Over the course of owning a car, you can accumulate many repair invoices. They become a diary of the car's mechanical ups and downs. Transferring the data from these facility-generated documents to one central location can prove efficient and economically expedient. What a relief it will be when you get a call to approve repairs to be able to refer to a book that contains your vehicle's entire repair history.
Purchase a notebook small enough to fit into your car's glove box but large enough to record information from a service visit on a single page. Five by eight inches is the minimum size.
On the inside front cover, include the following information: year, make and model of the vehicle; date, amount paid and from whom purchased; warranties included with the purchase; mileage of the vehicle when purchased; any known defects; and whether there's a repair history recorded anywhere else.
Label the last page of the notebook "Accessories," then count three sheets backward and label the next sheet "Brakes." Follow the same routine until you have included "Cooling System," "Emissions," "Engine," "Exhaust," "Oil Change," "Tires/wheels" and finally "Transmission." These pages will serve as a quick reference when you're asked to approve repairs to your car.
As your car goes in for service, transfer the information from the invoice to the front pages of the book. You must include the date, name of the repair facility, mileage, invoice number and cost of the repair. Break out each repair performed and briefly describe it. For example: "Tuneup including plugs, wires and fuel and air filter" or "Cooling System Service--new coolant and thermostat." Be sure to indicate any warranty that may apply. Finally, list any additional work that may have been suggested.
Record the repairs in the rear section of the book, under the applicable category. The thermostat replacement and new coolant in the above example would be recorded under "Cooling System," along with the date, repair facility and cost, while the tuneup would be entered on the sheet labeled "Engine."
