Car mainetnance records - do you keep them?

[Anonymous]

I have a 9 year old minivan. It is in fine condition - I am not planning on selling it anytime soon and when I get rid of it will probably just do a trade in because of it being easiest.

I am going through papers in a file and wondering if I really need to keep my scheduled maintenance records. I want to pitch them but want to make sure I am not missing anything.

[Anonymous]

No. I take it to the dealer and they send the records to the auto maker so there is a record of everything anyway. Also, I don’t see the point in it since I keep the car till it’s almost worthless anyway. If you get work done that’s warranties for a year then it may make sense. Aside from that no.

[Anonymous]

No

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by scheduled maintenance records? Oil changes ? My DH and I currently own 3 vehicles. I like to keep track of work completed. For example: When did car #1 get new brakes, tires etc? When you have more than 1 car, it's hard to remember when service ( and mileage) was completed.

[Anonymous]

Scan it and email the files to yourself if it makes you feel better. There will be no effect at resale.

It only matters for cars newer than yours (or more valuable) where a buyer would have questions about maintenance.

[Anonymous]

I keep the receipts for things like new tires, new battery, etc. because those are out of pocket and also have warranties.

[Anonymous]

Nah, I drive them until they blow hole in the engine and then I have them hauled away for donate

[Anonymous]

We go through new cars every 2-3 years, it has never mattered to have maintenance records. No one has ever asked me for them.

[Anonymous]

I sold a 1992 Volvo in 2009 to a very knowledgeable seller. I had some records from a Volvo specialty mechanic who had done some pretty specific work. It helped the sale.

In most cases I think it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean by scheduled maintenance records? Oil changes ? My DH and I currently own 3 vehicles. I like to keep track of work completed. For example: When did car #1 get new brakes, tires etc? When you have more than 1 car, it's hard to remember when service ( and mileage) was completed.

Agree. We have 3 also and I need them for my own purposes. And sometimes we get work done at different places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I sold a 1992 Volvo in 2009 to a very knowledgeable seller. I had some records from a Volvo specialty mechanic who had done some pretty specific work. It helped the sale.

In most cases I think it doesn't matter.

Knowledgeable buyer*

[Anonymous]

Yes! Every single thing. I was one month from the expiration of my extended warranty when I had total engine failure in the middle of DuPont Cir. Took car to dealership. They submitted the work to the warranty company for pre approval of about $4k in parts and labor. The company came back to me demanding to see all my maintenance history. So I PDFd a fat batch of pink receipts that proved I had maintained the vehicle according to the exact manufacturer specs. They had no choice but to cover the whole enchilada. I totally got one over on The Man that day.

[Anonymous]

Yes, because we may sell or trade in our car. If you know you will keep it till it dies, it's less important.

[Anonymous]

I try to make sure me or my husband sticks the records in the glove box and we try to move them periodically to a small box marked "vehicles" in our office. Contains spare keys, manuals, titles, records, anything tangentially related to vehicles, etc. It's not internally organized but we at least know if we're looking for something car related it's probably in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We go through new cars every 2-3 years, it has never mattered to have maintenance records. No one has ever asked me for them.