Once upon a time ... the checkbook
03/01/2024
It was called a "customer service checkbook" or "service booklet", but what was meant was a complete list of the maintenance work carried out and usually also the specifications for this. This checkbook was usually important when selling/buying, as it allowed you to see what the previous owner(s) had done and whether the car had been serviced according to factory specifications. You could also see the mileage of each service. Actually, you could tell quite a lot from a well-kept checkbook.
Of course, maintenance services are still carried out today, but the results no longer end up in the checkbook, but usually in some kind of computer system. The printed service booklet disappears or makes way for instructions on what to do. The situation is also made more difficult by the fact that service intervals have become variable and dependent on driving style and performance.
So anyone buying a newer used vehicle today can only hope that the "logs" of the maintenance services have been printed out and are enclosed with the car. Otherwise, they can contact the maintenance company and see if the documents can be printed out at a later date. But it will never be as compact, simple and clear as it was back then ...
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