Best way to keep maintenance records when performing the work yourself?

[PJmak]

Best way to keep maintenance records when performing the work yourself?

I do most of the maintenance on m cars my self but im not sure what the best way is to keep records of that.

I buy parts online from known retailers and I usually try to get the OEM stuff.


Do I attach the receipt and pictures of the parts when out of the car and replaced or is there a better way?

 

[Kyiv]

I have a separate folder in my Yahoo mail, where I park on online orders for parts. When work is completed, I write myself an email with date, mileage, other info, and then re-park from inbox into the same separate email folder

 

[Jlaa]

I pdf every receipt for every part that I purchased for the car.
I track the purchase on an ongoing spreadsheet.
I also pdf the EPC diagram that points to the part I am purchasing.
When I receive the part, I take pictures of the part.
When I replace the part on the car, I take multiple pictures of the procedure.

Finally, I save the spreadsheet, all the pdfs and photographs on an on-site RAID 5 network attached storage.
I then backup that NAS 2x a week to another local storage medium.
I then back THAT up to the cloud 1x per week.

 

[gsxr]

I keep a spreadsheet for maintenance records, one for each car, although you could have one worksheet for each car inside a single spreadsheet. You decide what information to include, but it needs to be enough so you can search it for terms like "filter" or "thermostat" when you want to find out when you last replaced something. Click here for the Excel template I use, it's easy to modify for your preferences.

I have a separate spreadsheet for part orders, with a new worksheet for each major order. I combine a number of small orders onto a single worksheet to save space. Again, this is VERY useful to search and find if you have ever purchased part number XXX in the past, and if so when, how many times, what quantities, what vendor, price paid, etc etc.

I back up to a couple different physical drives (internal & external) monthly.

 

[Jlaa]

I keep a spreadsheet for maintenance records, one for each car, although you could have one worksheet for each car inside a single spreadsheet. You decide what information to include, but it needs to be enough so you can search it for terms like "filter" or "thermostat" when you want to find out when you last replaced something. Click here for the Excel template I use, it's easy to modify for your preferences.

I have a separate spreadsheet for part orders, with a new worksheet for each major order. I combine a number of small orders onto a single worksheet to save space. Again, this is VERY useful to search and find if you have ever purchased part number XXX in the past, and if so when, how many times, what quantities, what vendor, price paid, etc etc.

I back up to a couple different physical drives (internal & external) monthly.

Oh that’s a good idea to use a separate worksheet for maint activity vs parts orders. I should do that!

 

[a777fan]

And if you are into spreadsheets.... Google Sheets is where its at. Free, accessible from any browser (lives in the poofy cloud), and has most (if not all) the Excel functionality that you'd ever need to keep track of car maintenance.

 

[socal210]

Anyone still do physical documents? I'm in the process of transferring mine onto a spreadsheet but I like having a hard copy way more.

 

[LWB250]

I used to use an app called "Trip Buddy". That eventually morphed into the "Gas Buddy" application that's popular now. The bad thing is that when they went to "Gas Buddy" they eliminated a lot of the maintenance features and pretty much neutered the application.

If you're an iPhone user, you can use the application "Road Trip" by Darren Stone. You can find it at darrensoft.ca.

It's a great app that has a ton of features that are for serious data geeks. The best thing about the app is that it uses your DropBox account to share data across devices. I have it on my iPad and iPhone, as well as Mrs. Dan's iPhone. No more "Hey, honey, have you got your gas receipts?" She just enters the information when she fills up and it's populated across all devices. It has export functions that allow you to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet, and an archive feature that allows you to archive a car's data when you sell it.

I highly recommend it.

Dan

 

[gerryvz]

Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet is the way to go.

I don't personally track parts orders, but I often do note the part numbers that I install for a specific job.

My custom spreadsheet has three different tabs.

1. Maintenance jobs performed with description and parts
2. Key maintenance items tracked (consumables and fluids)
3. Bucket list of jobs to do

 

[ace10]

Anyone still do physical documents? I'm in the process of transferring mine onto a spreadsheet but I like having a hard copy way more.

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Very much so. I'm what you might call a "documentation enthusiast"
lol

I like the creativity you've got on those covers!

Spreadsheets never did it for me, despite that being my primary line of work. Physical binders are the absolute way to go for me. Every receipt, note and scrap of paper goes in. For DIY stuff, I print off the receipt and then write my own notes for the work performed. Date, miles and a brief description. About half of my cars have every document back to day one. Including my two thickest binders... the '86 16V and an '87 Land Cruiser.

Good Avery binders are cheap in bulk from AMZN. Sheet protectors are $10 for 250 from Sam's. Have some heavier card stock on hand to deal with flimsy thermal receipts.

