Industry estimates put the premium at 10–20% over the same car with no documentation. On a £12,000 car that's £1,200–£2,400 — typically far more than the cost of recovering a digital service report (£9.99) and getting the car serviced before sale.

Usually yes — a recent service entry on the report removes a common buyer objection ("when was it last serviced?") and shifts the conversation to price. Even a basic interim service is worth it on a car that's been sitting between services.

A few days before listing is enough. Run the service history check, download the PDF, and have it ready to send before your first enquiry comes in. Marketplace messages often arrive within hours of going live, and being slow to respond loses sales.

Manufacturer records only cover work done at UK franchised dealers. If your car was serviced at independents, gather their invoices and service receipts as supplementary evidence. The MOT history (which we include) covers any garage that did an MOT and helps fill the gap.

On lower-value cars the discount for missing documentation is smaller in pounds but larger in percentage — buyers expect history to be patchy on older cars. A digital report still helps the listing stand out and adds credibility, especially on cars sold to first-time buyers.