Hello, my name is Roy. For many years, I drove a 1976 Ford estate car around Sydney. The car had belonged to my grandpa. It was passed down to me when I had just passed my driving test at the age of 18. That was in 1986 and the car was already in a pretty bad condition then. Fast forward to 2006 and I was now aged 38 and still driving the same car around. Sometimes the car wouldn't start, white smoke came out of the exhaust and the gearbox made a terrible sound. I did my best to patch it up, but eventually, I had to scrap the car and buy a new one. I decided to start a blog to encourage others to service their cars.
When you buy a new car, as well as some used models, you will usually receive a logbook. This book is meant to keep you organized and on track when it comes to regular maintenance of the vehicle. It will include reminders of what needs servicing and when, and then spaces for you to record when the work was done, by whom, and so on. If you've never had a logbook with a vehicle before, note a few questions you might have about logbook servicing.
Are you legally required to keep the logbook?
You may need to keep receipts for work that was done on a car if you claim those expenses on your tax return, and there may be legal requirements when it comes to maintenance of commercial vehicles, including keeping a log or record of that work. An accountant can tell you how to keep receipts that are needed for taxes, and the office that issues commercial registrations for commercial vehicles can tell you the legal requirements for your heavy-duty truck or commercial van.
In other cases, your car dealer may require you to keep the logbook updated in order to maintain any warranty on parts. Otherwise, for a privately owned passenger car, you are not typically legally required to keep the logbook updated, as it's meant only for your convenience.
Is the logbook specific for the car?
A logbook you get for a new car may have all the information printed as to when you should replace certain parts and have certain maintenance done, and this may vary, depending on the car model you buy. However, you can also buy blank logbooks from an auto parts store and fill in that information yourself, for your own car. If you don't have a logbook for your current car, you can then find one at the supply store and use it easily.
Why does the mechanic need to see the logbook?
If something is wrong with your car, the log of services and repairs that have already been performed can help a mechanic pinpoint the exact problem. For example, if the car pulls when you turn, and the logbook notes that the tyres were recently aligned, your mechanic can rule out a needed alignment as being the problem. If he or she sees that the brakes haven't been serviced in many years, they can then check the brakes for sticking. Reviewing the logbook entries then makes their job much easier overall.
Share27 October 2017
