October 2011

Full service history can add £1,500 to a car’s value

A full service history can add 26 % to the value of a car, according to research commissioned by Kwik Fit.

With the average used car selling for £5,500, the findings indicate that a fully stamped service book could be worth up to £1,500 - over £10bn to the used car market annually.

The research also highlights that the gap between the perceived benefit of a franchised dealer over an independent servicing centre is closing with 32 per cent of drivers saying they place the same value on a service history from an independent garage as they do from a main dealer.

The survey was carried out by ICM, an independent research company, amongst a nationally representative sample of 2,026 UK adults.

“It’s accepted that a fully stamped service book will increase the re-sale value of a car but this research has been able to put a figure on it: £1,500 is a significant number and makes a big difference to the value of a car when an owner comes to sell,” said David White, customer services director at Kwik Fit.

“Motorists with one or two stamps missing should bear in mind that some services will still carry a premium over none at all, particularly if they’ve been carried out more recently.”

Kwik Fit is the UK’s leading specialist retailer of batteries, tyres and exhausts.