Maintaining the family car: services, tyres and a history that pays off when you sell

Car maintenance is one of those things you only remember when something goes wrong: a warning light, a strange noise, a mechanic asking "when was the last oil change?" and nobody knowing. Yet keeping a maintenance history takes a few minutes per job, and pays back three ways: you spend less, risk fewer breakdowns and the car is worth more when you sell.

This article gives organisational tips; maintenance intervals and required work are set by your vehicle's handbook and your garage.

What to record

For every job, the information that really matters:

• date and mileage
• type of work: service, oil change, filters, brake pads, tyres, repair
• garage
• cost
• receipt or invoice
• notes: what the mechanic flagged, what will need doing later

1. The history in one record

In KidBox's Vehicles section every job is recorded on the car's record: service, oil filter, LPG filter, brake pads, tyres, inspection, repair. Date, mileage and cost, with the receipt attached. The receipt goes into the family's encrypted documents and is visible from both the job and the archive.

Leaving the garage, two minutes. At year end it would be an afternoon hunting for invoices.

2. Servicing by the handbook

The handbook says every how many miles or months to service the car, usually "whichever comes first". Recording mileage at every job makes it easy to see when the next one is approaching, and to put it in the calendar with a reminder.

People who drive little often reach the time limit before the mileage: it's worth checking both.

3. Tyres

Two things to remember:

• seasonal changes, where required: in many areas of Italy winter tyres or chains on board are compulsory in a period that usually runs from 15 November to 15 April, according to local rules; other countries have their own rules
• wear: tread depth has a legal minimum, and a tyre's age matters even if mileage is low

Recording tyre changes in the history tells you which tyres are fitted, since when and how far they've gone.

4. What upkeep costs

Every job with a cost automatically becomes an entry in family expenses, under the car's category. After a year the numbers speak: what the car really costs between maintenance and deadlines, whether a repair keeps recurring, when it starts making sense to replace it.

5. The history when selling

Anyone buying a used car almost always asks: has it been maintained regularly? A complete history, with dates, mileage and invoices, is the most convincing answer — and often worth something in the price. With invoices already filed, preparing the paperwork for a buyer takes ten minutes.

6. Two cars, two owners

As with deadlines, in two-car families it's best for each person to own the maintenance of their own car. The other sees the history but doesn't need to remember anything. Fixed deadlines — road tax, insurance, inspection — are covered in road tax, insurance and inspections.

In short

Every job recorded with date, mileage, cost and invoice; servicing by the handbook, checking both mileage and months; tyres changed and checked in time; every cost in family expenses; a history ready for selling. The car won't break down less because of it. But you'll always know where it stands.