Guides
Practical guides on keeping, sharing and checking your car’s service history.
Keeping your service history
- How to keep your car's service history, and what to keep
What counts as service history, how to store and back it up so it can't be lost, and what to do with it when you sell.
- Lost your car's service history? Here's what to do
What to do when the paper service book is missing or incomplete — and how to make sure it doesn't happen again.
- Digital service history: what a digital service record is
The manufacturer's dealer record versus one you keep yourself — how to get it, and what it misses.
- Can I get service history from a garage?
The retrieval playbook — which garages to call, the free DVSA MOT backbone, and what to ask for.
Selling a car with its history
- How to share your car's service history with a buyer
Photos, originals or a single link — what each proves, and what to cover up before you send anything.
- What is full service history?
What FSH means, how it differs from FDSH and part service history, and what a buyer should ask to see.
- Selling a car without a full service history
Why buyers ask for it, what to do if yours is incomplete, and how to turn what you do have into proof.
- Does full service history affect a car's value?
Why buyers pay more for a documented history, where it matters most, and what 'FSH' actually proves.
- Selling with partial service history
What a gap actually costs you at sale, how to present it honestly, and making what you have count.
- How to prove service history when selling
Stamps versus invoices versus digital records, and why a stamped book alone is weak evidence today.
- What documents do I need to sell a car privately?
A practical checklist: V5C, MOT, service history, receipts and any outstanding finance settlement.
Checking a car's history
- How to check a car's mileage is genuine
The free MOT mileage trail, what a clocked car looks like, and how invoices fill the gaps between tests.
- MOT advisory check: how to see a car's advisories
Where to find a car's MOT advisories, what advisory and minor defects mean, and how to read them over time.
- How to check a car's history for free
MOT history, tax, recalls and mileage are free; service history has no central database. What to check, and where.
- Service history check: how to check a car's service history
Your own car or one you're buying: the free MOT check, dealer records, and what no check covers.
- What year is my car? UK number plate ages
Every age identifier since 2001, prefix and suffix year letters, and what the first two letters of a plate mean.
Used car buying guides
- Used Ford Fiesta buying guide: common problems and what to check
Buying a used Ford Fiesta? The common problems to check for, from the 1.0 EcoBoost wet belt to clutch wear and diesel DPFs, plus what Fiesta MOT results show as they age.
- Used Ford Focus buying guide (2011–2018): common problems and what to check
Buying a used Ford Focus from 2011 to 2018? Common problems to check, from the PowerShift automatic and EcoBoost wet belt to water leaks, plus what Focus MOT results show as they age.
- Used Vauxhall Corsa buying guide (2014–2019): common problems and what to check
Buying a used Vauxhall Corsa E from 2014 to 2019? The common problems to check, from timing chain rattle and electrical faults to worn clutches, plus what Corsa MOT results show as they age.
- Used VW Golf Mk7 buying guide (2013–2020): common problems and what to check
Buying a used Volkswagen Golf Mk7 from 2013 to 2020? The common problems to check, from DSG gearboxes and timing chains to water leaks, plus what Golf MOT results show as they age.
- Used Nissan Qashqai buying guide (2014–2021): common problems and what to check
Buying a used Nissan Qashqai from 2014 to 2021? The common problems to check, from 1.2 DIG-T oil consumption and CVT gearboxes to DPFs and the towbar recall, plus what Qashqai MOT results show.