When somebody takes delivery of a brand new car, all they can think about is this new vehicle, how they're going to enjoy many long years of ownership and how they're going to take care of it very carefully. You may have been in this position before, where you can't even bear to get the car dirty and are completely focused on its well-being with no compromise. However, with the passage of time this attention to detail fades away and some owners may even forget to service the vehicle according to the manufacturer recommendations. Now that you're beginning to think about selling the car, you realise that you have also mislaid that all-important service logbook and have no record of maintenance appointments. What should you do now?

Finding a Solution to the Problem

Certainly, a prospective new owner will want to see that the vehicle has been serviced according to those recommendations and if you don't have the logbook, this could be problematic. It's not always the end of the world, however, and there are ways to recover those details so that you can give them to the other party.

Dealer to the Rescue

If you've owned the vehicle from new and have taken it into the main dealer for servicing in the past, then it's likely that you can get the details from their service desk. Most of this information is stored electronically and if you give them the VIN, then they can probably look it up within this system. When you trace this information, ask them to print it out for you and give you a new logbook, so that you can begin to catch up.

Make sure that the printout you get from the dealer is on company letterhead, or has another means of authentication. Even though a future buyer will probably be looking for the original book with all the proper entries, they will understand if you tell them that the original was lost, but the data you are giving them is nevertheless authentic.

Adding Entries

If you find that you have missed one or more of the most recent service appointments, then you should check the vehicle in right away to rectify this. Certainly, you may not be able to do anything about a missed appointment in the past, but with most of the information present you should have no problem with its potential new owner.

For more information, contact a local logbook service.