How important is service history?

[jbar89]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum so thanks for having me! I hope I'm posting this in the right place.

I went to see a MK5 GTI at a dealer today which has done 160,000 miles. It seemed in reasonable condition and drove well, but unfortunately it had no service history at all (the previous owner self-serviced it).

The dealership is asking £2,800 and obviously I'd need to pay for a major service, cambelt change etc. on top of this. Also, the a/c compressor is knackered.

Is the lack of s/h concerning on these cars? Should I look elsewhere?

[Clarkj93]

I service my cars but just write it down in the book anyway. Its unusual for someone to buy a car new and service themselves, from what I've seen anyway.

If there is no history and you don't know when the last service was done I would have expected the dealer to at least do a minor service on it? If there's no history of the cambelt changed either then for me personally I'd be sceptical. By the time you add up the cost of a major service and cambelt change then its quite easily give or take a £3500 car, might be able to find one with a fresh service and not too long changed cambelt for nesr that price possibly?

[chimp400]

At that mileage there is going to be a lot of wear and tear on suspension components etc so unless it has paperwork evidence for parts I’d walk away.
I self service and keep all receipts and just make a note of all service work in a book.

[Jons1001]

As above, it needs a major service including cambelt (also if dsg that will need servicing also) plus if you want to get the a/c sorted that's an expensive job and might not just be the compressor. On top of this suspension will be tired and you would probably want to do the usual pcv, diverter valve and cam follower so all in you'd be up to about 4k if not more. I'd just try and find one privately that has been well looked after with evidence to back it up.

Also a dealer that sells a car without servicing and broken a/c etc. could be a pain to deal with if anything is to go wrong.

[bobby_fodge]

I look after my own cars (apart from cambelts) and keep all of the receipts for parts.

Seems odd not to have a single receipt.

Does it have a million owners? That might be why there is zero paperwork.

I'd just keep looking for a better looked after car.

[DBXdarkangel]

160k milage on a less than 3k car. I personally wouldn't give a toss about service history on an old car.
Use your head. If it looks OK and sounds OK and drives OK then it probably will be OK.

Let's be honest if you keep the car for another 5 years then whoever buys it won't give a toss about service history either.

[Octoparrot]

Personally I'd leave it, I'd never buy a car with absolutely no service history of any kind and i have to question whether a reputable dealer would bother selling a car with no service history. Also as stated ac issues are expensive to fix properly. There's a better car out there for you.

[brian_badonde]

If you're like me and keep your cars for a decent length of time, I would always pay the extra "premium" up front in the purchase price that comes with a decent service history and proof its been looked after. Despite VW's desired image of reliability, I'm astonished at how high-maintenance these cars can be.

At that mileage, there's a whole bunch of things that I would want to see replaced. For example, I replaced my chain/tensioner at ~110,000 miles. The tensioner was thoroughly worn and had a hairline crack right where the piston sits:



Ultimately, everything wears out given enough usage so personally I'd avoid the potential for mechanical headaches and find something that at least has proof its been looked after.

[CalMac]

I think GENERALLY, it’s better to buy on condition rather than mileage. But with these cars, it’s better to buy a very good example and pay the extra. Volkswizard on YouTube even says, he would rather buy a very nice standard GTI than an okay health edition 30.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uJfdODbFTUw

With these cars having their relatively rigid servicing schedules, I’d really want to know when things have been changed. You might be able to check the dates on some parts like the battery and coil packs? A keen self service owner would surely have replaced these.

Do all the usual checks, as you’ve taken it for a test drive and you should be able to hear, feel, see if it’s a good car. There’s plenty of GTIs that make it to big mileage, no reason why they can’t as long as the servicing is done on time.

It could be a case of more chew than it’s worth with the mentioned suspension/engine components wear posted by others above. About the aircon, I’ve just had my aircon diagnosed and the compressor is broken, a good £200-£300 part, with a broken compressor I can’t perform a leak test so there’s a good chance that I will have to replace even more parts for the AC. If you’re not handy with tools then it will cost you the labour too.

If you’re happy to buy the car I would personally argue that at least an oil service should be included with the sale of the car, I did that however the garage I bought from were liars.

I would be a bit scared without any servicing documentation. It is really up to you as what kind of owner you are! Chances are that if you’re a careful owner who is concerned enough to ask this on a forum, you may be better off saving your money for a really nice one.

Welcome to the forum and happy shopping! 

[LC5F]

If you fancy chancing your luck, you could just go into a VW dealer and ask they would kindly print off any history, it's not something they do often, so ask V nicely - should pop-up bullet points of what has been done.

Personal experience is under-use is worse then over use, I once had a 91 W124 E-class that I got with 250k miles - all the problems I had came from the PO barely using it for 2 or 3 years. I took it to 285k before it got written off.

[pudding]

If you're like me and keep your cars for a decent length of time, I would always pay the extra "premium" up front in the purchase price that comes with a decent service history and proof its been looked after. Despite VW's desired image of reliability, I'm astonished at how high-maintenance these cars can be.

At that mileage, there's a whole bunch of things that I would want to see replaced. For example, I replaced my chain/tensioner at ~110,000 miles. The tensioner was thoroughly worn and had a hairline crack right where the piston sits:



Ultimately, everything wears out given enough usage so personally I'd avoid the potential for mechanical headaches and find something that at least has proof its been looked after.

You got to that in the nick of time 

Judging by that varnishing, I'd say your engine has suffered the marketing crime that is long life servicing!


 

[colesey]

Ages ago, I bought both a mk1 and a mk2 GTi used with @80k miles. The mk1 had a single owner who always used Mobil 1 oil (rather exotic 30yrs ago) and the inside of the rocker cover was golden clean. The Mk2 didn't have any history and was sludged up.  When I sold it a year later to buy an e30 m3, the cam belt snapped shortly after the new owner bought it....

Moral of the story, I think it is worthwhile paying a little extra for a good service history. That said, I have spent way too much on servicing mine and will never see the extra spend back.