How common is it for an Irish car not to have service history

JR79

Hi

As the title says, looking to buy a car and quite a few I've inquired about have had no service history. Would it be a major thing to put you off buying?

Depends on the car and how much it is to be honest imo.

slinky2000

Very common I've found out over the years. History gets lost, books get lost etc.

Out of 10 cars I've owned over the years only one has had a full book of stamps/receipts. If the car is cheapish (sub 3k) it wouldn't put me off as long as I could tell its been looked after. Anything over that and I'd hold off for one that has history.

Plug

I find older cars never have them. Newer ones yes except the odd one.

JR79

Ya ok i suppose it makes a difference with the age.
I would be talking about cars in the 5-6000 price bracket & 5-6 years old

Thanks

coylemj

Motorists are careless about getting the book stamped and so are the garages. In some respects it's a symptom of people simply not getting the car serviced in the first place, in other cases it just doesn't occur to the car owner that the prospective next owner might like to see some evidence that the car was actually serviced.

I want to see invoices, the stamps in the service book are worthless as far as I'm concerned anyway.

What really bugs me is the fact that even main dealers don't go out of their way to talk about or show you the service history, the reason I think is because unless every car they think you might buy has a service history, they are better off not bringing up the subject in case you ask about the wrong car - the one that has a blank service history.

When I worked for a multinational one of my female colleagues drove an Alfa 147 for three years and never got a service or oil change, that's the type of people who drive cars and if you're looking at a secondhand, you have to assume that that's the car you are going to buy unless you see invoices and genuine stamps in the service booklet.

VolvoMan

Paddy sometimes doesn't even see the need to get a car serviced, let alone get the book stamped.

Leonard Hofstadter

VolvoMan wrote: »

Paddy sometimes doesn't even see the need to get a car serviced, let alone get the book stamped.

+1 - most Irish motorists (especially those who have small and cheap cars) think servicing is an awful waste of money so don't bother, about the only time a car gets anything resembling maintenance is when the NCT comes up and then it's a case of the "spend as little as possible" attitude!

I am longing for the day every car has an annual NCT once it's three years old - at least then you'd know the car has had some form of maintenance at least once a year;)!

Trhiggy83

I never buy irish cars for exactly this reason

VolvoMan

captainspeed wrote: »

I am longing for the day every car has an annual NCT once it's three years old - at least then you'd know the car has had some form of maintenance at least once a year;)!

Sure don't you know if such a rule was introduced the Joe Duffy phone lines would be clogged with the likes of Mary who drives her Nissan Tiida ringing up saying what a disgrace it is and how the NCT is a "money-making racket".

captainspeed

captainspeed wrote: »

...........
I am longing for the day every car has an annual NCT once it's three years old - at least then you'd know the car has had some form of maintenance at least once a year;)!

Nope, all you'd know is that it was tested annually. For folks that are really stretched the €50 for the NCT might be the €50 that would have been used for an oil change.

Leonard Hofstadter

You have a good point there RJ, but just to go by my family members alone, many of whom think that anything other than taxing a car and spending petrol on it are a waste of money, the NCT scares the sh1t out of them and they always without fail get the car serviced (usually a "full service") before the NCT!

The NCT definitely forces people with older cars to do something vaguely resembling maintenance on their cars. Making it an annual affair for everyone with a car that is at least three years old is a step in the right direction.

As for the NCT being a "money making racket", well unfortunately that is the NCT's fault really, we had a car that they attempted to fail us for because the side repeater was "too orange":rolleyes: (there was nothing wrong with the indicators on the car in question), with that kind of an attitude it is hardly surprising that people think it is a waste of money.

Daegerty

captainspeed wrote: »

+1 - most Irish motorists (especially those who have small and cheap cars) think servicing is an awful waste of money so don't bother, about the only time a car gets anything resembling maintenance is when the NCT comes up and then it's a case of the "spend as little as possible" attitude!

I am longing for the day every car has an annual NCT once it's three years old - at least then you'd know the car has had some form of maintenance at least once a year;)!

I'm longing for the day all this fecking regulation would go away

ArphaRima

Ignore "fsh" on any advert. I'd say 1 in 10 Irish cars get anything like the service they are supposed to get in the maintenance schedule.

Personally I want Full Manufacturers Service History. As in BMW-serviced BMW, Audi-serviced Audi etc. All done by the official service plan at the service interval. Not a crap oilchange and wiper replacement in a back alley by some scumbag mechanic.

