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Service History

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HI all, 

Hope all and their businesses are doing well.

Just after a little advice/insight about cars without service history, particularly at auctions. Just wondered how you view/asses them in terms of worth, taking a risk/value. What factors do you consider when deciding to purchase or not?

Having recently started we buy most/all our vehicles at auction, but at the moment only purchase vehicles with service history, however, it seems no service history doesn't really put buyers of (at auction) so wondering if we are missing a trick!

Thanks

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Joe Public will walk past a car with full main dealer history, freshly belted if the next one is a few quid cheaper....most are penny wise and pound stupid. 

  • Haha 1

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One of the factors is do you  have a ready reply for the question "why is there no service history ? "

Some people think no service history means the car has never had a service, then you get people who want it cheaper because you've answered the question "has it got fsh?" With a no, Despite the price allowing for no history  available, and I have had many a person put the phone down hoping I had made a mistake and not put fsh in ad.

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Most stuff at auction is there for a reason.

1) Either it’s mileage is too high.

2) Body is too tatty

3) Mechanical issues

4) No service history

5) A proper car (just seller needs out quickly for cash flow reasons)

I pretty much buy everything with FSH With the exception of Audi (have digital service history if at all)

Proper servicing with correct grade oil and 10,000-12,000 mile intervals is essential to the modern car, especially diesel.

If I buy something low mileage with FSH, firstly I have some degree of reassurance it will not give me or the new owner issues with total engine failure, or other nigly issues related to poor servicing.

I find people generally ask or I will always mention it in the advert, together with images from the service book. 
 

However as mentioned a car without SH doesn’t necessarily mean it hasn’t been serviced. Service books go missing or get left at dealerships or at the last owners home etc. 

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Scooby who said:

Most stuff at auction is there for a reason.

1) Either it’s mileage is too high.

2) Body is too tatty

3) Mechanical issues

4) No service history

5) A proper car (just seller needs out quickly for cash flow reasons)

I pretty much buy everything with FSH With the exception of Audi (have digital service history if at all)

Proper servicing with correct grade oil and 10,000-12,000 mile intervals is essential to the modern car, especially diesel.

If I buy something low mileage with FSH, firstly I have some degree of reassurance it will not give me or the new owner issues with total engine failure, or other nigly issues related to poor servicing.

I find people generally ask or I will always mention it in the advert, together with images from the service book. 
 

However as mentioned a car without SH doesn’t necessarily mean it hasn’t been serviced. Service books go missing or get left at dealerships or at the last owners home etc. 

 

 

Ehh?

A lot, nay most, main agents have a policy of all pxs going to auction, unless the car fits their own retail requirements with regards age, mileage and stock profile. 

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we had a car in for a service a while back , Audi A6 , been to same Audi main dealer for 60, 000  miles . New owner brings it to us , took oil filter off and there was only tatters of the filament left , Never been changed we reckoned , Air filter same Clogged to death it was , Fuel filter never been touched . 

Main dealers with apprentices are my big nightmare for service history records . 

Joe public asks me about Main dealer services and I do have to have a slight smile . 

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2 hours ago, Frank Cannon said:

Ehh?

A lot, nay most, main agents have a policy of all pxs going to auction, unless the car fits their own retail requirements with regards age, mileage and stock profile. 

Agreed. As said above, mileage too high or possibly over age profile 

Edited by Scooby who

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2 hours ago, David Horgan said:

we had a car in for a service a while back , Audi A6 , been to same Audi main dealer for 60, 000  miles . New owner brings it to us , took oil filter off and there was only tatters of the filament left , Never been changed we reckoned , Air filter same Clogged to death it was , Fuel filter never been touched . 

Main dealers with apprentices are my big nightmare for service history records . 

Joe public asks me about Main dealer services and I do have to have a slight smile . 

Main dealer service stories are getting worse.My old pitch had a case last week where a punter had reported his Astra box had fallen out.It turned out it had and was hanging because when a new clutch had been fitted recently by a main dealer they had forgotten to  tighten the bolts.About 2 years ago they had a mechanic leave for a VAG main dealer that charged £160 per hour and he told us that on Monday morning the workshop guys would get a pep talk and were given a weekly targets like 25 grand ?

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44 minutes ago, trade vet said:

Main dealer service stories are getting worse.My old pitch had a case last week where a punter had reported his Astra box had fallen out.It turned out it had and was hanging because when a new clutch had been fitted recently by a main dealer they had forgotten to  tighten the bolts.About 2 years ago they had a mechanic leave for a VAG main dealer that charged £160 per hour and he told us that on Monday morning the workshop guys would get a pep talk and were given a weekly targets like 25 grand ?

I've got a big dispute with Audi at the moment, they did an emissions recall on my SQ5, the management light came on on the way home. They charged £90 diagnostic fee to tell me the adblue pressure sensor had failed. £960 + vat. The recall bulletin which I got from Audi customer services, said that the adblue consumption would increase, but the dealer has said that it is just a coincidence. I have been asking them for 2 months what they actually did to the car during the recall and they have finally admitted that they have no idea. They have said that Audi has told them that there were 11 different possible changes to the software and that mine has 'Option 2'. But Audi won't tell them it is. 

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3 hours ago, David Horgan said:

we had a car in for a service a while back , Audi A6 , been to same Audi main dealer for 60, 000  miles . New owner brings it to us , took oil filter off and there was only tatters of the filament left , Never been changed we reckoned , Air filter same Clogged to death it was , Fuel filter never been touched . 

Main dealers with apprentices are my big nightmare for service history records . 

Joe public asks me about Main dealer services and I do have to have a slight smile . 

THIS

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If you put in the effort, more often than not some history can be traced. 

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