Dealer maintaince records

[Jerry]

I bought a 2000 CLK 430 on ebay about a year ago and the speedo had been replaced and I don't know the previous owner. The car was a repo and the bank won't give out the info. Can a dealer use the vin number and find out what the mileage was the last time it was serviced? Jerry in Ohio

[Hatterasguy]

Well technically they can, but they are not supposed to unless you have a written thing from the PO saying its ok. So budy up with one of the guys at the dealer and see if they will pull the records as a favor.

[Gilly]

Tougher than that. Well, unless you KNOW the car is from your area and your SURE it was dealer serviced. You should be able to call the delaer and at least informally ask if they've seen the car lately for service and when that might have been. If the car was kept somewhere 5 states away, then you need to do some investigation by having a VMI done on the car and see if you can figure out, by dealer code, where the car has been worked on and call THAT dealer, etc etc. The car has FSS so maybe just check the miles remaining on FSS. The shop computer can also give some basic oil service info (miles since last reset, etc)
Gilly

[Pete Geither]

Just as an aside. I bought a 95TE from a private party four years ago who had no idea of it's previous history, as he had only had it a short time. He had the radiator replaced, which a sticker on the rad confirmed that, but other than that he was clueless. I paid 12K and took a chance, and took it home. Backing up the driveway, it seemed to jump out of gear. A year later after driving it 12k, I replaced the tranny. Along with a few other odds and ends, it has become my favorite car,,,, I love it. I don't know what to say, other than let your gut feelings guide you in your purchase, and even if it's not entirely what you expected,,,, down the road you might be happy. JMHO.

[Jim B.]

Reconstructing the history can be hard. You can start by calling 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES and with your auto registration/title/proof of wonership in hand, with that evidence of ownership they can send you a copy of the car's original window sticker, which should reveal the selling dealership's name and city.

Then as stated, you can try to obtain a Vehicle Master Inquiry (VMI) on the car, which will reveal the dates and mileage of warranty claim visits to the dealer. You'll need a friend in the Dealer service department to decode the dealer code, and the dcomp codes, which gives an quick shorthand idea of the nature of the warranty claims. Unfortunately the VMI does not include ordinary service information, but DOES record roadside assistance calls.

It would be worth a call to the dealer who serviced the car, or the independent shops, to get an idea of what was done to the car. However this is viewed as proprietary information by most dealers and it won't be released, but you could ask anyway.

If you still have the maintenance booklet with the car, and it was stamped by dealers or independents, you should call them up and ask if you could have photostats of work done to the car.

The best way would be to actually visit the shops and dealers and ask, or throw in a $20 bill with the letter requesting the records-can't hurt to try.

Using these methods, I was actually able to contact the previous owner of a couple of the cars I had bought, visit the shops and reconstruct the entire service history of two cars I'd purchased, one of them even to mile zero.

It was very satisfying, and no one felt their privacy was violated, and I came away well pleased, both times, once even with extra touch up paint and keys, that a prior owner had for the car and even conversed at length with the previous owners, and technicians who'd worked on the cars and remembered them.

It was worth the effort (even the effort to actually visit the shops and dealers.)

This was about 10 years ago, so now it might be harder for you, especially with a repossessed car, but definately would be worth a try.

A quick CARFAX request might help with an idea of the mileage and location of the car, but they are not 100% accurate with entry of the data every time, but do give good general clues as to the car's history.

[Jerry]

A little more info on my car. I was sold in Canada and then updated for the US market in Detroit. The FSS won't work as the original speedo was burnt up in a small fire of some sort. Engine wiring harness went away as well as some things inside the car. Like the headliner was melted. I bought the car after some shop had started to fix it up. After spending over 9 grand on it I can now drive it. I have gotten to be good friends with the local dealer after spending lots of money there. I ran car fax and it only showed 3,000 miles on it. Looks like new underneath. Unless I can trace it back I have only a guess as to the proper mileage on it. Jerry

[rchase]

Originally Posted by Jerry

I bought a 2000 CLK 430 on ebay about a year ago and the speedo had been replaced and I don't know the previous owner. The car was a repo and the bank won't give out the info. Can a dealer use the vin number and find out what the mileage was the last time it was serviced? Jerry in Ohio

Most owners of high end cars know when their personal finances no longer support their car payments. Most likely the owner of your vehicle was behind on its service for a while in an attempt to keep up with the payments. Many of the people who fall on hard times and want to keep the car will resort to the local quick lube places to save some money and just do oil changes rather than the full service Mercedes service intervals. I would just assume that the car was neglected and just have the vehicle looked at and serviced as if it had not been. At least that way you will know for sure that things have been taken care of. And of course if your one of those people who think that cars have a personality it will be an olive branch extended to the vehicle for years of faithful service.

When I bought my S320 its Mercedes Service records were contained it its carfax report. Most of the Carfax service reports matched what was in the service booklet in the car. Have you run a carfax if not you may find some service records there.

I used to work at a car dealer and you could always spot the used car units that had been previous repo's. No books or records in them. Lots of "little" cosmetic blemishes here and there both in the interior and exterior. And of course sometimes a missing factory radio and a new window where it was "broken into" at the repo yard. To me repo's are just not worth it. Your buying a car that may or may not have been maintained and are only saving a little bit of money off the value to bail out the bank who then still sticks it to the original debtor. Not to mention when the car gets rough treatment during the quick tow job by the guy with 3 teeth and a wrecker that came to get it at 4am to take it. And of course we won't even mention the rough treatment the previous owner may have inflicted on the car before it was recovered. Full throttle in Neutral might not blow the engine right away but it certainly shortens the life of the engine. The repairs and service that you may or may not have to put back into the car in some cases quickly eat up any savings that you got to begin with.