Pdfile

you can buy a fully stamped book online so im sorry but the " paddys are useless at maintaining their cars " argument is rubbish.


some are; some aren't... most mechanics i know for a fact don't maintain their cars to the highest of standards because the lazy gits know exactly what they'll get away with before essential maintenance is required.

itarumaa

I once went to see an LS400 with service history,

well yes there were stamps untill about 147k miles, but the car had 217k miles and no history after 147k miles.

I think with the cheaper cars, service history does not really matter anyway, much more important things to focus on.

Wolverine_1999

Try a Corsa in the 2002-2005 age bracket.. I was shocked and disturbed! Out of 6 I looked at I think in total were about 2 stamps between them :eek:

MugMugs

fluffer wrote: »

Not a crap oilchange and wiper replacement in a back alley by some scumbag mechanic.

I actually resent that comment. Some of the best work I've ever had done was in a back alley mechanics.

I had one timing belt done by VW and never again. I drope 200 metres down the road, shut the engine down and they had to tow her back up to their garage. They "forgot" to re connect the coolant hose so she basically was p1ssing coolant once filled..... This along with a few other bits and bobs

Wolverine_1999

MugMugs wrote: »

I had one timing belt done by VW and never again.

I'm sure it's hit and miss, but Dealers are mostly "gangsters", so it's no surprise the same attitude would apply to any work they do on your car.

A mechanic you know and trust will be your car's best friend, not the one down a "back alley" who might offer you the best price.

EPM

A lot of people think that a stamp in the book is a full service history. It's not IMO. My last car had all the stamps from new, but also every receipt for everything ever spent on it down to wiper blades and puncture repairs. The current car I knew the history of when buying it and already there's a few receipts stuffed in to back everything up.

fluffer

fluffer wrote: »

............ Not a crap oilchange and wiper replacement in a back alley by some scumbag mechanic.

So the lads working for main dealers are not scumbags but the lads working in independent garages are

angelfire9

Not everyone is like that

My car (04 Fiesta) has a full ford service history the book is stamped & the receipts for the services are in the book
The Garage puts a sticker on the window to tell me when it is due for another service i THINK its every 12 months or every 50k miles whichever comes sooner

If you take care of the car there's less chance of it breaking down in the back ass of nowhere because of some silly fault that wold have been picked up in a service!

hadook

I have all the receipts from the services for my Skoda but the book isn't stamped. In fact, I don't think I even have the book anymore. Receipts make for more interesting reading anyway

When we were car hunting recently we found it very difficult to find a sub 3k car with a decent service history. I doubt that'll change anytime soon either - one of the people I work with recently admitted that their 3 year old car has never had a service and was wondering if it should be done :rolleyes:

mailforkev

Got a full service done a couple of months back at a main dealer and ended up having to go back into them as they hadn't stamped the book (I even said it to them when I left the car in).

So even paying top dollar (over 500 quid with brakepads) doesn't guarantee the garage gives a shite about your FSH.

YouTookMyName

The auld fella has had about 12 cars and 7 vans,

Only 1 had service history, a fully stamped book and receipts in the back of it, it was a 2001 Avensis which he bought in 2004, Best car he ever had.

Service History seems to be the expection rather then the rule.

Gary ITR

fluffer wrote: »

Ignore "fsh" on any advert. I'd say 1 in 10 Irish cars get anything like the service they are supposed to get in the maintenance schedule.

Personally I want Full Manufacturers Service History. As in BMW-serviced BMW, Audi-serviced Audi etc. All done by the official service plan at the service interval. Not a crap oilchange and wiper replacement in a back alley by some scumbag mechanic.

You clearly haven't a clue. A recent customer of ours rang a very large main dealer about a big job on his 6 year old car he was pit through to a mechanic, he was told 'don't bring that here, find the best independent you can'

I also had a company car years ago that I had to bring to a main dealer, it had an obvious fault in the electrical system but it was throwing an error code so they didn't/couldn't fix it.

A FSH from a main dealer wouldn't fill me with confidence

SuperGrover

I use an independent mechanic for all my work. He's honest, hardworking and reliable. He's also cheaper than going to a dealer. So, when I go to sell, there is no main dealer service history.

When I buy a used car (which I did just last week), whether there is a FSH or not (there was), I get it inspected thoroughly. 200 quid on an inspection is way more valuable to me than a series of stamps.

