying to trade in her car and I noticed that 3 out of 4 cars we had a look at had no stamps in the service book. When asked about the service history, 1 garage said "we have done all the servicing here from new, but we would never open someones glovebook and stamp the book, it would be up to them to leave it out on the seat" and another said "we never stamp the book, but we have done all the servicing from new and have records on computer!"

I'm just wondering is this normal, personally with my own car I'd expect the book stamped everytime......

**Edit: While I'm here, thoughts on 09/10 Renault Clio, any known issues or problems to watch for??

Anan1 · 09-07-2012 7:09pm

Were these main dealers? Sometimes people don't leave the book in the car, although simply not having the car serviced at the correct intervals is more common again.

colm_mcm · 09-07-2012 7:10pm

I'd be asking to see the computer records straight away and see all invoices.

Outkast_IRE · 09-07-2012 7:11pm

I personally make sure the book is always stamped, and it would be a major plus to me when looking at a car to see the book stamped at regular intervals.

Anan1 · 09-07-2012 7:14pm

Remember that invoices trump stamps in a book.

Skuxx · 09-07-2012 7:14pm

Anan1 wrote: »

Were these main dealers? Sometimes people don't leave the book in the car, although simply not having the car serviced at the correct intervals is more common again.

Yes both main dealers who claimed to have sold car from new and done all servicing since! They weren't old cars with high milage, 09/10 cars with 20k km ish but still!!

What good are computers records in that garage if she trades the car in another 2/3 years somewhere completly different!!

Anan1 · 09-07-2012 7:17pm

alan1990 wrote: »

Yes both main dealers who claimed to have sold car from new and done all servicing since! They weren't old cars with high milage, 09/10 cars with 20k km ish but still!!

What good are computers records in that garage if she trades the car in another 2/3 years somewhere completly different!!

I'd be happy enough with that, if the garages stamped and dated the book, and preferably provided copies of the invoices too. You may have trouble with the invoices, as AFAIK they can legally only be issued to the payee. Still i'd need proof that the car was properly serviced, both for my own peace of mind and for resale.

mickdw · 09-07-2012 7:19pm

Buy a car with stamps and invoices. That way, you can be fairly sure that it not only had the servicing but also that it had an owner who cared about the car enough to keep all the stuff together. Invoices would be more important than stamps imo.

Some of the fleet cars would not have the book stamped but they would have a full and proper record on file.

sunnysoutheast · 09-07-2012 7:52pm

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I personally make sure the book is always stamped, and it would be a major plus to me when looking at a car to see the book stamped at regular intervals.

If you know who to ask it's very easy to get a "replacement" service book with whatever stamps you want in it. Many used cars used to get haircuts this way.

Invoices are much harder to forge, and most garages will confirm the work was done if you call.

Fleet cars sold into the car supermarkets are often serviced in-house, and can come with a blank service book and a printout of the work done.

Ha ha - just noticed I crossed with Mick's post!

SSE

coylemj · 09-07-2012 8:03pm

Any time I've been to a main dealer I get the same BS over and over again. They fob you off with nonsense about every car having a full service history but there is never invoices and most of the time the stamps in the service books are either their own stamps, or those of a dealer no longer in business (Alo Kavanagh anyone?).

I've come to the conclusion that even if a dealer takes in a trade-in with service invoices, he won't show them to a prospect because it simply highlights the lack of invoices for the other cars on the lot so he won't show invoices for any car, even when they exist.

Telling a prospect that they never stamp service booklets for customers because opening the glovebox would be some kind of invasion of privacy is really taking the p1ss. I bet the service manager in the same dealer tells a totally different story - he'll tell you that having the book stamped in a main dealer enhances the value of the car so you shouldn't be going to a backstreet chancer etc. etc. If he knew that the sales guy out front was saying they didn't bother stamping the service book he'd probably be ready to throttle him.