[Gilly]

Just another thought, can't you just do a service on it for your own peace of mind so you know where "you're at" with the maintenance? Or if you work on it yourself, just do an oil change?
Gilly

[ILUVMILS]

I agree with Gilly's advice. Having access to the entire service history may provide some interesting reading, but I don't see how it'll help decide on a course of action where repairs are concerned. Like Gilly says, it's easy enough to bring it up to date.

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by ILUVMILS

I agree with Gilly's advice. Having access to the entire service history may provide some interesting reading, but I don't see how it'll help decide on a course of action where repairs are concerned. Like Gilly says, it's easy enough to bring it up to date.

So, is it your position that if there were two identical cars that appeared equal in all respects, but one had a full set of books and maintenance records and the other had none at all, it wouldn't matter which one you picked?

While it may be true that past history is no indication of future problems, wouldn't you rather opt for the vehicle, all other things being equal, that had a documented history of repairs and regular maintenance or the one that had none, and may have been a repo, had indifferent owners or passed through 5 differrent auctions?

Cars are advertised "with full main dealer service history" for a reason and used car buyers are exhorted to look for cars with that pedigree. Reassurance and peace of mind do matter.

[ILUVMILS]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

So, is it your position that if there were two identical cars that appeared equal in all respects, but one had a full set of books and maintenance records and the other had none at all, it wouldn't matter which one you picked?

While it may be true that past history is no indication of future problems, wouldn't you rather opt for the vehicle, all other things being equal, that had a documented history of repairs and regular maintenance or the one that had none, and may have been a repo, had indifferent owners or passed through 5 differrent auctions?

Cars are advertised "with full main dealer service history" for a reason and used car buyers are exhorted to look for cars with that pedigree. Reassurance and peace of mind do matter.

A thorough Pre-Purcahse Inspection, performed by a QUALIFIED MB technician will provide more useful information than reading the vehicle's service history. Also, I'm not sure how the service records will help determine if the car was re-possessed, bought at an auction, flooded, totalled, etc. I thought that was what Carfax was for? A VMI however, can be useful. It'll tell you if the vehicle has any Recall/Service Campaigns that need to be done.
When I bought my 124 I never even bothered looking at the service file, and it was in the building I work in!!! I simply gave the car a good look-over and that was that.

In my experience, well cared for cars are easy to spot if you know what to look for. Something that's been neglected is even easier to pick out. A full detail and engine wash only go so far. I'm not saying that the service records are useless, however. It just seems to me that if it's a major headache to get your hands on them, why bother?

[Gilly]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

So, is it your position that if there were two identical cars that appeared equal in all respects, but one had a full set of books and maintenance records and the other had none at all, it wouldn't matter which one you picked?

While it may be true that past history is no indication of future problems, wouldn't you rather opt for the vehicle, all other things being equal, that had a documented history of repairs and regular maintenance or the one that had none, and may have been a repo, had indifferent owners or passed through 5 differrent auctions?

Cars are advertised "with full main dealer service history" for a reason and used car buyers are exhorted to look for cars with that pedigree. Reassurance and peace of mind do matter.

Jim: No idea how you drew that conclusion at all. Jerry, the original poster, did you read his post at all? He just wanted to know how he could find out when the last service was done on a car HE ALREADY BOUGHT without records. I was merely asking, in this case, if it might not be alot less hair pulling to simply DO the service for peace of mind. If he wants to go through alot of effort to have the RECORDS, that's a different matter, and I wouldn't knock him for wanting to do that, but it wasn't the question.
Gilly

[rchase]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

So, is it your position that if there were two identical cars that appeared equal in all respects, but one had a full set of books and maintenance records and the other had none at all, it wouldn't matter which one you picked?

While it may be true that past history is no indication of future problems, wouldn't you rather opt for the vehicle, all other things being equal, that had a documented history of repairs and regular maintenance or the one that had none, and may have been a repo, had indifferent owners or passed through 5 differrent auctions?

Cars are advertised "with full main dealer service history" for a reason and used car buyers are exhorted to look for cars with that pedigree. Reassurance and peace of mind do matter.

Unless your going to sit down and take a few days to not only go through the service records but call and verify that the work was actually done service records just appeal to the emotions of a car buyer. You can have rubber stamps made at any office supply store with anything you want on them. You can also get a group of people to write in the book with different colored pens to "fake" the service records. If this warm fuzzy feeling is worth a couple of thousand to you by all means pay it.

The real truth is there is not one good way to buy a car at all. While service records and maint history and inspection can weed out some cars with obvious problems its not a silver bullet. If they were training a new guy on the spot welder machine on a friday your "pedigree" car that you paid a kings ransom for and had your mechanic inspect for 2 weeks before you bought it can break. There are always exceptions to the rules and with cars there are more exceptions than rules.

Another unfortunate fact is that these "perfect cars" dont really exist in the numbers that people expect them to. Cars are owned and driven by people. Some of those people can barely operate the climate control system let alone know if that noise the car sometimes makes is serious enough to bring to the shop. The likelyhood of you finding an enthusiast owned car in a market flooded with cars is very low as many of these cars are traded in private circles and never make it on the open market. The extra effort and expense that a lot of people go through to find this perfect car easily outweighs any cost benefit they get over buying a car in reasonable condition and spending a little bit of money in normal service.

There are certain cars to shy away from such as a repo but your average car with a little wear and tear and service work needed can become a very depenable and loyal friend with just a bit of investment of time and money.