Who goes overboard with car's maintenance records

[rg200amp]

Just wondering if there are any other crazy people here (BITOG, so it should not be too hard to find) that keep CRAZY maintenance records for their cars?

The VW being my first new car I have found myself going nuts trying to hold onto everything. I have the window sticker, state inspection, EPA sheets, ect. . . . I plan on keeping every record of every repair, oil change, light bulb replacement, ect. . . . .


Here is where the crazy part comes in.

I am saving ALL my receipts for fuel to show I used NOTHING but Top Tier Shell fuel. . .

I know, its crazy. Im not thinking the car is going to be worth more later down the line. And it's not like it's a one of a kind lambo. It's a VW econo car!! lol.

Anyone else drinking the local water with me?

 

[Quattro Pete]

I keep a binder for every car with all the paperwork, including receipts for repairs, dealer visits, etc. Plus I keep an Excel sheet with all maintenance records, just so that I know when was the last time I did it. But I don't go as far as keeping gasoline receipts.

 

[demarpaint]

I go over the top with maintenance records, even with my 1988 van. While under warranty good records are very important for a DYI'er in the event of a problem. After warranty good records will help alert you to possible problems.

 

[rg200amp]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
I keep a binder for every car with all the paperwork, including receipts for repairs, dealer visits, etc. Plus I keep an Excel sheet with all maintenance records, just so that I know when was the last time I did it. But I don't go as far as keeping gasoline receipts.



O yea, I printed up nice excel sheets aswell! It's like im expecting an audit from the IRS and hour now!!! LOL.

 

[Spazdog]

I attach the receipt for the oil and filter, spark plugs and belts for the PT Cruiser to the B Schedule Maintenance log.

Probably not worth a [darn] thing when it comes time to trade in time compared to having a bunch of dealer stamps done by some indifferent dealer tech or some underpaid Lincoln Tech student. The guy doing the maintenance has a patch on his shirt that says Chrysler and the service writer has a stamp. That makes their ability to change oil and inspect things better than mine.

* /sarcasm
But I have the receipts.


* don't bother trying to tell me how the dealer tech is more qualified to do the items on the maintenance schedule on my car better than I do. He won't. It's my car. It's my money that bought it. It's not the last thing I gotta' do before I go to lunch....etc....

 

[Spazdog]

I save all the receipts for fuel for my 6. Same station. Usually same pump. Just in case I get some fuel system destroying overblended gas or something else. I get to put their Top Tier "Guaranteed Gasoline" promise to the test.

 

[bmwjohn]

anybody have an opinion on which maintenance program to use? I tried a commercial one (name not immediately available) and never got it to work properly. Any shareware or similar programs that folks like? Thanks.

 

[Nick R]

I keep a decent record of services on the Ford Owners Website. I've been terrible with keeping receipts, mostly due to my lack of any sort of place to file them.

 

[dishdude]

It's not going to increase the value of your car when you go to sell it. Anyone buying used is buying for one reason - price! I used to think this way until I had a few experiences selling...people will try to bargain with you on the phone before they even see the car, and no one who bought any of my cars were even remotely interested in looking at any paperwork I had.

 

[FZ1]

No,man. No local water for me. Gasoline receipts is crazy.

 

[mercuryblues]

I also keep receipts on any work done for the car in a folder, but gas receipts are not one of them (on top of FI cleaner, oil, filters, etc). However, since I buy gas, oil and other parts by credit card and that I keep my CC receipts for three years, I can access those records if needed.

 

[Spyder7]

I went overboard by computerizing invoices for this car so as to be able to see the prior work done at a glance, rather than having to physically dig through every invoice to see what was done and when.

I'm much more slack when it comes to keeping my own records, relying more on my memory than any system. I have no plans to ever sell the car, though, so its sufficient for the only owner in the equation: me.

-Spyder

 

[mongo161]

Gasoline receipts is a little over the top. I use 1 specific credit card for anything auto related which includes gasoline, motor oils, parts, filters and any repairs. I use this CC for the automatic refill for my E-Z pass reloading also.

I get a year end summary of all purchases and have that statement with the receipts for filing.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I have almost no receipts for anything I bought/repaired for none of my cars. The only receipt/document I have in the cars' glove boxes are tires receipt, insurance and registration.

 

[JDD]

I keep a folder for every one of my vehicles with oil and filter receipts and the UPC of the oil filter/air filters stapled to a sheet of paper showing the date and mileage of service. I also keep all repair and transmission service records in the folder as well. It pays off when I sell a vehicle. Usually the first person that comes to look at my vehicle buys it.

 

[Lead Shoes]

I have never kept records, mainly because my vehicles are older and it doesn't really matter, I keep them totally maintained down to the valve clearances... I don't need records because you can feel the car was cared for when you drive it.

for the record, I kinda think keeping EVERY gas receipt is a little over kill, I have never heard of ppl doing that until I saw this thread, but what do I know right? Lol

 

[eljefino]

Now that I'm buying most stuff from Advance and rockauto online the emails make a good paper trail.

I won one one day when a six-year old tie rod end wore out and traded it for the only new lifetime warranty one the store stocked-- a top-shelf Moog-- by finding my receipt.

Though I keep track of oil changes and repairs in an open office spreadsheet, wiper blades, bulbs, and tires aren't noteworthy.

 

[Rick in PA]

Not overboard, just solid old-school record keeping. It started with a little NAPA booklet many years ago that you could write your repairs in and keep in your glove box. When I couldn't find the little booklets anymore at NAPA, I made my own using a typewriter, then photocopying it and cutting it to size. When that got old, I reformatted it in MS Word. Now I print out the sheets and cut & bind them into a little booklet to keep in the glove box. Just hand write in the repairs & maintenance as it occurs. Handy and convenient.

 

[rg200amp]

YEa, as I said, im not expecting the cars value to be higher when I go to sell it wayyyy down the road.

The reason I am saving the gas receipts is b/c VW specs the use of Top Tier fuel in their autos. Just like proving you used the right spec oil for the life of the car, im thinking having proof of use of the spec'ed fuel can't hurt.

The only thing I am thinking is if and when im ready to sell (5-10 years depending on my financial situation at the time) it will make it easier to sell quickly. I am thinking, like you see SO many 5-10 year old jetta's out there now, a mom/dad may be picking it up as their kids first car. Mom/dad's want to know the car will be reliable and that it was well maintained. . .

Plus, not only do the receipts show I used top tier fuel, more importantly it shows how anal I was with upkeep!

 

[Craig in Canada]

I keep receipts for any work, parts, tires, battery etc... which I purchase. There was a time I was closely logging fuel economy and kept fuel receipts until I logged the data. I don't bother any more. I eyeball the trip odo, what the car thinks it logged on the last tank, and how much fuel it takes to fill up. If the fuel economy is lower than I think it should be or there's a big discrepancy between the car's log and reality then I'll investigate.

I have a binder with paper receipts and I have a spreadsheet that logs everything I do since I do almost 100% DIY. I'll also scan things like alignment reports and put them in the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet logs date, mileage, who performed the work, what it was, comments, and a field to dropped PDF scanned documents.

I don't find it overboard. It's a maintenance history. Whenever I want to know how long it's been since I changed my engine air filter, I just look at the sheet. How else would I know what I've done? How else would I prove to the next buyer (if there is one) that it's been maintained when I DIY virtually everything?