Checking service history before you buy

Why the paperwork matters as much as the paintwork

A car can look immaculate on the driveway and still be hiding years of neglect. Shiny paint and a freshly valeted interior tell you the seller knows how to present a car; the service record tells you whether anyone actually looked after it. In the West Country, where a lot of us rack up miles on winding A-roads, steep hills and the odd muddy lane, routine maintenance matters more than in somewhere flat and gentle. A car that has been serviced properly will cope with Devon and Cornwall's gradients, damp winters and salt-laden coastal air far better than one that has been run into the ground.

So before you get sentimental about the colour or the sound of the engine, sit down with the paperwork. Ten minutes with a service history will save you thousands.

What a proper service record should contain

A complete history is more than one stamp in a book. It should show a pattern of care, usually at intervals of around 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. Look for:

• Dates and mileages recorded at each service, ideally climbing steadily and sensibly.
• Invoices or itemised bills showing what was actually done — oil and filter changes, brake fluid, coolant, spark plugs, timing belt.
• The garage's details, so you can see whether it was a main dealer, an independent specialist or a fast-fit outfit. None are automatically bad, but specialists tend to spot model-specific issues.
• MOT certificates going back several years, which act as an independent check on mileage and give you a list of advisories.
• Evidence of the big jobs — cambelt, clutch, water pump, suspension work — if the car is old enough to need them.

If the seller hands you a folder with all of that, you are already in a strong position. If they hand you a single stamped book with no invoices, you have questions to ask.

Spotting gaps, inconsistencies and clocked mileage

The most common problem is not a fake history but an incomplete one. A car serviced for its first three years and then neglected for four is a risk, particularly on turbocharged or diesel engines where oil quality is critical. Look for gaps of more than 18 months or unusually large mileage jumps between stamps.

Mileage is where things get serious. Compare the numbers on the service record, the MOT history and the current odometer. If the car showed 68,000 miles at an MOT three years ago and now reads 54,000, walk away — that is clocking, and it is illegal to sell a car with a false mileage without disclosing it. Uneven wear on the pedals, steering wheel and driver's seat can also hint that the odometer is telling stories.

Also check the details match. A service book stamped for a 2.0-litre diesel when you are looking at a 1.4 petrol is a warning sign of a copied or borrowed book. Registration numbers and vehicle identification numbers should appear on invoices.

Different cars, different priorities

What you need to see in the history depends heavily on what is under the bonnet.

• Diesel cars need regular oil changes and, on older models, evidence of diesel particulate filter care. Short trips around town clog them, so a high-mileage motorway car can actually be a better bet than a low-mileage one that never got warm.
• Cars with a cambelt generally need it changed at around 60,000 to 100,000 miles or every five to ten years. If there is no invoice, assume it has not been done and budget for it — often £400 to £700.
• Electric vehicles have far less to service, but you still want to see brake fluid changes, cabin filter replacements and any software or battery health checks. Ask for the battery state of health report if the seller has one.
• Older and performance cars live or die on enthusiast maintenance. A thick folder of receipts from a marque specialist is worth more than a tidy main-dealer stamp every two years.

Questions worth asking before you part with money

Never be embarrassed to interrogate the history. A genuine seller will welcome it. Ask:

• Who carried out the servicing, and can I contact them to confirm?
• Is there anything that has been done that is not in the folder?
• Has the car ever been off the road for a long period, or had accident repairs?
• Do you have the V5C in your name, and does the mileage on it match the car?

A quick phone call to the garage named in the stamps takes five minutes and can confirm the work was real. If the seller gets defensive or vague, treat that as information in itself.

Using the history as a negotiating tool — or a reason to walk

A thin or patchy history is not automatically a deal-breaker. It is a bargaining chip. Missing a cambelt change, for example, is a concrete reason to knock several hundred pounds off the asking price, because you will be paying for it. No recent brake fluid or coolant change means you should factor in a full service straight after purchase.

What should make you walk away is dishonesty: altered mileages, forged stamps, or a seller who refuses to let you see the paperwork before agreeing a price. There are plenty of honest cars in the West Country with a folder to prove it. Take your time, check the record properly, and you will end up with something that looks after you on the long haul down to Land's End just as well as it did for the person before you.