George Dalton · 09-07-2012 8:27pm

Main dealers in this country are very hit and miss when it comes to stamping a service book. I find Ford dealers are the worst. We buy a lot of ex fleet/lease cars and sell them on and most Fords have an incomplete or even totally blank service book even though they have a full main dealer history. By doing some detective work it is usually possible to find out where the car has been serviced from new and then call that dealer and get the details from them.

dr.fuzzenstein · 09-07-2012 9:05pm

The Irish just aren't good with having their cars serviced.
It's not in the culture, it goes with the fact that 90% of people buy n/a Euro, Jap and Korea boxes and let them rot in the rain while the garage is filled with rubbish or converted to a Granny flat that's never used.
Servicing is seen as a waste of money and if you can skip every second service, you save half the money.
And I'm sure that a lot of people who buy a new car every 3-4 years don't service their car at all, that's up to the next guy to worry about.
Plus some people are sure that sunlight damages the engine, that is why you must under no circumstances open the bonnet.
Coupled with that is the "Ah sure, be grand" attitude when it comes to stamping books where the dealer is concerned and there's your problem.
Any other country you'd have a hard time when selling a car without service history, but because there's no culture of either servicing your car here, let alone recording the history of doing so, you have no choice but to just hope for the best.

Francie Barrett · 09-07-2012 10:32pm

alan1990 wrote: »

I was out with the 'ol lady today trying to trade in her car and I noticed that 3 out of 4 cars we had a look at had no stamps in the service book. When asked about the service history, 1 garage said "we have done all the servicing here from new, but we would never open someones glovebook and stamp the book, it would be up to them to leave it out on the seat" and another said "we never stamp the book, but we have done all the servicing from new and have records on computer!"

I'm just wondering is this normal, personally with my own car I'd expect the book stamped everytime......

**Edit: While I'm here, thoughts on 09/10 Renault Clio, any known issues or problems to watch for??

The stamps thing can be easily forged as well.

A few years ago, I was ready to part with cash for a 4 year old Golf with a full service history. It was only by chance that a friend of mine mentioned that the dealer was a bit of a chancer and that I should not take him at face value. A bit of detective work later, I was able to find out that the car hadn't one iota of a service history. Not only that, but it had been clocked and there was water damage to some of the electrics.

Skuxx · 10-07-2012 3:51pm

So another day of looking at cars and blank service books!! I have to say I heard the best one so far though today

Me: I'm just wondering about the service history, there is nothing written or stamped in the book?
Sales Guy: How many km are on the car, 15,000, and if you took the time to read the booklet, the recommended interval is 30,000 km, so no, it wasn't serviced and its not due for some time yet!!
Me: But the car is 2.5 years old, surely its 30,000 km as you say, or a time scale of every 12/18 months.....oil deteriorates with age just as much as it does with use
Sales Guy: Nonsense, its 30,000km and thats it, no time limit!!
Me: Ok fair enough, is she belt or chain??
Sales Guy: Chain, no need to worry about it!!
Me: But the book you claim to have read says belt

Anan1 · 10-07-2012 3:55pm

You could save yourself a lot of time if you had that conversation on the phone!

Brabus · 10-07-2012 10:56pm

Its a regular problem for me when i get the car back after a service, book not stamped.:(
I have to go hunt down the mechanic or service manager to get it done.
A minor inconvenience though.
I also make sure to keep all invoices for any future prospective buyers, it shows the effort gone into maintaining the car and improves the chances of making a sale when the time comes.

coylemj · 11-07-2012 1:01am

Brabus wrote: »

Its a regular problem for me when i get the car back after a service, book not stamped.:(

Leave the service booklet on the passenger seat when you drop the car off for a service? Hasn't failed me yet.

Nissan doctor · 11-07-2012 1:05am

coylemj wrote: »

Leave the service booklet on the passenger seat when you drop the car off for a service? Hasn't failed me yet.

Agree'd. I usually have a look in the door pockets and glove box for a service book if its not left out, but if the car/glovebox is full of stuff then I'm not going to go rummaging through peoples stuff looking for it.

Stamping service book

Comments