Just my tuppenceworth. I'm no expert.

dgt

I wouldnt be too confident with a fsh if the previous owners havnt minded the car.

For example my BMW has fsh all the way back to 1989. Its most recent stamp is for 144k miles in 2006 from the dealer and even has an independent sticker for a hg change. It now has 148k miles. Every bush is shot on it, it has various electric problems (lights occasionally work) and the uj is gone at the back. Im finding it difficult getting parts due to the cars age. Needless to say wouldnt you be pi55ed off if you go a car like this with fsh and it was about to fall to pieces?

On contrast to my daily hack, it was a €200 banger that i stripped to the shell and rebuilt from the ground up. It mightnt look the best on the outside but at least i know its sound mechanically and will go for a few years more. No sh atall

Grolschevik

Never had the book stamped on my 00 Fiesta, even when I used to bring it to the main dealer. Never thought to ask, and they certainly never suggested it. I used a small independent after that.

I kept all the receipts, though, stuffed into the manual's plastic wallet. Of course, some of those receipts were just written in biro on the back of an envelope...

Stinicker

When I imported my BMW from the UK it had full service history, I continued recording the service history and it still has a FSH today. Most Irish cars don't even get the car serviced in the main dealer and instead with some ejit who wouldn't know his spanner from his suspension. This is especially true with Toyota's, you will hardly ever get one with a FSH, Irish people really are feckless when it comes to cars in general.

Gary ITR

Stinicker wrote: »

When I imported my BMW from the UK it had full service history, I continued recording the service history and it still has a FSH today. Most Irish cars don't even get the car serviced in the main dealer and instead with some ejit who wouldn't know his spanner from his suspension. This is especially true with Toyota's, you will hardly ever get one with a FSH, Irish people really are feckless when it comes to cars in general.

As I eluded to above, a main dealer history wouldn't inspire confidence in anybody that is in the trade or knows what they are looking at

SuperGrover

Stinicker wrote: »

Most Irish cars don't even get the car serviced in the main dealer and instead with some ejit who wouldn't know his spanner from his suspension.

I don't get this. Are you suggesting that all mechanics who work for main dealers are excellent and that all mechanics who don't are rubbish?

barone

i usually try and do most of the servicing myself, be it changing oil,filters,plugs,wipers,bulbs etc.. for that there would only be parts reciepts, anything else like brakes,shocks,timing belts would go to a reputable fitter to be done,at least i know its done that way, ive had services done before where they did jack **** and wanted to charge 250 euro..didnt get it

and that was a main dealer garage

Stinicker

SuperGrover wrote: »

I don't get this. Are you suggesting that all mechanics who work for main dealers are excellent and that all mechanics who don't are rubbish?

No and quite often the reverse is true, however alot of people only spend the absolute bare minimum and if there was recommendation to change a part at 100k, most Irish people would wait until blew or failed at 130k or whatever.

dr.fuzzenstein

angelfire9 wrote: »

The Garage puts a sticker on the window to tell me when it is due for another service i THINK its every 12 months or every 50k miles whichever comes sooner

:eek::eek::eek::eek:
You'll be scraping the oil out of the sump with a spatula!;)

But on the subject, many people buy a car, keep it for three years, don't service it (ah sure, a few thousand over isn't so bad), the next guy is no better, etc...
Service history here only applies to anything E50k plus (maybe), anything else (1.4 paddy poverty spec shed) is treated with utter contempt, wheels buckled, scratches, one service every 5 years, left in the drive to rot to keep E200 worth of garbage in the garage, the majority of people don't care about cars, don't want to know about them, to them a car is a microwave or a fridge, something you buy, abuse and discard.
So there usually will be 4 odd tires on it, oil the consistency of tar, scratch and dent on every panel, interior in sh*te, airfilter will look more like an Aran jumper, etc..
I hate buying cars here.

I do all my own servicing, that way I know what's done, what is to do and it's done properly and on time.
I suspect many garages "oil change" consists of topping up and putting a sticker in the window.
Oh yeah, and charging for it.
I have no faith in either main dealers or independent cowboys, if I really can't do a job I call a friend who is handy, together we've mamaged to fix everything ourselves so far.

Where To

I remember my dad used to drive for a dutch haulage firm who leased their trucks from Scania ( all servicing and maintenance was done by Scania)


Service intervals were 95,000 to 105,000 km :eek::eek::eek: