Are you feeling guilty because you haven't kept up with the servicing schedule for your car? After all, sometimes life can get in the way and you are simply too busy to take the vehicle in at the prescribed intervals, even though you know that you need to. However, you may have encountered another problem in your efforts to play catch-up and may not be able to find the vehicle's logbook. Why could this be a problem and what can you do about it?

Understand Why Details Are Important

A car's logbook is one of its most important documents, as it gives a clear impression of how the vehicle has been cared for during its life. This can be particularly valuable to potential buyers down the road and some people think that the value of the car can be considerably depleted in its absence. The good news is that this doesn't have to hit you in your pocket book whenever it comes time to sell, as you may well be able to recover the details and present them to any future party.

How You Might Recover the Information

This job may be a lot easier if you have owned the car from new yourself. Did you take the car into the main dealer during the times when you actually did service it? If so, pick up the phone and call the service desk for assistance. These days, virtually all of this service-related information is kept electronically and you will be able to recover it from the database, simply by giving details of the vehicle's VIN number. Ask them if you can get a printout of all of the information and whether you can get a new logbook, as well. In this way, you will be able to record details of any subsequent and catch-up servicing, which will then sit alongside the printed information that you were able to recover.

Present What Data You Have

In an ideal world, a future buyer would be looking for the original logbook accompanied by all relevant entries. However, most people understand if you say that you lost the original and will accept the data that you're able to show them, so long as it is printed out on authentic dealer paperwork.

Take Action

Now that you can put your mind at ease about your dealings with any future buyer, make sure that you take your vehicle in for a logbook service as soon as possible, so that you can bring everything up to date. Contact a log book servicing company to learn more about your options.