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VIN Number Maintenance Records

306 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  SteveD-ATL  
#1 ·
Hi all, I’m trying to get a clearer picture of the car I just bought, especially its service history. I’ve heard you can use the VIN number to check maintenance records, but not sure where to start. Does that show up in Carfax? Or are there better options? Also, how reliable is that info if the car wasn’t always serviced at a dealership? I want to know if the previous owner kept up with things like timing belt changes and transmission flushes. If anyone’s had success digging this stuff up using the VIN, please share what worked.
 
#3 ·
I would not expect Carfax to have much of any information that's of any use regarding SZ era cars, even if they were religiously serviced at the dealer.

Most of what Carfax would have for a car of that age would be terribly out-of-date. And the probability that any SZ car has been being serviced at a RR or Bentley dealership for years now approaches zero. Most of them have never touched a car of that era at any time in the past 10 years. We're already 20 years past the last date of production for these cars.

As nice as it is to have a comprehensive service history, they're just not out there for the majority of these cars, particularly after they reached the age when they became "cheap."
 
#4 ·
I’m going through this now. Even with good records, I’ve decided to do the comprehensive combined Service C/1/2/3/4. The last owner did regular oil changes but other services seem more reactionary. I’ve just started but through oil, trans, and diff services with filters are super easy. The rates quoted for those services in the paperwork I received are offensively high.