Published 2026-09-28
Separate paper you can hold from work nobody can prove, then start your own log.
Keeping a history on a car you already own is one guide. This one is the hour before you buy. You are not writing the past. You are deciding what of the past you believe.
A complete-looking timeline with no invoices is weaker than a short pile of real bills and an honest gap.
01
A dealer printout or a verbal list is a claim. Shop invoices, inspection certificates, and a stamped book you can photograph are evidence. Photograph what you are allowed to photograph.
02
Look for oil, brakes, tires, timing belt or chain work if the engine has a belt, and anything expensive. Note years with nothing. That empty year is part of the history.
03
Clutch done, never crashed, always serviced at the dealer: if there is no paper, it stays a seller statement. You may write it in a note marked unverified after you buy. You should not use it to skip an inspection.
04
Odometer, date, and a pre-purchase inspection if you have the report. From then on the history is yours. The old papers stay attached as source, not as a promise.
A pre-purchase inspection describes the car on that day. Log it as an inspection if you keep the report. It does not mean oil was changed or brakes were replaced.
The guide on keeping service history is the long version. RPMBase is a private timeline, not a listing for the next buyer. Keep the original invoices anyway.
Better than nothing if you can read the plate, the date, and the shop. Still ask for files you can keep. A photo in a chat thread disappears.
A gap is information, not an automatic no. Price it, inspect it, and do not fill the gap with work you cannot source.
