[deeLow]

As title says, anyone work for a dealer and able to get service records? Local dealer is being PITA about telling me what was previously done to car.

Thanks ahead!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by deeLow

As title says, anyone work for a dealer and able to get service records? Local dealer is being PITA about telling me what was previously done to car.

Thanks ahead!

If you own the car it should be no problem. If you bring it in for service they should be willing to do it for you. If you just walk in they may be reluctant. Also, the reason they are reluctant is because the previous owner's name will be on the print out, so the best way to handle that is tell the CA up front you realize the name of the previous owner will be on the paper work and all you want is the serivce history with the owners name redacted from the paperwork. The SA should be able to black out the previous owner's name and make a copy of the service record.

I bought a Z4 in December, took it in to a dealer for alignment and asked for the service history exactly as I described above, and got it with no problem.

So take the car in for the next oil change and then ask for a copy of the service history.

[d1saster]

When i was buying my second bmw i asked my SA if i can get the servise records for my first one. The guy just printed it out without any hesitation. No name of the previous owner anywhere.

[Larsim]

I asked nicely a local dealer for this information and was declined.

[335NJ]

Originally Posted by Larsim

I asked nicely a local dealer for this information and was declined.

Same here, then some salesman saw me poking around the lot looking at new M3's, I told him the reason I came in was for service records, but I didn't appreciate the SA refusing to give them to me. He ran inside real quick, and came back out to hand me the full service history, but obviously redacted the previous owners name and address (main reason they refrain from handing it out apparently).

So never forget salesman will do anything for a potential sale

[Bavarian Tech]

Shoot me a PM

[Ccdscott]

Originally Posted by Larsim

I asked nicely a local dealer for this information and was declined.

Same here as well. Said BMW "doesn't allow it".

Sure.

[stanlalee]

I asked and my dealer printed me out a long ass sheet of everything on record since new. How much money are you spending lol. When your in there getting $1800 worth of non warranty work they tend to cooperate

[drunkenup]

First dealership gladly printed out mine for my previous 335i, the last dealership wouldn't for my 135i, though I had work done there. It actually looked like the SA had it in hand when he asked if I was the original owner, then said he couldn't get them when I told him I was #2

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by stanlalee

I asked and my dealer printed me out a long ass sheet of everything on record since new. How much money are you spending lol. When your in there getting $1800 worth of non warranty work they tend to cooperate

I was in just for an alignment/re-balancing special at $150.

[motoguy128]

I don't think there is an expectation or requirement for privacy of the previous owner of a vehicle, so long as the address isn't being given. Vehicle get registered with the state as public record. It's not the same as medical records. It's just a car.

BUT, I'm not a lawyer and the suggestion above is good.

Also, I think the Carfax version of the service history has the owner removed.

[Wilt]

Originally Posted by d1saster

When i was buying my second bmw i asked my SA if i can get the servise records for my first one. The guy just printed it out without any hesitation. No name of the previous owner anywhere.

When i was buying my latest (2011 CPO) BMW, they automatically included a surmmary of all prior service visits, without name of prior owner included.

[Mr. Toad]

Originally Posted by Ccdscott

Same here as well. Said BMW "doesn't allow it".

Sure.

My SA has never hesitated to provide service records upon request. In fact, when I was shopping for my first CPO car a few years ago, I called this dealership and asked for someone in service (this was my first contact with them, so I'd never even met my future SA yet at this point). I gave the VIN of the car I was interested in to the guy who answered the phone and he spent about 20 minutes going over the entire history of the car with me (note that this particular car wasn't even at his dealership). When I did finally buy a car and took it in for service the first time, I asked for this guy and told him that I had not forgotten how helpful he'd been when I was shopping around.

To this day, he always emails me an updated PDF service history after I have work done.

[patents]

I got a complete runaround trying to get service history. First the SA said he needed my key to verify I owned the car, then he looked up the records on his computer and all he told me was there "wasn't much" there (what do you mean "not much?). Then he said the records only show dates and mileage of services, but doesn't show what was actually done.

Frustrated, I asked another SA on the way out about getting records, and he told me they do show the work that was done, but that information is proprietary to the owner at the time and they would not release the records.

I was also told that the service history only shows warranty repairs. If it wasn't done under warranty, it wouldn't be in the system.

A bit off topic here... I went back later for service to fix a non-working passenger airbag, and when I went to pick up the car he handed me the keys, told me the repair wasn't covered under a recall, and walked off. I stood dumbfounded in the service bay. He didn't even give me a chance to offer to pay for the repair. Not sure why they didn't want to fix my car. After this I vowed never to give them any business. And I never will.

Back on topic... I went to another dealer and they gladly gave me a copy of the service records.

Years ago I owned a Saturn, and one of the things they touted when the brand came out in 1991 was that all dealers have a connected system so that any work done at any Saturn dealer is readily accessible. They would give you a copy of the records as long as you currently own the car.

My wife currently has a Subaru, and I have a friend at a Subaru dealer and he gave me a copy of the records, but he had to redact the original owner's information. I don't know what their policy is, though.

[techwhiz]

I got mine.
You just need to be friendly with the SA.
I have every item of work that was ever done to my car, warranty and non warranty.

[fazman]

Originally Posted by deeLow

As title says, anyone work for a dealer and able to get service records? Local dealer is being PITA about telling me what was previously done to car.

Thanks ahead!

Try going into a dealership and sit down with the SA so he knows your a real person and will probably work with you if he is not slammed. If you own the car, most will give you the info that you want.

I'm guessing your in Central NJ? maybe try Edison BMW or JMK BMW and see if a SA will be friendly to your cause.

[imy]

Quick question from the uk. What constitutes a service history and what is carfax?

Over here service history is stamped service book and also reciepts of any work that has previously been carried out on the vehicle. As well as previous MOT's which are essentially once a year checks at a registered garage to make sure your car is legal at that moment of time. All this verifies condition of car but also the mileage.

[accel]

Last time I shopped, carfax contained all major service records for bmw.

[Mr. Toad]

Originally Posted by imy

Quick question from the uk. What constitutes a service history and what is carfax?

Over here service history is stamped service book and also reciepts of any work that has previously been carried out on the vehicle. As well as previous MOT's which are essentially once a year checks at a registered garage to make sure your car is legal at that moment of time. All this verifies condition of car but also the mileage.

In the U.S., the term "service history" as used in this thread refers to the record kept by the BMW dealership network of all service work performed on a vehicle by an authorized dealer service center. Each entry indicates the date, vehicle mileage, and a brief (and sometimes cryptic) description of the issue. Despite what some seem to tell customers, any authorized dealership can access this record.

The U.S. does not have MOTs per se, but different states have different regulations regarding vehicle emissions, brakes and other safety features, etc. Some states require that cars registered there be inspected for such things annually, while others do not.

Carfax is an independent company that offers "vehicle histories", usually for a cost. My understanding is that these histories are compiled from a combination of service notations made by dealers and accident reports filed by the police. They typically show how many owners a vehicle has had and the period during which each owner had the car (this includes dealership possession as well), along with some relatively nondescript service entries and any accidents the vehicle has been involved in, if reported (if no police report was filed, accident damage is not likely to show up in a Carfax report).

[imy]

what happens if the car is serviced at an independent specialist? Does this still appear on the carfax? So you guys do not have a service book that the garage stamps?

[Needbmwpartzz]

What was the explanation for not giving the service records.

[WordOnRoad]

OP, did you end up getting the records? If not, shoot me a PM.