When possible, I avoid storing personal documentation, photos etc on somebody else's computer (ie the cloud).*






* Anonymous online forums notwithstanding

 

[gsxr]

Spreadsheets never did it for me, despite that being my primary line of work. Physical binders are the absolute way to go for me. Every receipt, note and scrap of paper goes in. For DIY stuff, I print off the receipt and then write my own notes for the work performed. Date, miles and a brief description.

This is far easier if you aren't DIY. But as DIY it's more of a challenge, unless you write up your own work order. Which is why I enter rows on a spreadsheet with date & miles, and as much information as I think may be relevant at some point in the future.

When possible, I avoid storing personal documentation, photos etc on somebody else's computer (ie the cloud).*

+1. I'm not fond of cloud storage for personal information, although I'm reasonably certain nobody cares about any data in my maintenance spreadsheets.

 

[RicardoD]

I make a binder and print the receipts / order confirmation of the parts I order. Then I write the mileage and date when I installed that part myself on the receipt and sign my name. Of course my owner log is where I have also kept a running log of everything done to the car. So if I sell my E500, I can just point to my owner's thread and back that up with my binder full of receipts. I place each receipt (an 8 1/2 x 11 printout) in its own clear sleeve in the binder.

This has worked well. Any time you buy a used car and the owner presents a binder with meticulously arranged repair receipts you don't even have to look at the car. I've only run into one guy like this buying used cars and I paid his asking price no questions asked. The car was even better than described.

 

[LWB250]

When I'm preparing to sell a car I export a spreadsheet from Road Trip, break down the sections into separate tabs and put them in a binder with copies of the invoices in sheet protectors. I'll print out a spine and cover for the binder to make it look nice.

It always impresses, unless the buyer already knows me.

Dan

 

[maw1124]

I do no work myself but I have a chronological stack of paper for every car, every dollar spent, beginning with the pre-purchase CarFax and VMI, ending with whatever was the last dollar spent... including tires. I've thought about spreadsheets and PDFs, but I have too much of both in my life, I'm a lazy record keeper, and it's just too easy to pile up the paper in a folder. Less and less gets done anymore as the cars are pretty much tightened up. At least the 500E and M3 have 3 ring binders, but the previous owner gets credit for the 500E binder.

maw

PS... for my cars except the 500E, those papers constitute "all records since new" since the cars were still under factory warranty when acquired, and the VMI covers that prepurchase period.

 

[szvook]

Since I also do not do any work myself, I’ve gone as far as having three separate shoeboxes for the records (by dates) from two service shops and one box for any accessories/parts purchased aside from service parts. Since my car will never go up for sale and will be handed down in my family (unless I decide to be buried in it), I haven’t cataloged my receipts and maybe it’s for the better. The accessories/parts box has the fewest receipts, but two receipts for two sets of wheels and tires alone make up for more than I paid for the car. So I’m not sure having tabulated records for me to easily go through and see how much I have put into the car is a good idea. But all that expenditure pales in comparison to enjoying my car. To me, it’s money well spent.

 

[maw1124]

Any time you buy a used car and the owner presents a binder with meticulously arranged repair receipts you dont even have to look at the car. Ive only run into one guy like this buying used cars and I paid his asking price no questions asked. The car was even better than described.

This was my 500E seller. Now it's me. I just created binders for the Allroad and S55 this morning (transferring docs from folders), and it reminded me just how "open checkbook" I have been for these cars.

On the Allroad particularly, I've gone completely overboard. For example, I've done transmission fluid 3 times in the last 35k miles (7 years though), purely out of forgetfulness. SMDH. Coils and plugs, same thing and for what? Hence the need for the binders.

maw

 

[duuder]

I'm so bad at this, I just have receipts and sticky notes for oil changes

 

[LWB250]

One thing the use of closely tracking maintenance on my cars has shown me is how little I've done over the past 2-3 years due to the cut back in driving. On Mrs. Dan's E320/W211 I'm getting pings for an annual oil change instead of one based on mileage interval!

I used to do the binder thing in the past but found it to be too much of a time suck. With having electronic copies of everything plus the spreadsheet that RoadTrip generates for the car I consider it a modern version of the binder setup. I'm not disparaging anyone's efforts who do this, I just don't have the time to devote, that's all. Even if it's electronic, it still has some value when you're marketing a car.

Dan

 

[nocfn]

I keep a paper trail on costs per year per car, but I have to compile as needed. As for when, like an oil change or things of that nature, I search my owner thread for the specifics and take note of when I need to get this done. I do not think we put 15k/year on any of the 3 cars we have combined now that the kids left college. Our community is self contained, so there really isnt much that is more than 10-20 miles away.

