You probably know, or can imagine what a repair-history is. Not only in the social networks do we leave our fingerprints. Also the vehicle manufacturers and/or their workshops know all about us or about the way we handle our vehicles. This by the way, also has advantages, from which we, the buyers of used cars can profit. Buying a used car with a repair history, we can be fairly certain that the mileage shown has not been manipulated.

The times, when one had to take the car into the workshop once a year, appear for some drivers, to be a thing of the past. The so-called 'Longlife Service' makes it possible to have the oil changed only every 30.000 to 50.000 km, e.g., with a Diesel engine. This of course, depends a lot on the 'driver-profile'. If you insist on often using the car to run down to the next letter-box in winter, then your car will certainly be in the workshop earlier.

Certain technical preconditions must be fulfilled before the servicing intervals can be stretched out. One of these is, e.g., a low oil-level warning. We're not talking about a float-system that only measures the level when the vehicle is standing still, no, in this case, during the trip a thermo-element is heated, then the amount of time that the oil needs to cool the element down again is measured. If this takes too long, it is assumed that the oil-level is too low.

The resulting lighting up of the oil pressure control lamp still doesn't tell you whether there is too little oil or even if the oil pressure is too low. In the past, one would have checked the oil-level using the dipstick. Nowadays, opening the bonnet is enough, because then, the cheeky computer assumes that the oil has been topped up and lets you drive on with too little oil for a certain distance. Should the light go on again immediately, this would mean that the oil pressure is too low.

Fundamentally, one must probably make a distinction between servicing according to mileage and servicing according to time. An example for the former would be an oil-change, although the time also plays a part here. A service done, purely because a certain time has lapsed, would e.g., be the changing of the brake fluid. One tries to coordinate this with the MOT examinations: In Germany this means, for a new car, after three years, then subsequently every two years.

There is the problem of having the customer in the workshop for a time-dependant service and then telling him/her that, for the other servicing, they'll have to come in again quite soon. 5000 km over or under the prescribed service mileage are more or less a rule of thumb, this of course must be arranged with the customer.

Apparently, partial inspections are carried out by some vehicle users (or not at all). The internet is full of tips, how the service interval display can be reset. Apart from this, devices are also available, that make it possible to fabricate a complete repair-history in the on-board controller. Take note, used car buyers, you have been warned!

Normally, a long-winded search for how to reset the service interval display is not necessary because it can be found in the owners manual anyway. Indeed, (in the case of VW), this can't be set back to anywhere you want, but mostly to a fixed, substantially shorter interval. The computer isn't clever enough to notice that one has topped-up with higher quality oil, either that, or it has been programmed accordingly.

By the way, for those who don't have the correct grade of oil handy, the system is forgiving, if you're lucky. You have to consult the computer. The worst thing that can happen, is that the service intervals are shortened. Just a little joke on the side: VW-drivers are informed of the next inspection 3.000 km beforehand, Audi drivers only 2.000 km before. It just goes to show, how differently the manufacturer rates its clients.