Service History but no book?

[Mouse Rat]

Thoughts of the PH collective.
I'm looking at a 4-5 year old Mercedes E class V6 tdi. Found a good example, private sale, 2 previous owners and just over 31K miles.
1st private owner had the car over 3 years. 1 main dealer service at 20K miles. 2nd owner (seller) has had the car 1 year and has had a independent do the recent 2nd service around 5K miles ago. All receipts.

However there is no service book, apparently lost by first owner.

The car is sound, and priced to reflect not being FMBSH.

Should I be bothered? Is this a problem or is it just a matter of purchasing a blank book of ebay? Will the service centres stamp against there old invoices?

[stevemcs]

There is no service book, it’s all online

[DaveH23]

I know my 14 year old Mazda has a digital service book so wouldn't be surprised if all newer cars these days have them.

As long as you have receipts for the work done then that is your service history in my opinion.

A stamp in a book that can be bought on eBay for a few quid means nothing.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd take actual receipts over a stamp everyday of the week (check the Indy exists) as you can see what parts the car has had & when it had (for example brakes you can see when they were last changed & have a gauge for when they're due) them fitted.

In short don't walk away.

[Tall_Blk]

No service book for MB. All digital now. I have 2014 W204 and it’s all online if serviced by stealers or independent with access to the portal.

[Trevor555]

Mouse Rat said:

Will the service centres stamp against there old invoices?

Most will if you turn up and ask nicely.

[Monkeylegend]

stevemcs said:

There is no service book, it’s all online

But Mercedes do give you a print out after each service detailing the service completed and the full list of all previous services as proof of service history. Authorised independent garages can also access this to provide a copy for the owner.

[Tall_Blk]

Monkeylegend said:

stevemcs said:

There is no service book, it’s all online

But Mercedes do give you a print out after each service detailing the service completed and the full list of all previous services as proof of service history. Authorised independent garages can also access this to provide a copy for the owner.

My local dealer doesn’t. If you want historical you have to request for it. They only do a print out of what was carried out on the day.

[Monkeylegend]

Mouse Rat said:

Thoughts of the PH collective.
I'm looking at a 4-5 year old Mercedes E class V6 tdi. Found a good example, private sale, 2 previous owners and just over 31K miles.
1st private owner had the car over 3 years. 1 main dealer service at 20K miles. 2nd owner (seller) has had the car 1 year and has had a independent do the recent 2nd service around 5K miles ago. All receipts.

However there is no service book, apparently lost by first owner.

The car is sound, and priced to reflect not being FMBSH.

Should I be bothered? Is this a problem or is it just a matter of purchasing a blank book of ebay? Will the service centres stamp against there old invoices?

To meet Mercedes service and warranty requirements it should have been serviced at least every 12 months or 15.5k ish miles, whichever comes sooner, so it would appear it has not been serviced as recommended by Mercedes if it has only been serviced twice.

It should have been serviced at least four times.

[Monkeylegend]

Tall_Blk said:

Monkeylegend said:

stevemcs said:

There is no service book, it’s all online

But Mercedes do give you a print out after each service detailing the service completed and the full list of all previous services as proof of service history. Authorised independent garages can also access this to provide a copy for the owner.

My local dealer doesn’t. If you want historical you have to request for it. They only do a print out of what was carried out on the day.

If it is done through the Mercedes system it should list all the previous services, the current one being the last to show. I never had to request this from my main dealer, it was done automatically.

Unless they have changed it in the last couple of years.

[ChrisH72]

I have no service book for the Fiesta I bought last year and I'm not sure if it ever had one. It does have full Ford history though with receipts so should be okay. I am missing one receipt unfortunately and when I contacted the dealership that did the service they confirmed the date of service but would not let me have a copy due to gdpr rules as it had the previous keepers address. Bit annoying really.

[Monkeylegend]

Mouse Rat said:

Thoughts of the PH collective.
I'm looking at a 4-5 year old Mercedes E class V6 tdi. Found a good example, private sale, 2 previous owners and just over 31K miles.
1st private owner had the car over 3 years. 1 main dealer service at 20K miles. 2nd owner (seller) has had the car 1 year and has had a independent do the recent 2nd service around 5K miles ago. All receipts.

However there is no service book, apparently lost by first owner.

The car is sound, and priced to reflect not being FMBSH.

Should I be bothered? Is this a problem or is it just a matter of purchasing a blank book of ebay? Will the service centres stamp against there old invoices?

I would just do a bit of research about Mercedes NOx sensor failures and adblue problems. These will happen and will be very expensive if you don't get goodwill from Mercedes, which you most likely won't without a full Merc service history.

[joropug]

Got a 2013 C class - there is definitely no service book and mercedes confirmed as such.

'online' service records only apply if you get it done at mercedes , unlike BMW where a specialist can update your I drive as a digital record too.

So paperwork is king on Mercedes!

[Monkeylegend]

joropug said:

Got a 2013 C class - there is definitely no service book and mercedes confirmed as such.

'online' service records only apply if you get it done at mercedes , unlike BMW where a specialist can update your I drive as a digital record too.

So paperwork is king on Mercedes!

Not correct, authorised Indys can access the Mercedes system and provide service print outs.

[gizlaroc]

Phone Mercedes UK with the reg and ask for a copy, they email you straight away with all the service data they have.

[CarltonF]

DaveH23 said:

I know my 14 year old Mazda has a digital service book so wouldn't be surprised if all newer cars these days have them.

As long as you have receipts for the work done then that is your service history in my opinion.

A stamp in a book that can be bought on eBay for a few quid means nothing.

Fully agree. People seem to place a lot of emphasis on ‘fully stamped’ service books and indeed on the phrase ‘FMDSH’. Surely a full service history means a definite record of every service undertaken on that vehicle - which can be an official stamp, a set of receipts, or an electronic record? Anyway, back to OP Q. I think if there are service receipts, and an electronic record, that record sounds fine.

[I’d be more interested in when and how the car was serviced. Was the first/20k service done on time, for instance? Did the independent specialist give it a clean bill of health, or do anything on top of the routine service? I don’t like these new fangled long service intervals!! ]

[stevemcs]

Monkeylegend said:

stevemcs said:

There is no service book, it’s all online

But Mercedes do give you a print out after each service detailing the service completed and the full list of all previous services as proof of service history. Authorised independent garages can also access this to provide a copy for the owner.

I cannot vouch for mercedes dealers but I always print them out for customers.

[Monkeylegend]

stevemcs said:

Monkeylegend said:

stevemcs said:

There is no service book, it’s all online

But Mercedes do give you a print out after each service detailing the service completed and the full list of all previous services as proof of service history. Authorised independent garages can also access this to provide a copy for the owner.

I cannot vouch for mercedes dealers but I always print them out for customers.

A good reason for having one if the latest service is carried out by Mercedes is for access to the Mercedes Mobilo breakdown cover.

[stevemcs]

It is, but then you have to have all of the repairs carried out that the dealer recommends don't you ?

[Electro1980]

13 year old MX5 - online only
6 year old BMW 3 series - online and on the car’s computer

I very much doubt there ever was a real book.