Would you buy a car with no service history?

nino1

I was looking to buy this car for €7000
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/08-bmw-316i-petrol/6205387
its being sold buy a foreign guy, private sale.
He has no service history for it.

My question is, if I got an experienced bmw mechanic to look over it
will he be able to have a good idea whether its been serviced regularly or
would he only be able to give an opinion of the cars present condition.

i.e. can they see if there is more wear and tear than there should be?

Noccy_Mondy

If it was serviced, can't they check that by reading the key... maybe i'm wrong though.

Del2005

None of my cars had a service history. I buy on the condition of the car not what's in a book. Get it checked out and if it's OK then buy it. You can always use the lack of service history to get a bit off.

bazz26

Ring the local BMW with the reg and ask them is there any history. BTW spec on it is very basic though.

djimi

The ad says "fully serviced"; Id expect the seller to be able to back that up with something. If there is no history (be it stamps in the book or invoices for parts/labour etc) for a car like that then Id be walking away. Id expect it to have some history, even for the first few years.

Mycroft H

The only car I bought without a shred of service history was 450 Clio. It's not even that hard to find a very cheap car with some history, but you'd be judging on condition then over history when the price is cheap. At 7,000 euros, I'd be expecting some paper work.

dgt

Service history means nothing to me, so the answer is yes

SCOOP 64

Has it got the owners manuals and a non stamped book? only 08 wouldn't be that old to me, if it was never stamped , you should have some receipts at least, can you check the mileage that would be my biggest worry,you wouldn't buy a new BMW and get your friend to service in his driveway.

ironclaw

Service book means very little, but there should be some paper work i.e. Receipts etc It would be astounding for a car to have no service book entries and no receipts. Because if that is the case its a good indicator, in my mind, that the owner had 1) No idea about servicing or maintenance 2) Probably didn't care much for the car anyway.

Either way, you should have the car fully checked out from top to toe. Service history is a rough guide not gospel.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

I've bought all but 1 of my cars with no service history - the only one with FMSH was the e60 - and that one turned out to be a pig.

On cheap cars half the fun is doing it yourself!

Del2005

djimi wrote: »

The ad says "fully serviced"; Id expect the seller to be able to back that up with something. If there is no history (be it stamps in the book or invoices for parts/labour etc) for a car like that then Id be walking away. Id expect it to have some history, even for the first few years.

To me "fully serviced" means that it'll have a service when you buy it.

toastedpickles

Have done, and it was the best car ive ever owned

noelf

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

I've bought all but 1 of my cars with no service history - the only one with FMSH was the e60 - and that one turned out to be a pig.

On cheap cars half the fun is doing it yourself!

On cheap and cheerful cars probably get away with a few hundred euro for repairs ....BMW on the otherhand will be thousands been there have the t-shirt

power pants

my last car had no service history at all, mechanic checked it over and said it was in great condition so I bought

Was about to buy a car with full service history and list of receipts of what had been done to it, fresh nct as well. Brought it to a garage and they said it was a bag of ****-walk away , walk away!