Do you keep a logbook of your car?

[Trakrat]

I'm just curious what everyone uses to document the miles, service, etc... done on their cars.

I'd like to start logging the service, mileage, and any other work done... or even driven.

Do you use a spreadsheet, word doc, or keep a notebook/logbook in the car to document your mileage?

What method works best that would provide a good buying experience when its time to sell my car???

[matthepcat]

I keep a log in the glove box in a small spiral note pad. I keep a running log of cost on an excel spreadsheet. When you buy a car, there is somthing nice about a hand written log of maintenance and upgrades.

['76 911S 3.0]

I keep a hard back notebook in the driver's door pocket and record all mileage, oil change dates, trans fluid change dates, tire rotations, etc....

I also have ECU logs stored on a USB drive and every other drive will pull the data and run it through an AEM Data template I created that looks for any abnormal conditions such as high cylinder head and oil temps, low oil pressure, etc and reports the duration among other things.

Here is a screenshot of the alarm page:

[Scbrindley]

Yes. I have a book I keep in the car documenting everything from service to fuel. That's right, I've documented ever single tank of gas in the car. Might be a little overkill....but it has created good habits.

There's an old Car Talk episode where someone called in with something similar....called it the SLB (stupid little book).

My practice was inherited from my father who taught me this when I turned 16. He learned his habit from his father who was a Naval Aviator and kept very detailed records.

We recently sold our old family sedan, '93 Acura Legend, which had ever single tank of gas logged since new....over 175k miles worth!

[GH85Carrera]

Not really. I do the vast majority of work myself. I have a on going list of stuff I have done on my 911 in the notes section of my phone. I change the oil and the brake fluid every year. If there is some item that needs attention, I just fix it and keep on driving. I keep the emails I get from Pelican when I place an order. It lists the parts I have bought. Likely there is no record of replacing a light bulb or tons of minor tinkering. After 22 years of ownership there is not likely a single part or system on the car I have not touched.

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by '76 911S 3.0

I also have ECU logs stored on a USB drive

How are you getting ECU logs??? I'm not aware of any way to do this on a 30+ year old car...

[sugarwood]

I just log any maintenance service done in a Google Doc.
Date, Miles, Cost, Description

Tracking each fill up is OCD pointless.

[Jdub]

I use an Excel spreadsheet for this purpose. It is really a godsend and on sale of the car (God forbid!) it will clearly lay out the hard work you put into the car.

[theiceman]

I do all the work myself. I designed my own " service order " that shows parts/ cost milage and date. Every time I do work on it I fill out my work order with the information and print out a copy and put it in my file in case I ever sell it ( ha ) . lately I have been taking pics of the new parts I put in or of the work completed and print that out too.
When I did my engine rebuild I put all the photos I took o a cd and put them with the service order.

[speedster911]

Small notebook in each car. I do not log gas, I do track everything I do myself( oil changes, filters, spark-plugs, new carpet, tires etc) I also have a separate three ring binder which contains receipts, smog checks etc.for each car. Also keep score sheets if I show car in PCA concourse.

I do not plan on selling my cars, but if I do, I think a potential new owner will have a better understanding of the car and a nice log of maintenance history.

[shadowjack1]

I keep a detailed log of all maint. on my car along with receipts and order forms to back up my work and parts.
On my SC I kept a complete log book even every tank of gas.

['76 911S 3.0]

Originally Posted by Trakrat

How are you getting ECU logs??? I'm not aware of any way to do this on a 30+ year old car...

Through the use of an external datalogger.

[Tremelune]

Every time I buy a part, I save the invoice as a file on my computer (save as PDF, take a screenshot, take picture of a printout). Every time I touch the car, a line gets added to a Google Docs spreadsheet with date and mileage. It usually references an invoice number.

If I kept track of the cost of things, I wouldn't be able to convince myself that I'm saving money over a 991...

I'm also interested in a data logger that plugs into 20th century ECUs...

[Trakrat]

Originally Posted by '76 911S 3.0

Through the use of an external datalogger.

I'm going to have to do some searching in the forums or create a new thread about this.

I need to send Steve Wong some data on my AFR so that he can custom tune my chip for me.

[shawn908]

What has worked for me, but I don't recommend is I shred all receipts and records so my CFO does not locate and seek explanations.

[NYNick]

um, no.

[Trackrash]

For about the last dozen years I've kept all my receipts. Except gas of course.

I use a 3 ring binder and it is getting full.

[914Ravi911]

I just tried an iPhone app called Gas Cubby free track fuel for our trip to Spokane. I am pretty impressed with it. It gives you avg. MPG and gas mileage between fill ups.

[tirwin]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Not really. I do the vast majority of work myself. I have a on going list of stuff I have done on my 911 in the notes section of my phone. I change the oil and the brake fluid every year. If there is some item that needs attention, I just fix it and keep on driving. I keep the emails I get from Pelican when I place an order. It lists the parts I have bought. Likely there is no record of replacing a light bulb or tons of minor tinkering. After 22 years of ownership there is not likely a single part or system on the car I have not touched.

Thank goodness for Glen!

I was starting to develop an inferiority complex.

I should be better at this than I am in terms of recording things. But I'm not.

I have two files in a drawer in my office. One is all of the records from previous owners that I have. The other one is every receipt for everything I've done or bought.

Outside of the 911, I am pretty much paperless. I have a document scanner in my office and I have shortcuts for all the cars. I just click on each one and scan whatever it is for each car. Receipts for tires, oil changes, parts, whatever... they are all scanned and then I toss the paper copy.

I just had a bad experience with an oil change place that damaged my wife's car. Now I think I'm pretty much done with letting anyone touch my cars again unless it is something I really can't do. That means I need to get better about logging oil changes and such.

One thing I just discovered recently is that Car Fax ties into databases with oil change places and dealerships. I just bought a car a few months ago and the Car Fax had every service that had ever been done by the dealership on the report. Never seen that before. It makes me wonder if servicing my own cars will be seen as a negative in the future by potential buyers if/when I go to sell one day.

When I was in the Army back in the '70's I started keeping a log on maintenance items, much like the logbooks required for all Army equipment, and that expanded to include very tank of gas. Each car since then has had a Lotus/Excel spreadsheet that links to a file with all the paper records. People who bought several of my cars were impressed by this, and it helped make sales. The vehicle I owned for the most miles was a '91 Honda Accord with 189000. The guy who bought the car didn't even look at the car before he handed me a wad of cash.