Cost of an oil change? 10K service interval

Like others have stated, I keep my own maintenance log. I use Excel. Every time I perform some form of maintenance, big or small, I log the date, mileage, what was done, and any observations while performing the work. Do you get the CarFax data logged? Nope.

Is this a good idea? No clue. If I'm capable of performing the work, I'm going to do it myself. The next buyer can determine how truthful I am when I go to sell it. The vehicles physical appearance is usually a good representation of how the original owner cared for it. Not always the case, but "usually" applies in this situation.

I could be wrong, but I highly doubt a dealer gives the Carfax a 2nd look after they see it has no accident history. From there, they'll do a basic inspection and you;ll have a trade in offer.

If you sell private party and the potential buyer balks at an owner maintained maintenance log (with good history), stating the lack of Carfax history is a deal-breaker - then they probably weren't interested in the first place. My 2 cents.

 

$70 at dealer with Toyota 0W-20 and Toyota filter. My oil gets changed 3X/yr at 10K intervals.

 

I was a sales manager.... a clean carfax report with no history did not effect trade value. If the vehicle is under the manufacturer warranty any problem will be taken care of...if it is out of the warranty then it is out. We do inspect the dipstick and the vehicle when we evaluate trade and more often then not you can tell how someone is treating the vehicle. It also did not effect when vehicles where purchased at auction either...unless it wasn't from Manheim or other dealer to dealer auction where there are safeguards and trusted lanes/vendors to buy from.

Also, a clean carfax does not mean the car has not been previously wrecked or any other problem...it only "reports" it. So for example, a vehicle that was not ran thorough insurance for a repair and then traded in or resold etc would not have that incident on carfax...it is a guide not the Bible.

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