Wartungsheft
Lost your service book: how to rebuild the history
The service book (Serviceheft, often also called Servicebuch) is gone: lost during a move, never handed over by the previous owner or forgotten in the glovebox of a car you sold. That is annoying, because proof of servicing counts when you sell and when you make warranty claims. The good news: a large part of the history can usually be restored.
1. Is the book already digital?
More than a dozen brands have replaced the printed book with a digital service book. The entries are then held by the manufacturer, and you can request an extract at any time (TCS). Ask at a brand garage first. Some examples:
- Mercedes-Benz: The Digital Service Booklet stores the services in a central database, and the garage prints out a service report if needed. It is mandatory for most passenger cars produced from mid-2008 (Mercedes-Benz).
- VW Group (AMAG): In the event of a warranty claim, the warranty conditions require the complete service plan, digital or on paper (AMAG). The brand garage can tell you what is in the digital plan.
- Toyota: The service history appears in the MyToyota app as soon as the Connected Services are activated (Toyota Switzerland).
- Mazda: Mazda has kept the digital book since 2005, and a free app shows the service history (TCS).
Independent garages can also query the digital service books of many brands. In Switzerland this is possible, for example, via the TecRMI Service Book from Hostettler Autotechnik, which covers 23 brands; one query costs the garage CHF 5.50 excl. VAT (Autotechnik).
2. Duplicate from the brand garage
If your brand still uses a printed book, order an official duplicate from the brand dealer. According to a report by SRF «Espresso», it costs around 30 francs, and the garages will enter their own work free of charge on request (SRF). The garage can tell you the current price. According to the same source, a simple copy of the old book is worthless.
Then take the duplicate to every garage that has serviced the car and have the entries added.
3. Gather the invoices
Every garage invoice states the date, the work done and usually the mileage. That makes it proof of a service, even if the stamp is missing. Look:
- in your own papers and emails (many garages send invoices as PDFs),
- at the garages that serviced the car: they have the invoices in their workshop software and can print copies,
- with the previous owner, if you bought the car second-hand.
4. MFK inspection reports
The reports from the MFK (the periodic vehicle inspection) record the odometer reading (Streetlife). Together with the invoices, this gives you a series of mileage readings showing that the odometer is correct. If you no longer have the last report, ask your cantonal road traffic office (Strassenverkehrsamt); information beyond what is on the vehicle registration document (Fahrzeugausweis) usually has to be requested there in writing and is subject to a fee (Canton of Lucerne).
5. If nothing can be found
If the history cannot be reconstructed, an independent record of the car's condition remains. The TCS used car test checks the car for around 90 minutes and documents the result in a report (TCS). That does not replace the book, but it gives a buyer something solid to rely on.
And from now on: keep the book in a way that it can no longer get lost. Keep every invoice and take a photo of it right after the service.
Want to sell your car? Read on: Selling a used car: how a full service book helps.