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Do service records affect resale value?

4K views 20 replies 18 participants last post by  kytrailhawk 
#1 · (Edited)
Dunx made a very interesting point in one of the other threads. Do service records such as what you would find on Carfax affect the resale value of your Cherokee?

I never thought of that issue, and it is an interesting point. If someone looks at the Carfax records for my Trailhawk, are they going to see that my transmission was replaced twice, plus all the other visits to the dealer to fix all the other problems that I've had? I can tell you that if all the records are there it would scare the crap out of me as a potential used car buyer. It's great that all the work has been done under warranty, but At some point I will be selling or trading the Trailhawk.

When my transmission was being replaced for the second time, I briefly discussed trading in my Trailhawk. I was shocked at how little the dealer was willing to offer me. He told me that resale values have suffered, particularly with the 2014's, because of all the negative publicity about the transmission problems. He didn't mention the service history of my vehicle, but now I'm wondering if part of the issue with the resale value is because I've had a long list of repairs, including repeated visits to the dealer for transmission issues before they replaced the transmission the first time.

Anyone have any insight into this?
 
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#4 ·
i would think that a new transmission/ new engine would bring up a value of a vehicle though. new mechanical parts with less miles should be better than a oem part that has high miles imo
that's an interesting comment. I guess it depends on the exact situation. If I were looking at vehicles with 10,000 miles on them, I think I might be afraid of one that already had to have a new engine. But to your point, if they had 100,000 miles on them, the new engine might be appealing.
 
#3 ·
When selling a used car having a thorough listing of periodic maintenance is always good, but I do think an extensive vehicle history of major repairs is bad. There is a lot of misinformation out there but any dealer can get your Jeep authorized repairs. I would think selling to a private party would be much better. It sounds obvious that your dealer is concerned about how much service has been done to the vehicle.


What shall we have? An '82 Margaux! Is it any good? Good....?, It will make you believe in God!
 
#6 ·
I was able to break even when I did the trade in. Was I happy not really but at least I was no worse off then when I started. I watched the dealers used car site and saw when they put it up for sale after fixing the rear end. They marked it up $3k over the trade value and a week later it was gone from their site. So they either traded it or sold it. But I did get right at what KBB had for trade in value even in its broken condition.
 
#7 · (Edited)
In my opinion, service records are a factor, but not the only factor. Service records are part of the "profile" I compose about a pre-owned vehicle I'm interested in.

I recently bought my Latitude pre-owned. I considered only vehicles that had Carfax or some other service summary available. I avoided any vehicles that had collision repairs in their reports or had been taken out of fleet or rental service. My KL's Carfax showed that it had had a couple of recall services done and had some accessories added. I was actually glad to see the recall services; this told me that the vehicle had been brought up to top-level status. When I went to physically inspect my Jeep, I found it in showroom-new condition. No signs of wear, not even any stone chips in the front! To my mind, the service records backed up my visual evaluation of the KL.

Multiple transmission replacements play into the bad press that has plagued the KL, but as a potential buyer, I would rather know that the repairs have been done. A vehicle with no recorded history is a "pig in a poke."

A vehicle with a long list of minor repairs or adjustments could be an indication that the previous owner was "fussy." This could actually be a selling point. I would want a vehicle that had previously belonged to an owner who wanted everything "perfect." This is a much more desirable history than one in which the previous owner let everything "slide."
 
#8 ·
Much to my wife's chagrin, in my earlier years I was an avid car trader. I saw something shiny and had to have it. Fortunately, as I've got older, I've wised up a bit and prefer to keep my money although the urge is still there. I keep folders of every service done on every vehicle, every part bought and every time it goes to the shop and not once has external service records ever come into play when trading. Pretty much if it's not in their system, they don't care or so has been my experience. Besides, as mentioned above, dealerships are crooks trying to squeeze every penny out of your pocket possible. I suspect they would not want proof that something has been maintained as that would go against their efforts.

Private sales is a different story. Usually I overwhelm the potential buyer with information.
 
#11 ·
Lol in that case I'm in trouble. In the shop now for my second PTU and I already had the transmission replaced, water pump, alternator, rear wheel sensor twice then finally the rear hub assembly. Still love it but glad for the lifetime warranty.
 
#12 ·
If its a continual, on going issue with repairs, I'd say yes.
But as time goes on especially with a new vehicle, repairs should taper off to nothing.
 
#13 ·
This seems a good topic of discussion. As others have mentioned it's a bit of a grey area - it's not necessarily the number of repairs, but the particular pattern of them - and that can indicate different things. Either a potential problem, or an owner who is particularly good at maintaining his car. Is the major repair before the expected service life of the part, or is it instead a clue the the owner has tried to restore the vehicle to a more like-new status?

To my mind, the trade-in value of a vehicle has quite a bit going on beneath the radar that is hard to quantify. Local availability and selection, the dealer's own inventory and needs, etc. My own experience is limited, but I would think the dealer as a business isn't going to necessarily tell the whole story behind the calculation - that's just in their own interest.

Another thing that occurs to me is that the membership on here has a bit of selection-bias built into it. People who bother to read up on their cars, repair them, modify them, go in public dedicated forums, ect, are a minority of the ownership base. Is the average person going out to buy a used car going to drill down into the details on that level?
 
#14 ·
Is the average person going out to buy a used car going to drill down into the details on that level?
I was thinking of an average (non enthusiast) person who might be looking for a vehicle on something like Autotrader.com and might click on the Carfax button, and if they see the number of times I've had to return to the dealer for repairs (and especially if they notice the transmission was replaced twice) might assume that it's a lemon and move on to the next listing. And also that most people shopping for a used Trailhawk are going to have some enthusiast tendencies. Of course that's just speculation.
 
#16 ·
Oh yeah they do!

As someone who traded their Cherokee in for oil consumption problems back in December I can tell you they will try and lower your trade for any reason. Luckily I bought a full CarFax before trading mine in to see what I was going up against. To my benefit the dealer listed all oil problems and consumption tests as generic "service appointments". I did have to scrape all the red sealant goop off my oil cap though (dead ringer for a consumption test).

In the end I knew by going into a different dealer network and knowing my CarFax, that I had some negotiation room on the trade.

Some advice. Don't just know the KBB value, but also the NADA and BlackBook values. If you also know what a similarly priced (similar mileage) model is going for on their lot, you can easily bargain your way up on the trade.
 
#19 ·
I believe transmissions replaced by Jeep under warranty are not really "new." I got a replacement and, consistent with language in warranty, read description of it in dealer's printout to label it as used. Seems likely to me they are rebuilding/repairing the transmissions which have serious problems and using them to replace ones that are failing. I had a transmission replaced at about 2,000 miles. Would not surprise me a bit if my "new" transmission has more miles on it than my car does.
 
#20 ·
I would say it doesn't affect in the least. Never once has my autos service records been asked for or questioned, and washing and detailing a vehicle MAY increase interest in a vehicle, but certainly won't increase its value. Trade ins are tools for negotiation anyhow, and showing that you changed the oil religiously for the last 100k miles means squat to the dealer who's just gonna slap some armorall on and mark the price up 30%.
 
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