 

[bclifton]

This is where I'm ultimately tracking the important things:
- example for my 1987 300D
- example for my 1994 SL320

Not 100% complete (always a WIP) and needs some cleaning. Any services I do myself I capture in MS OneNote and then when I get time I try to organize them and move onto my website.

I have an MS Excel sheet tracking all of the costs though, broken down by car. I basically track mileage and any part purchased or service done by someone that's not me. I put the mileage and date stamps in every so-often so I can try to calculate the cost/year, cost/month, and cost/mile.

 

[gsxr]

I used to do the binder thing in the past but found it to be too much of a time suck. ... I just dont have the time to devote, that's all. Even if its electronic, it still has some value when you're marketing a car.

The last couple of cars I bought came with binders, although not fully organized. Both had kind of a pile of papers stored inside a binder. I started sorting out one of them, using plastic sheet protectors and putting the records in chronological order. Definitely a time suck, I didn't finish the one car, and haven't started the other. I do plan to finish both - uh, eventually. None of my previous vehicle purchases came with binders, only folders with paperwork, and some bargain purchases came with zero records.

I have been keeping paper records in a file folder, in a file cabinet, one hanging folder per car. But since I do almost all DIY repairs, and my part orders typically have parts for multiple different cars, there isn't much that I add besides the occasional tire or battery purchase. Guess I could put copies of the part invoices and highlight which parts are for the particular car, but that seems like work, lol.

Which circles back to my spreadsheet described in post #4. I try to get everything documented electronically, which is very useful for me. And I note the date/miles for the next services in there as well. A spreadsheet isn't ideal for resale, as pessimists may claim it's not proof of work done. But then again, invoices from shops don't really prove anything other than someone's wallet was lightened. And in rare instances, I've seen invoices that appear to be fictitious - high dollar amounts by a selling dealer that is flipping a car. Didn't someone coin a neat phrase for these fictional flipper invoices? @Jlaa?

On the plus side for binders, once you get it set up, it's pretty easy to slide new receipts into the plastic sheet protectors...

 

[Jlaa]

Im so bad at this, I just have receipts and sticky notes for oil changes

Note to self - always demand significant discount from @duuder if ever purchasing a car from him due to personal need to reorganize his chaos.

I used to do the binder thing in the past but found it to be too much of a time suck.

Agree. Hate paper. I pdf everything (with the Genius Scan app for my phone). Then I store it on my network attached server and back it up to another NAS.

This is where Im ultimately tracking the important things:
- example for my 1987 300D
- example for my 1994 SL320

Man @bclifton you are so open-source about your vehicles! I get it - Brave browser and all. Kinda like making a blockchain for your vehicular activities because one could use the wayback machine to do a diff on your "open" journal! BTW I agree with your observations on "too many edge cases" and "problem not worth solving" w.r.t. automated cars.

Which circles back to my spreadsheet described in post #4. I try to get everything documented electronically, which is very useful for me. And I note the date/miles for the next services in there as well. A spreadsheet isnt ideal for resale, as pessimists may claim its not proof of work done. But then again, invoices from shops dont really prove anything other than someones wallet was lightened. And in rare instances, Ive seen invoices that appear to be fictitious - high dollar amounts by a selling dealer that is flipping a car. Didnt someone coin a neat phrase for these fictional flipper invoices? @Jlaa?

I've copied The GSXR™ method of taking copious pictures of everything I do. That way those pictures are proof that the work was done ---- because you can't make those pictures up! (I mean you *could* but man that would be a pain. Maybe not with AI. Oh hell I dunno.) I don't think I made that neat phrase, whatever it was?

So this is my method:

Visicalc* file tracking all activity:


Lotus 123* spreadsheet tracking all purchases of parts - to track inventory and can be cross indexed with usage in previous spreadsheet


Photographic record of all activity, organized by date


Sample of photographs in one of the above folders



* Just kidding guys. I use Excel.

 

[maw1124]

Agree re paper v digital records. A buyer will get a binder plus a drive as not all digital records have been reduced to paper. The binder is more about all the paper accumulated over the past 12 years. These days almost every shop uses the software which sends a PDF of the invoice and lets you pay online. I don't print those. This was about storage of old paper v having it all digitized (the old folders were falling apart).

But I'm no engineer, so no @Jlaa presentation here.

maw

 

[TerryA]

Note to self - always demand significant discount from @duuder if ever purchasing a car from him due to personal need to reorganize his chaos.


Agree. Hate paper. I pdf everything (with the Genius Scan app for my phone). Then I store it on my network attached server and back it up to another NAS.


Man @bclifton you are so open-source about your vehicles! I get it - Brave browser and all. Kinda like making a blockchain for your vehicular activities because one could use the wayback machine to do a diff on your open journal! BTW I agree with your observations on too many edge cases and problem not worth solving w.r.t. automated cars.


