Buying a Used Car: Can You Get Service Records from a Dealer?

If you’re interested in buying a used car, you’re probably curious about its maintenance history. Was the previous owner meticulous about keeping every aspect of the vehicle in top shape? Or did an earlier driver neglect basic maintenance to keep the car running as cheaply as possible? To find out, you might be tempted to contact a dealership to request maintenance records, but this isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Do You Need Maintenance Records?

It is not always necessary to obtain a copy of the vehicle’s maintenance records. In many cases, a vehicle history report from AutoCheck or Carfax will include enough high-level maintenance information to satisfy a shopper. Some car shoppers don’t even want to see receipts for maintenance and repairs, especially for older used cars that aren’t worth too much. Oftentimes, a mechanical inspection is preferred, as a mechanic’s word is more important to shoppers than ensuring the car has had oil changes at recommended intervals.

However, prospective buyers may want to see the records, especially for high-end models. What do you do if you’re going to see a car’s maintenance history, the seller doesn’t have any records, and the vehicle history report doesn’t include the details you want?

Call the Dealer

You can call a franchised dealership for the car brand you’re considering and explain your situation. The dealer may be able to provide the records for services performed at manufacturer-authorized service centers.

In some cases, the dealership may not want to release the maintenance records for privacy reasons. Maintenance records could contain addresses, phone numbers, and credit card information of the car’s previous owners. Any authorized dealership should have access to a car’s maintenance records.

If dealers push back about privacy concerns, you could visit a dealership and request the records in person. There, you can ask the dealer to print the documents and cross out personal information using a permanent marker. While this may sway some dealerships, others still may not provide the records, and in that case, you may just have to give up.

Will Dealers Have All the Records?

If an independent mechanic services a car, that record won’t appear in the dealer’s database. As a result, the dealer will not have a complete record of a vehicle. In this case, it may not be worth your time to check a car’s service history. We recommend that you speak with the car’s previous owner(s) to find out where they had their vehicle serviced.

Even if you can obtain a copy of the vehicle’s service records, we still recommend that buyers get a thorough mechanical inspection on nearly all used cars and trucks.

Editor’s Note: We have updated this article since its initial publication. Doug Demuro contributed to the report.