Service History

[Carrotts]

Hi. I never trust the stamped services in the hand book. A main dealer franchised here in Folkestone one of the ‘mechanics’ used to charge £25.00 and he would stamp the book with as many stamps as you wanted. You then compare mot mileage and dates and fill in and sign. So when I see anything that is completely correctly filled in I am wary. Mind you that dealer no longer has premises local was Fail Or Repair Daily. Ford. Brian

 

[wildebus]

Hi. I never trust the stamped services in the hand book. A main dealer franchised here in Folkestone one of the ‘mechanics’ used to charge £25.00 and he would stamp the book with as many stamps as you wanted. You then compare mot mileage and dates and fill in and sign. So when I see anything that is completely correctly filled in I am wary. Mind you that dealer no longer has premises local was Fail Or Repair Daily. Ford. Brian

I would agree... A service book not backed up with actual receipts is dubious. And nowadays a call to the garages should elicit information regarding services if you provide the reg number, so backing up the stamps there if that is all you have.

Actually, I said the LT had no service history .... that is correct, I got nothing with it, however after I bought it, I called the County Council which had owned it for the previous 12 odd years and spoke to someone in the workshop and they emailed me screen grabs of an Excel workbool that listed everything that had been recorded, down to things like the replacement of a lightbulb and a flat battery getting recharged.

 

[CCSW]

Service history with Motorhomes has always been a sticky wicket. People do not tend to keep them in order like you would with a car. It is very rare to get a motorhome with full engine and habitation history. As the majority do not do the mileage some folks are reluctant to fork out for servicing especially habitation. This has definitely been the case over the last couple of years. And even when they do the paperwork seems to get lost.

 

[Phantom]

Many folks likely just do their own servicing and remedy any hab issues, like I do. Though our MH did come with a bag full of receipts for previous servicing and work done which surprisingly totalled about £10k!

 

[marchie]

Many folks likely just do their own servicing and remedy any hab issues, like I do. Though our MH did come with a bag full of receipts for previous servicing and work done which surprisingly totalled about £10k!

I am OCD/Anal Retentive, do have all receipts in order! We're in Year 1 of our first M/home ownership and have spent £4957 on servicing, repairs and upgrades, plus a further £195 on order. We are getting Brunhilde to the way that suits our use ...

Steve

 

[Martin P]

If I were to buy another Mh internal hab checks I would make
Fill system with water
Visual check water tank top
Run all taps and check pump works
Check heating works plus hot water
Run heating for at least 20 mins
Check loo flushes , bowl holds water. Operation of emptying lever
Check level gauge
Quick visual for leaks including under van. (Ask to see heating dump valve )
Whiz round with damp meter under Windows ,floors and by overcab body joint
Check fridge works on gas 12v and 240v if a 3 way fridge
With a cheap plug in to ciggy socket voltmeter (about 2 quid from ebay) check cab socket goes to 14 ish volts when engine running. Likewise in hab.
Stop engine.
Check voltages when off.
Leave meter plugged in to hab.
Plug in landline. Check meter rises again to 14 ish volts
Check all lights work
Check all door and drawer catches
Open all windows .Check operation of blinds
Open and lock hab door
Swivel seats
Seat belts
Cushions, condition and present
Open gas locker. 2 bottles
Check cooker. All burners light and stay lit
Check oven and grill. Light and stay lit
Micro if fitted
Hab batteries visual. Professional installation?
toilet cassette access door opens locks cassette present?
Roof hatches operation and condition. Actually open and close them
Vehicle checks the same as per most other vehicles plus
Have a good look at
water filler
electric socket
Windows
seams seams seams
Plus anything I haven't thought of.
THEN If happy I would pay the balance of the purchase price.
Hope this is helpful

 

[nabsim]

Think I must just be lucky. If not getting new I always went to see a vehicle, looked round, in and under, ran the engine and then either bought it or walked away. Usually I would take a test drive but not always. If it was a vehicle unknown to me I would do research on what to look out for and check those points but that’s it. If it didn’t have a service history I would use that to try to get a bit off the price but that was all the use it was to me.

