Notebook or Logbook for maintenance ...

[Bumpy]

Spending a bit of money on the car at the moment, performance wise as well as maintenance, was thinking of making a log book sort of thing. Oil changes, when bushes are replaced, new tyres etc.

Does anyone else do this, or have any ideas on it?

[flygt4]

it can't hurt for resale value i guess.
id just do a spreadsheet or a notebook, and as you have work done staple the invoice/receipt to the page. at least that way you're never going to lose it.

the other advantage is itll be easy to track how long a tyre lasts etc. tho thats not really hard to do otherwise.

[Ae92typeX]

Having three cars I cant be bothered anymore, but in the past, when Ive only had one on the road at a time I always used to have a log book. ~$5 from a book store and can be of use recording spending, mileage, how long stuff lasts etc etc. Ill use one again when I reduce my stock eventually

[Dell'Orto]

I've got one for my MR2, just so I have an idea of what it owes me when I go to sell it again.
I'm glad I don't have one for my sedan! But I sure wish I'd kept records for my wagon, as we've got all the service records for it since new.

[snwtoy]

I keep a clearfile with all reciepts in, for most car's I've owned. Buyers seem to appreciate it.

[Zak]

My car came with a clear file, has lots of info, wiring, dyno sheets, time slips and stuff.

[bluemaumau]

yea ive got a exercise book with some receipts and all modifications carried out on the car, amazing how much shit you can do without even realising

[Pelo]

Ive got receipts for nearly everything I have ever done on my cars, and catalog nearly all of the work on this website. Knowing what cars actually cost makes wish I had a cheap hobby... like knitting or something!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?memberId=10865&tab=2&h=0&f=0&t=0

[Si]

My Old cortina had a log book for most of its life. It had entrys like "Installed New Digital radio tuner. One of first in NZ" and other Service details, modifications, even things like "New wiper blades".

If your car is heading towards classic age, i would highly reccomend a log book

[Rick]

I always keep a log book for my cars, I just write in the date and how many kms it had do at the time of service and what I did, and sometimes include prices for parts. I have kept a pretty thorougher record of parts that I have bought for my project car, but that can casuse problems ie. heart attacks, when added up

[Mad Murphy]

I've got a folder of reciepts for my MR2, it scares me too much to read through it though. Definately a good idea to have one if you think you'll ever want to sell it for a decent price, especially with older cars when you get all the regular maintainance that comes with age done. Always something I look for with a car.

[strap-on]

Its a good idea even just fot the servicing of things like fuel filters and spark pluygs, beats my trick of writing it on the rocker cover in vivid

[BZG Wagon]

I've kept a clear-file with receipts for every car. Definately makes things easier when it comes time to sell.

[Snoozin]

I dug out all my receipts for my old Alfa the other night, started adding them up, then got scared and cut myself......

But seriously, I'm going to keep a far more precise diary of developments on both of my other cars.... just going to keep a running spreadsheet.

[Stealer Of Souls]

I kinda run three.

A book for recording all work/mods done to the car (what, when and odo reading), includes general replacement stuff light headlight bulbs too. Pretty much everything I do to the car.
A quick reference spreadsheet which has just the odo reading at which a service should be done by, a space to record the date, and spaces to record tyres, and brakes. The idea being I can monitor how fast things wear out, and how often I service the comestibles, then relate that back to the sort of driving I've been doing.
And a notebook for doing mileage calcs. Pretty much record, date, odo, fuel type, and km/L at each fill up. I like this for giving me an idea of how efficiently the car is running based upon the driving I'm doing.