Huntyuk

iTrader: (1)

Hi Guy's been playing on my mind a bit that my car is now due its 80k service, the previous owner (who had it from new) always went scooby-clinic for the service etc which he has invoices for well over £600-700 ... (highest was £1589 as he had a remap done and up-pipe on the same day) but the way i see it if you know how to do something and don't feel you need to get it serviced by a recognized garage and do it yourself how would everyone feel about that?

I mean if you went to buy a car that was stamped up till 70k then from 80k onwards they had a wallet of receipts for that service but no stamps ... would you be put off by this? if anything its better than a stamp as it shows what brands of oils/parts/ your using?

like i said i dont want to go forking out £££ if you can do the same job but retain all invoices for parts used as proof

ace1981

Personally, I'd be impressed with someone who had kept all the invoices for everything they'd bought for the car. If they take the time to keep all the paperwork for what they've spent on the car, it's probably true they are just as conscientious with the car itself.

More people are doing their own servicing these days; it brings the benefits of learning more about the internals of your own car plus removing a labour cost. You could always update the service book yourself, just with a little itinerary of what was done, date and mileage. If you keep the invoices for your service parts, they will serve as evidence to back up what is written in the service book.

If it helps, I keep invoices for anything I spend on my Impreza in a folder in date order; whether it's for a new radiator cap or for hundreds of pounds worth of uprated parts. Easy reference for yourself, and a good secondary record of what has been changed / modified on the car.

Huntyuk

iTrader: (1)

yeah, i mean the previous owner had it from new and you can tell everything has been cared for ... i just see it pointless if you are able to do the same job yourself but as you say keep a wallet of receipts showing its been done. im sure Subaru wouldnt be putting the best of everything in either as they are a business at the end of the day and like all of them ... out to make money and keep costs down to a minimum. the receipts would show whats been changed (as ive seen some dealers cut corners on this) and what parts have been used for me its better than a stamp in the book as the next buyer can see the quality of the products used. i just dont want to go ahead and do my own servicing if its going to make me struggle should i sell it in the future

IggyRB320

iTrader: (9)

If I was knowledgable enough to do my own servicing, I would!
I do buy all my own service items, which i've also kept a detailed file for & just get a specialist to carry out the service & stamp my book. Actually, anything i've purchased for the RB from new, has been kept & filed.

I did change the discs & pads recently myself..

SouthWalesSam

iTrader: (1)

Give me a large bundle of parts and service receipts from a good specialist over stamps any day!

From experience (42 cars between us), if you can afford it always go for a specialist.* And get them to stamp your service book. They're cheaper than dealers, they know the cars inside out and know which parts are good (cheaper) alternatives to the manufactures own.

Otherwise, service the car yourself (assuming you know what you're doing) but try to do all the items in the service manual. Also try to use OEM parts on consumables wherever you can. Keep all receipts. There're some useful links to decent copies of workshop manuals if you search on here. Don't say I told you that, though.

But do bear in mind if you take the DIY route, unless you're a qualified engineer, I for one wouldn't even turn up to view your car when you put it up for sale.


*I do have one exception to this. We've a Merc E320 with 174k miles of European touring under it. In April at 165k miles a £2,500 + VAT part went on the Brake-Assist system. Our specialist shook his head and told us to talk to Mercedes. They took a look at our service book of main dealer stamps up to 130k and our folder of receipts and fixed it for FREE the following week without a single quibble.

Huntyuk

iTrader: (1)

i mean im not going to lie im not a qualified mechanic but ive always done my own servicing but when it comes to my subaru im abit hesitant as ive seen the history its come with so in a way would like to keep on with the impressive invoices .... but like you say receipts are best IMHO - as im sure main dealer wont be putting MOTUL Gear 300 in and Castrol engine oil etc etc ... i have OEM filters and even cabin filter so as long as i show all this i cant see an issue - i agree on specialists being cheaper for sure! - i dont know how anyone can bring themselves to go main dealer ....

irondrew

iTrader: (1)

I would take a bag load of receipts for quality parts and proof of parts on the car over a stamp. Personal opinion here but I know plenty of people that can get a stamp for a small favour. That said, a company like Scooby clinic you can trust anyway but yes it will cost more because they are experts and very good at what they do! A service is not the hardest thing to do, and if your like me then I wouldn't do it unless I know for absolute sure it was going to be good for my car! I think an advert that says "thousands spent on car" doesn't really tell me it's any better than the next. It means a lot of labour costs

blackvenom

I always do my own and keep all the receipts and paperwork in a folder, I have kept everything for the car from a washer to a turbo,i know for a fact you can get cars stamped on the sleye or even buy them online, think the plugs and diff are the two more pain the the **** jobs, but If you follow it online and even YouTube or ideas its not too bad,

Huntyuk

iTrader: (1)

made me feel a little bit more at ease - i know myself if i was going to buy a car with receipts and no stamps (depending on the condition) i wouldnt have an issue but just wanted to see what everyone else feels about it

wesleeburns-2009

i recently brought 170 k full subaru fsh there is that many stamps in the book they are in the blank page in the back and a pile of invoces over 15k um i paid my local guy who i trust hes good as gold i supplied my bits put my own plugs in air filter took it to him he dropped the oil put my oil filter on check her over while i was walking around under the motor having a look for myself so i know what condition shes in he charged me 15 pound cash and gave me a invoice and stapped the book and all stappled together with my receipts of parts so i have the best of both worlds

steve ex vauxhall

iTrader: (5)

Many moons ago I worked in a couple of main dealers when I was first qualified.
IMHO, a service stamp means little sometimes, I've seen 1st year apprentices service cars with little or no supervision, and the car goes away at the end of the day with a stamped book

Personally, I'd rather a large file with every receipt any day

Lord Marshall

Specialists over dealers anyday.They build customer base mostly by word of mouth,whereas dealers don't care so much.Not saying all are bad.So I would keep all my receipts.I've even got receipts for my detailing stuff!

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

I used to only buy cars that had the book stamped but have seen several book photo's where the stamp, hand writting and dates were all the same colour and pattern I'm not a detective but it's made me more acceptable to receipts etc.

I would happily purchase a car that the owner has serviced frequently with receipts. One thing I do with receipts is to write the date and milage of install..

No good on halfords receipts as they go blank after a few years

LeeMac

iTrader: (1)

I was pleased to see mine being stamped by main dealers when I bought it

ace1981

I suppose you just really need to trust your instincts. Ask to look through the folder of receipts and invoices, and do a quick tally in your head of the amount spent, you'll soon get an idea of how cared for the car is. Also look at what has been bought - if, as other people say, there are receipts for everything from washers to turbos, I think you'll be in good hands.