 

[Carrerasax]

If I were to buy another Mh internal hab checks I would make
Fill system with water
Visual check water tank top
Run all taps and check pump works
Check heating works plus hot water
Run heating for at least 20 mins
Check loo flushes , bowl holds water. Operation of emptying lever
Check level gauge
Quick visual for leaks including under van. (Ask to see heating dump valve )
Whiz round with damp meter under Windows ,floors and by overcab body joint
Check fridge works on gas 12v and 240v if a 3 way fridge
With a cheap plug in to ciggy socket voltmeter (about 2 quid from ebay) check cab socket goes to 14 ish volts when engine running. Likewise in hab.
Stop engine.
Check voltages when off.
Leave meter plugged in to hab.
Plug in landline. Check meter rises again to 14 ish volts
Check all lights work
Check all door and drawer catches
Open all windows .Check operation of blinds
Open and lock hab door
Swivel seats
Seat belts
Cushions, condition and present
Open gas locker. 2 bottles
Check cooker. All burners light and stay lit
Check oven and grill. Light and stay lit
Micro if fitted
Hab batteries visual. Professional installation?
toilet cassette access door opens locks cassette present?
Roof hatches operation and condition. Actually open and close them
Vehicle checks the same as per most other vehicles plus
Have a good look at
water filler
electric socket
Windows
seams seams seams
Plus anything I haven't thought of.
THEN If happy I would pay the balance of the purchase price.
Hope this is helpful

Can you come and do my hab check for me, Mates rates. Seems you know all there is to know!!!!

 

[Exwindsurfer]

I am OCD/Anal Retentive, do have all receipts in order! We're in Year 1 of our first M/home ownership and have spent £4957 on servicing, repairs and upgrades, plus a further £195 on order. We are getting Brunhilde to the way that suits our use ...

Steve

How old is the van Steve ? .I haven't spent that much in the 9 years ive had the van the biggest expense was the batteries about 3 years ago a cool £1640 quid.

 

[Norfolk NewBoy]

If I were to buy another Mh internal hab checks I would make
Fill system with water

Check loo flushes , bowl holds water. Operation of emptying lever
Check level gauge

toilet cassette access door opens locks cassette present?

I strongly suggest checking that the cassette is present BEFORE flushing the loo!

Gordon

It took me a couple of seconds to realise that "micro" meant microwave oven.

 

[nabsim]

I strongly suggest checking that the cassette is present BEFORE flushing the loo!

Gordon

It took me a couple of seconds to realise that "micro" meant microwave oven.

Ha ha, that is actually good advice, seem to think someone posted once about a missing cassette . Definitely good advice if you are ever around Wully

 

[Geek]

In my experience, a filled-in service history means that the vehicle has been serviced at a main dealer's. That means that the work was mostly done by apprentices, not mechanics. Stamps in the book probably mean that the work was charged for, but not necessarily that it was done properly, or even at all.
A good pile of service invoices from independent garages is a far more reassuring sign.
Personally I rate habitation checks as meaningless. Check everything yourself.

 

[marchie]

How old is the van Steve ? .I haven't spent that much in the 9 years ive had the van the biggest expense was the batteries about 3 years ago a cool £1640 quid.

Jun 2016. Main expenses were Lithium Battery £749; Refillable gas £848.73 (the day before the Lithium!), ECU Failure + 2 failed Starter Batteries + trace parasitic drain £1032, AMT12 Battery Relay + B2B Charger + USB sockets £475, Winter Tyres change £763, Brake fluid change + air con regas £180, and the rest went on Bike Covers, External Screen Cover, Helios Chairs and odds n ends of tools, fittings etc. Frightening the way it mounts up when you do record everything ...

Steve