How to describe your car’s service history when selling

Service history helps our team understand how a car has been maintained, but it is not an all-or-nothing test. A stamped book, digital record, workshop invoices and receipts can each tell part of the story. If something is missing, describe the gap rather than guessing.

The Gladius enquiry form asks you to choose “Full history”, “Part history” or “None / not sure”. This guide explains how to choose the answer that best matches the evidence available to you.

Build a five-line service-history summary

Start with a short summary that separates the coverage, latest work, supporting records and anything uncertain:

1. Coverage: choose full, part or none / not sure from the records you can verify.
2. Latest service: give its date, recorded mileage and the work shown on the record.
3. Evidence: list the stamped book, digital entries, invoices or receipts currently available.
4. Gaps and uncertainty: identify missing periods, inaccessible digital records or work remembered without paperwork.
5. Significant work and recommendations: separate completed maintenance from advice or work that remains outstanding.

For example: “Part history. Stamped book covers 2017 to 2021. Invoices show services at 48,220 miles in May 2024 and 61,240 miles in April 2026; the April invoice lists oil and filter. Timing-belt invoice dated June 2024 is available. No service record found for 2022 or 2023. Garage advised rear tyres will need replacing; not completed. Current mileage is 64,870.” This is an illustrative summary, not a customer case or a promise about the car's future condition.

What counts as service-history evidence?

Useful records may be held in more than one place:

• A service book with dated stamps and recorded mileages.
• A manufacturer or authorised-workshop digital service record.
• Itemised invoices from garages or mobile mechanics.
• Receipts for parts and fluids where maintenance was completed by the owner.
• Written records of major completed work, such as a timing-belt change, gearbox service or hybrid-system check.

A handbook pack on its own is not proof that services were completed. Likewise, an MOT history records statutory test results and mileages, not routine servicing. Use the official GOV.UK MOT-history service to check the recorded test timeline, but describe the separate maintenance records you actually hold.

When to choose “Full history”

Choose full history when the available records cover the car’s servicing over its life without a known unexplained gap. The evidence does not have to be a single paper book: a continuous digital record, or a combination of a book and invoices, may provide the history.

Before selecting it, look for dates and mileages rather than counting stamps. If you know a scheduled service is missing, or a long period has no supporting record, “Part history” is the clearer answer.

When “Part history” is more accurate

Part history is appropriate when some genuine records are available but they do not cover the whole timeline. This can include a missing early service book, several documented recent services after an earlier gap, or invoices for major maintenance without every routine service.

A concise explanation is useful: “Invoices from 2021 onwards; no earlier book”, “digital record shows four services but the 2023 service is not listed”, or “stamped book to 52,000 miles, then two invoices at 68,000 and 79,000 miles”.

Choose “None / not sure” if the records cannot be verified

Select none or not sure when you have no service records, cannot access a digital history, or do not know whether the available paperwork belongs to the car. You can still tell us about maintenance you genuinely remember, but distinguish memory from written evidence.

Do not turn an uncertain recollection into an exact date or mileage. “Oil and filter changed last year, but I no longer have the invoice” is clearer than presenting the car as having a complete documented history.

How to describe a digital service history

State where the digital record is held and what you can currently see. For example: “Manufacturer app shows services in 2022, 2024 and 2026” or “main-dealer history is available, but I have not yet obtained a printout.”

If access depends on an owner account, arrange a download, printout or workshop summary where available. Do not share an account password. Before handover, remove your personal account and connected-car access using the steps in our personal-data guide; keep any vehicle-linked service record that is intended to stay with the car.

Separate routine servicing, repairs and recommendations

A service, a repair and an inspection recommendation are different. Say what was actually completed and what remains outstanding.

• Completed service: “Annual service completed at 61,240 miles; invoice available.”
• Completed repair: “Front brake discs and pads replaced in March 2026.”
• Recommendation only: “Garage advised that rear tyres will need replacing soon; no work booked.”
• Unconfirmed issue: “Service invoice notes an oil leak for investigation; no diagnosis yet.”

Do not describe recommended work as completed, and do not describe a routine service as evidence that an unrelated fault has been repaired.

Check dates and mileages for inconsistencies

Compare the current odometer, service records and official MOT mileages. A small difference can simply reflect when each record was made, but a lower later mileage, a replacement instrument cluster or a record for another registration needs an explanation.

Enter the mileage currently displayed and tell us about any discrepancy you know of. Our higher-mileage guide has examples for explaining a cluster replacement, miles-versus-kilometres issue or inconsistent MOT entry without changing the figures.

Check that each record belongs to the car

Match the registration number or vehicle identification details shown on each record to the car, allowing for a documented private-number change. Look for a sensible date-and-mileage sequence and keep any invoice that explains a registration change, replacement instrument cluster or corrected entry.

If a page appears to belong to another vehicle, leave it out of the claimed history and explain the uncertainty. Do not alter a date, mileage or workshop entry to make the timeline look complete.

If the history changes after your enquiry

Tell the team if you find another service invoice, obtain a digital printout, complete a service or discover that a record does not belong to the car after submitting the enquiry. Do this before accepting the offer. If you have already accepted, explain the change before collection or a forecourt appointment. Do not create a duplicate enquiry just to replace the first one.

Keep personal information out of the initial photos

You do not need to upload service invoices with your first enquiry. The seven required image spaces are for the front, rear, left side, right side, odometer, front seats and rear seats; the optional eighth image is for damage or another useful vehicle detail.

Keep names, home addresses, phone numbers, payment details, driving licences and the V5C out of vehicle photographs. Tell us which records are available, keep the originals together and have them ready if you later accept an offer.

Service-history enquiry checklist

• Choose full, part or none / not sure based on the records you can verify.
• Give the date and mileage of the most recent service if known.
• State whether records are in a book, digital system, invoices or a mixture.
• Explain gaps briefly and accurately.
• Build a five-line summary covering the latest service, evidence, gaps and significant work.
• List significant completed maintenance with evidence where available.
• Separate completed work from recommendations and known faults.
• Disclose any mileage or document inconsistency rather than guessing.
• Keep personal documents out of the initial image uploads.

How Gladius uses these details

Our team reviews the registration, mileage, condition, history, faults and photographs together, then sends a personally prepared offer by text and email. There is no instant automated valuation. You can accept or reject the secure offer online within four days.

The offered price is guaranteed provided the car matches the description in the initial enquiry. If you accept, we call within 24 hours to arrange free nationwide collection at an agreed time or a forecourt appointment. Payment is made instantly once the sale is agreed, with no admin or transaction fees.

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