log book concern?
Submitted: Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 18:04
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asmithy
hi all,
just flew 1400klms to buy a 2nd hand 100 series cruiser wagon.
was told by the seller (car yard) it had log books and had been regularly serviced without any problems.
the seller went thought the log book with me on the phone and told me where the
services were completed.
i attended to pick the car up and before i drove out of the yard asked where the log books were?
the seller claimed that the log books and owners manual had apparently been taken out of the vehicle where he was sitting in his office telling me when & where it had been serviced....
since then the whereabouts of the log book and owners manual is unknown!
they seem to have gone walk about.....
a phone call to the seller today to
check up if they have been located and posted to me has revealed that the books cannot be located and he now wants to give me a 'replica book' to replace the original!
has anyone had this problem? is there anything i can do about it?
we are concerned this will eventually affect resale with 'replica' books!
he claims that the book will be stamped by the businesses that performed the
services etc...
i have since registered the vehicle in NSW and bought accessories for it, it's not like i can return it!
concerned, and any advice would be greatly appreciated!
i have a reasonably nice vehicle but no books, not even a owners manual!
smithy.
Reply By: Les - PK Ranger - Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 18:44
Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 18:44
smithy,
Cavea . . .Caveat Empo . . . Buyer beware !
This may (or may not) have been a shonky 2nd hand dealer, who knew you were flying a long way to pick up etc, and maybe stretched the truth to you on the phone.
How about if the vehicle was serviced by a regular service centre (dealer most likely), maybe they would be willing to write you a letter of statement of
services, dates, km, repairs etc ???
That should be sufficent on their letterhead to provide proof of servicing.
If it was a small town, the dealer should recall who it was that did the servicing.
Hope you get something from them.
Regards,
Les
AnswerID:
475800
Follow Up By: Shaker - Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 20:45
Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 20:45
The law of Caveat Emptor does not apply in this case, because the buyer directly asked about the books prior to the purchase.
FollowupID:
750824
Reply By: Ross M - Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 23:24
Monday, Jan 23, 2012 at 23:24
The possibility of speedo tampering has been mentioned and you have to make a decision about this if it has happened.
My view on the validity of servicing is this: A fully stamped log book from a dealer is just that, a stamped log book.
A lot of people place great importance on this, however, it is only a full and regular record of book stamping, not of servicing.
It is possible to have a book fully stamped and the vehicle actually having very little servicing at all. Engine oils, air and fuel filters and transmission lubricants may still be the originals in some cases, depending on the kms, but the book says it has been done on a regular basis.
As long as our society continues to support the delusion that a stamped book means a good vehicle a stamped book will appear important.
Most dealers DO NOT service vehicles fully and correctly and they don't usually use top lubricants.
Besides the servicing, it is how how the vehicle did the k's not necessarily how many k's it has done. Some poorly serviced lower K vehicles are not as good as some which have travelled further but serviced and treated with respect.
A vehicle manual you should have, a stamped book, I wouldn't worry too much cos it proves nothing.
Many dealers shorten the operating life of vehicles by their attitude and cost shift the repairs to whoever owns it out of warranty.
Never,never never trust a dealer.
AnswerID:
475837
Reply By: jothefw - Tuesday, Jan 24, 2012 at 18:32
Tuesday, Jan 24, 2012 at 18:32
Sorry to hear your story.
We sold our Pathfinder last year to a buyer through the larger of the car sales websites.
He arrived to view the vehicle with me (female obviously) showing the vehicle. We'd arranged to meet away from our
home, at a friends mechanics workshop. He could answer any servicing questions etc for me.
Anyway I sold the vehicle, received cash for a lot less than I'd hoped but I wasn't too disappointed.
Two weeks later a lady rang us (she'd found our details from calling the service agents) and she'd bought the vehicle from our purchaser via an auction site. He'd advertised it with 50,000 kms less than it's real kms. He'd stated one lady owner, fair enough, no off roading (ermmm we're farmers and we live in the desert!) and various other mistruths. She'd gone ahead and bought it still, for $4000 more than we'd sold it.
Mechanically sound we were able to truthfully tell her that we had confidence in the car but it begs the question ... if it wasn't as it should be, why had she gone ahead?
Anyway my point is - the dodgy car/history/sale - doesn't mean the vehicles necessarily dodgy. I would be more than happy to talk to any future purchasors of my vehicles if they rang (if you can track them down) but that said I suspect I shan't do a private sale again - it wasn't worth the hassle, I'd sooner do part exchange if possible and cut my losses, it's a lot less stress!
AnswerID:
475915