Ive copied The GSXR™ method of taking copious pictures of everything I do. That way those pictures are proof that the work was done ---- because you cant make those pictures up! (I mean you *could* but man that would be a pain. Maybe not with AI. Oh hell I dunno.) I dont think I made that neat phrase, whatever it was?

So this is my method:

Visicalc* file tracking all activity:
[ATTACH alt=Screenshot 2023-06-10 at 5.46.13 PM Large.jpeg]168801[/ATTACH]

Lotus 123* spreadsheet tracking all purchases of parts - to track inventory and can be cross indexed with usage in previous spreadsheet
[ATTACH alt=Screenshot 2023-06-10 at 5.47.03 PM.png]168802[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt=Screenshot 2023-06-10 at 5.47.11 PM.png]168803[/ATTACH] [ATTACH alt=Screenshot 2023-06-10 at 5.47.22 PM.png]168804[/ATTACH]

Photographic record of all activity, organized by date
[ATTACH alt=Screenshot 2023-06-10 at 5.47.55 PM Large.jpeg]168805[/ATTACH]

Sample of photographs in one of the above folders
[ATTACH alt=Screenshot 2023-06-10 at 5.48.28 PM Large.jpeg]168806[/ATTACH]


* Just kidding guys. I use Excel.

@Jlaa,

I think you have it covered

All of my receipts and work notes are in a couple of large brown envelopes. That’s It!

 

[195910]

Anyone still do physical documents? Im in the process of transferring mine onto a spreadsheet but I like having a hard copy way more.

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Really nice documentation @socal210 .
I prefer the folder system too, just feels more authentic.

Can't believe how people throw away all the records. I kept everything from my first 500E in a folder (books,invoices, service book, new spare key, copy of swiss registration, 4 1/2 CHF found under the seats). The guy that bought the car from me threw the whole folder away! says it takes too much space in the trunk

 

[ace10]

As a buyer, which would you rather accompany a prospective purchase?




For all you electronic documentarians, how do you handle valuable original docs like a build sheet or something else physical like a data plate?

 

[LWB250]

I still have a file folder where I keep physical goods like build tickets/plates, things like that. There are electronic copies of them in the data, too.

Dan

 

[Jlaa]

As a buyer, which would you rather accompany a prospective purchase?
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I understand your point, but I keep everything, including thousands of photos/pdfs, electronic, for ME…… don’t care about next owner.

 

[gsxr]

I understand your point, but I keep everything, including thousands of photos/pdfs, electronic, for ME…… don’t care about next owner.

Photos DEFINITELY make more sense in electronic form... especially since the originals were likely electronic, unless taken last century with something called "film", IIRC.

 

[maw1124]

I understand your point, but I keep everything, including thousands of photos/pdfs, electronic, for ME…… don’t care about next owner.

Well certainly if you have network attached servers laying around, by all means use them

@gsxr, my 500E binder literally came with a few polaroids photos of the car. Polaroids!! Like the old MI plates, I keep them as memorabilia, along with the original 500E badge.

maw

EDIT… oddly enough, my 500E is the car for which I have the most records but not a VMI. I may see if I can get some dealer to print it for me.

 

[TerryA]

I guess if my car had under 50K miles on it it would be more important to me to be very precise with the data documentation. If I ever get ambitious I could always put everything on Exel but to do it retroactively would be a real PITA.

That said, I think that I have enough proof of upkeep past and forward (I have never lost a receipt or not written down what I have done to my 500E) to impress the next owner some day when and if I ever decide to sell it. It is what it is. The best proof of condition is in the actual physical condition of the car itself.

 

[LWB250]

I guess if my car had under 50K miles on it it would be more important to me to be very precise with the data documentation. If I ever get ambitious I could always put everything on Exel but to do it retroactively would be a real PITA.

That said, I think that I have enough proof of upkeep past and forward (I have never lost a receipt or not written down what I have done to my 500E) to impress the next owner some day when and if I ever decide to sell it. It is what it is. The best proof of condition is in the actual physical condition of the car itself.

Well said.

I think it's fairly easy to get a handle on how well a car has been maintained whether or not the seller has an extensive set of records. Better that they do, of course, but there are other sources of information that can assist establishing provenance, like CarFax, VMIs, etc. The car will often speak for itself, and typically does.

Dan

 

[willard]

For prospective buyer sure lage file binders are MEAN. Truly for our own records, a sreadsheet is more apropriate and readable. I run a spreadsheet for all cars with item, time, odo and cost postions. I have lots of receipts at email but they combine parts for several mercs.
I know in US maintenance records are really valuable when selling a car so taking pics for every action taken can be profitable. I have a "works" folder for each car where I gather "at work" pics but I cannot imagine taking 10 photos of replacing tyres