DIY oil change, proof of maintenance, warrantee, etc.

[mschuep]

So, as you may have guessed from the title, I am looking for a concrete way to keep a record of how I do my own simple maintenance on a relatively new car I own. I have a 100k mile powertrain and electrical warrantee that I would like to keep just in case of problems.

So far, I have been back to the dealer at 5k and 10k for service, and not satisfied. Both times my oil was overfilled, and the last time they also overinflated my tires by about 10psi. I don't want to go back to that dealer (or another one) until about 30k miles when there is some real work required per the manual (besides oil / oil filter / air filter / etc.) Also, the thought of taking my car to a jiffy lube makes me want to puke.

I can easily do the simple maintenance, correctly and for a fraction of the cost. For all my cars I always keep track of the maintenance I do (or have done for me) in a bank/date book and also keep the reciepts. But, if something went wrong and push came to shove, would that be enough proof?

Playing devils advocate, I could see how a company or lawyer might argue something like 'Just because you purchased the oil and oil filter and wrote down the mileage and date, doesn't necessarily mean that you did the specified work to the car at that time, nor does it mean that you were competent to do so, or did the work correctly.'

Thoughts? Does this make sense or am I just a paranoid sissyman with a precious warrantee?

[onewhippedpuppy]

I've always been told to keep receipts for the oil filter and oil. They are not allowed to deny your warranty claims just because you did simple maintenance. Any claims that you did not change your oil at proper intervals can be refuted by an oil analysis. Be certain you use OEM filters and the recomended oil.

[Tobra]

Keep a written log, in your owner's manual perhaps

[id10t]

'Just because you purchased the oil and oil filter and wrote down the mileage and date, doesn't necessarily mean that you did the specified work to the car at that time, nor does it mean that you were competent to do so, or did the work correctly.'

I've seen this said about dealership service places, jiffy lube, etc. as well...