Service History?

inkey$

inkey$

Lifer
 Sevenoaks & Suffolk
Quick question on lack of service history. If a car hasn't got its service book anymore, would you see that as an issue for potential purchase if the car checked out mechanically? I realise you could investigate yourself (easier if BMW dealer serviced) too btw,
 
inkey$ said:
Quick question on lack of service history. If a car hasn't got its service book anymore, would you see that as an issue for potential purchase if the car checked out mechanically? I realise you could investigate yourself (easier if BMW dealer serviced) too btw,
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Hey Inkey, good to see you back. Lack of a service book will certainly impact on resale value, although less so if you have a sheaf of receipts which can evidence that servicing has been done. Obviously the most important thing is that servicing has actually been done, so buying a car without that piece of evidence is taking a risk.

Saying that, I bought a 130k Z4 completely blind with no service history at all. However, the oil was clean, all the filters were new, the spark plugs looked good, the service indicator said 15k to go, and so far it hasn’t let me down.
 
These cars are getting on now. Having never yet bought a car without going through the service history it would certainly impact my own decision making. But if your a hands on guy who can judge the condition from an inspection, then use it as a battering tool and budget for a few surprises. You never know you could bag a bargain. Then again???

Good to see you back. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks both. Good advice.
Thinking of getting back into another Zed at some point, but the I’ve seen - whilst cheap - actually had a pretty big undeclared-by-the-seller Cat N red flag. Moral of this story is pay your £5.99 and check first :lol:
Maybe I’ll put the call out on here and see whats around.
 
pvr said:
:o Hadn’t realised you sold the last one
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Sold my last coupe at the end of last year. Back when I thought we’d be selling our place quickly and moving on. Didn’t quite work out that way.
 
Good time to sell at the peak. Looking for a C or R this time?
 
Whilst I agree that a Service History is a selling point, I do think that with older cars down in these price ranges it is not so essential.
I know I am slightly biased as I have a fair mechanical understanding and enjoy fixing them up, but I now tend to buy on what I can see, then give them a damn good overhaul myself to be sure.
I fully understand that there could be hidden wear on engine and cooling components, but that factors in to the price, and sticking to the relatively bomb-proof M54 helps.
I honestly think that with your budget you are near the bottom for a 3.0 right now and even without history you could sell it on with very little loss.
 
You can order a new service book and have it stamped again by the dealers if it was dealer history.

If independents there's nothing to go on.

Personally why risk it? IMO the car should be serviced bare minimum yearly. Even if it's just an oil change every year.

Theres a car for sale on the forums that has had 2 services in the last 8 years and 45k miles put on it in those last 8 years and people are saying it's a "bargain".

Things like spark plugs, coolant and transmission fluid and axle fluid can be changed every 4 years. But stuff like brake fluid, oil and oil filters need changing more regularly. I don't care what the manual or BMW say.

If the engine kills itself after 3 months you will wish you bought something else.

A poorly serviced car shows the owner spent as little as he could on it. With no history to go on you cannot make an informed choice other than its probably not been looked after.
 
SonnyA85 said:
You can order a new service book and have it stamped again by the dealers if it was dealer history.

If independents there's nothing to go on.

Personally why risk it? IMO the car should be serviced bare minimum yearly. Even if it's just an oil change every year.

Theres a car for sale on the forums that has had 2 services in the last 8 years and 45k miles put on it in those last 8 years and people are saying it's a "bargain".

Things like spark plugs, coolant and transmission fluid and axle fluid can be changed every 4 years. But stuff like brake fluid, oil and oil filters need changing more regularly. I don't care what the manual or BMW say.

If the engine kills itself after 3 months you will wish you bought something else.

A poorly serviced car shows the owner spent as little as he could on it. With no history to go on you cannot make an informed choice other than its probably not been looked after.
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Agree with all that, but there is also the scenario where owner number 6 of 8 was a bit lax and lost all the paperwork, even though the other 7 were meticulous.
Brake fluid is an easy change.
If you find the oil and filter are old then flush, put in all new, then change again a month or two later to clean it all out.
This is why I suggested the M54. There'll always be a bad one, but the vast majority of these engines will plod on to well in excess of 250k. They are exactly highly stressed.
Again, it comes down to individual experience, abilities and expectations.
On Saturday I'm picking up an exceedingly cheap 3.0i with an EPS issue and fairly high mileage. But I take it on in the knowledge it is worth as much in parts if the worst happens.
I am not insisting [ref]inkey$[/ref] goes in with his eyes closed and grabs any old one. I am just pointing out that around the lower end of the market you are risking far less if you do decide to take a chance.
Lack of service history is a good bargaining tool, as you can list the costs of brake fluid, oil, filter, coolant, plugs etc that will need doing immediately.

I bought one a while back with full service history, regular stamps etc.
The suspension was knackered!
 
Exactly this. I’d rather have one that has had a family life and been serviced on the indicator, than one which has been serviced “meticulously” every year but thrashed within an inch of its life on the track every weekend. You just don’t know.

Some will say the other way round, because these cars are “meant to be driven”, so it’s all a matter of opinion at the end of the day.
 
inkey$ said:
Sold my last coupe at the end of last year. Back when I thought we’d be selling our place quickly and moving on. Didn’t quite work out that way.
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Happy to say it’s still going well.
 
Basstronic said:
inkey$ said:
Sold my last coupe at the end of last year. Back when I thought we’d be selling our place quickly and moving on. Didn’t quite work out that way.
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Happy to say it’s still going well.
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:thumbsup: Excellent news!
 
Me being the sceptical type would be asking myself why has the service book gone missing?
Either an owner was careless and lost it which would make me ask what else they had been careless about regarding the car, or it was at some point purposely not passed on, which would set more alarm bells ringing.

If invoices are present, then fine. If no paperwork and no book you have to presume it had never been serviced.

I would be surprised if many E85s have been serviced by a franchised dealer within the last 10 years, so finding history may be difficult.

I have been surprised in the last few years of buying used cars again, after having leases for 20 years, how many cars are neglected by people presumably trying to save a few quid or just ignorant about them. Newish expensive cars and older cars alike.

My attitude is there will always be others which can prove they have been looked after, so why take the risk?
 
Pondrew said:
My attitude is there will always be others which can prove they have been looked after, so why take the risk?
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Excellent! Leaves all the dead cheap ones for me to gather up. :D
 
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