Keeping Better Records

In the past, I haven't been very good about keeping track of work done with my cars. However, I have been better with the SV650. I have kept all of my receipts since I have purchased it (not including gasoline).

Anyway, tonight I purchased a composition book. I have an overview page where I detailed the purchase: Price paid, mileage, and date.

From then on I enter entries like any journal. Date, mileage, mileage since ownership, and mileage since the last service of that type, if any. I jot down anything about the service that may help me in the future, and staple in my receipts. The motorcycle has a lot of service intervals it seems, so it helps me keep track of them a lot easier.

As I keep up with this, what other information should I include that will help me? I hate to think in terms of selling it, since I have already passed the point of do not recoup, but what can help the buyer know that it was taken care of?

What type of phone do you have? Lots of applications on smartphones of every flavor do similar.

I do a combination of filing receipts and tracking miles in an Excel spreadsheet tab that is part of my main budgeting workbook. When I buy a part, I write down the mileage when the part is installed on the receipt before filing it. I have spreadsheet tabs for all of my cars, current and past. Mainly to track fuel mileage, but I add notes for service work.

I have the best records for my '03 TDI since I bought it new. I can go back and look at every time I've touched that car, from major service (timing belts) to normal maintenance (oil changes) to normal wear items (like light bulbs and wiper blades).

If not a smartphone, I've been using google spreadsheet's to track my vehicle maintenance, mileage et al. Very handy!

Nathan

i keep an excel spreadsheet for every vehicle, have been doing so since my first Challenge build ten years ago. prior to that, i kept receipts for big ticket items but never kept track of oil changes, tire rotations, etc. in addition to the excel spreadsheet which includes date, mileage, description, invoice numbers, and comments, i keep the paper receipts for parts and invoices for services that i don't DIY. every vehicle has a folder in my big steelcase filing cabinet. i'm old-school like that.

I keep a logbook in the glove compartment of all of my vehicles. Whenever I perform any sort of repair work or maintenance items on a vehicle I record the date, mileage, and action(s) performed. I usually don’t keep the receipts, unless a 3rd party performs the work. I have never tried to keep a spreadsheet of the work performed or total costs. A grand total number may end up scaring me!

I figure the logbook is the best method since it is always in the car, easy to update, and easy to show others. I imagine it would be a pain when selling a car to show a prospective buyer your excel spreadsheet tables or smart phone maintenance app. Just remember that spreadsheets and apps are not of much value to a prospective buyer if they are unable to add future items to the established records.

Yeah, I used to have little mini-composition logbooks on the older cars, but they're all gone. Then when I got my Palm I wrote a really nice thinkDB database app for it that had all the information in it.

Of course now that I've been assimilated by the iPhone that database doesn't work (I'd still be using the Palm, frankly, if Palm had not abandoned us Mac users). I've been looking for some app store log books but haven't found any I really love. If I'm going to bother transcribing all that back information out of the old Palm, I will most likely go with Excel on my computer, and just use Docs To Go to view it on the handheld.

It seems to me the most important thing is sticking with a system. This is one of my problems with platform-specific apps that don't always easily transfer if you change platforms. My g/f used a Pocket PC app for a Dell PDA but it didn't trasnfer to her Droid so all of that info is basically gone. Excel, while not quite as portable, is pretty much universal. I've been using/updating the same spreadsheet file since 2001.

What about this: http://appcubby.com/gas/

I found it via a Google search. I use Android so I can't actually say if/how well it works.

I'm super old-school. I keep all of the physical invoices/receipts and file them chronologically in a manila folder. If I'm DIY'ing the job I will write the mileage on the receipt, the shop invoices already have it.

If you guys are using Excel...sounds like a great opportunity to use Google Docs. Always there, on the web.

It's cool to hear some modern ways to keep up with everything. I prefer paper, though, because I don't have to clean my hands to write in it. Plus, I just prefer to write than type if I can. Considering all of the typing that I do for school, it feels like a luxury to physically write something.

I throw everything in an old beer box: receipts, log book, owners manual, repair manual, catalogs, even small parts and keep it on the shelf. Anytime I need something for that vehicle I just pull out the box. Better than tracking down each item and it's easy to carry from the house to the garage.

I have one of these, and I realize there's no photo: https://shop.hagerty.com/ps-49-2-motoring-journalbradd-to-your-cars-provenance-with-this-leather-bound-journal.aspx

Andy gave it to me, and it works well.

Xceler8x wrote: If you guys are using Excel...sounds like a great opportunity to use Google Docs. Always there, on the web.

Huh? I'm afraid I will never consider "always there" and "on the web" to be two phrases that should go together.

Hmmm... as a pet project to learn the API I just started coding one up for the Android platform. Grand plans are to store records for multiple vehicles by type of event (repair vs gas, etc) so you can run reports to sum costs. I'd also optionally include a pic of the receipt(s) taken right from the phone. I am sure there are others available for free download but... it gives me something to do on the plane rides and in hotel rooms.

It will be free sometime this month or next and you will certainly get what you paid for

Just for MPG stuff, I like Fuelly. http://www.fuelly.com/

Ian F wrote:

Xceler8x wrote: If you guys are using Excel...sounds like a great opportunity to use Google Docs. Always there, on the web.

Huh? I'm afraid I will never consider "always there" and "on the web" to be two phrases that should go together.

Take a "computer based reporting" class like I did for my Journalism degree. You will quickly get over any fears about your information actually being private, because it isn't.