Claiming full service history when it isn't

gord115

We went to look at a 2008 Suzuki Swift for my wife.In the advertisment for Evans Halshaw(Renault main dealer) in Sheffield it claimed the car had done only 9000 mile and was full service history.
When we checked the service history book and it had never been serviced from new!
When I questioned this with the salesman he looked a bit sheepish then said "I'll go and check"
He reappeared less than a minute later saying it had been serviced and was on their system and some one had forgot to stamp the book(twice).
If this was the case why would some one have a brand new Suzuki serviced at a Renault dealership,and if it wasn't serviced, as I suspect,there would be no way to prove this very low mileage was correct.
I also suspect that the service book may now mysteriously get stamped up.
Obviously we walked away but it makes my blood boil that someone could believe this is a genuine car,and buy it.
Surely this is false advertising.

rev_henry

What do you expect? Its a car dealership! One would hope most people would see that something wasn't quite right if it was apparently serviced from new there.

attila_

Does anyone not say a car has FSH these days? It's lost its significance and meaningless as the masses have understood this is the only thing to look out for when buying a new car...stamps. Unfortunately they mean little unless you check exactly what was done in each service.

bengalknights

I used to get my seat serviced at a skoda dealer and get my lexus serviced at a toyota dealer.So it could be that the dealer originally sold the car and the owner had it serviced with them although it would explain the missing stamps

rev_henry

bengalknights wrote: »

I used to get my seat serviced at a skoda dealer and get my lexus serviced at a toyota dealer.So it could be that the dealer originally sold the car and the owner had it serviced with them although it would explain the missing stamps

But what you did has an obvious explanation. Afaik Renault and Suzuki have nothing to do with each other...

natlol

To be fair... our cars are meticulously maintained and are serviced more often then they should be but if you look in the book you will see few stamps because I always forget about the book.. luckily I keep the receipts.

iolanthe07

I understand that you can buy fake receipts and stamped-up books on e-bay. The only way to be really sure is to plug the car into a dealership computer.

Strider590

They just forgot to fill out the stamps when they got hold of the car, usually they fill in all the missing stamps even if the car has never been serviced in it's life... Benefit of being a main dealer.

harveybobbles

On the flip side of the coin - we often get customers in telling us how good their beloved PX is and how wonderful it is to drive. Then it turns out to be a turd.

Kilty_2

My dad's car has 1 stamp in the book at 6 years old (he's owned it since a year old or so) despite having been serviced at a main dealer on time every time - they just don't stamp the book unless you tell them to afterwards and he doesn't bother.

Kilty_2

Strider590 wrote: »

They just forgot to fill out the stamps when they got hold of the car, usually they fill in all the missing stamps even if the car has never been serviced in it's life... Benefit of being a main dealer.

Yes, because falsifying a service history is worth the extra £500 or so they'd get for the car....