Selling your car? A service history buyers can trust

What makes a service history credible#

“Fully serviced” means nothing without paperwork. A history convinces when every job has a few things the buyer can check:

• The date and the mileage when the car went into the garage.
• Who did the work: the shop's name, so it can be called.
• What was done: parts and labour line by line, not just “service”.
• The VIN or the registration number on the invoice, so the job is tied to this car.
• Continuity: jobs at intervals close to those in the service book, with no gaps of several years.

A gap isn't necessarily a bad sign: maybe you changed the oil yourself or lost an invoice. Say so. Buyers forgive a gap that's explained, not one that's hidden.

As a seller: what to prepare before you advertise#

1. Gather the invoices and estimates in date order, plus the service book if the car has one.
2. Have the CIV ready. According to RAR, OG 78/2000 requires the last owner to hand it over to the buyer.
3. Write down what needs fixing and say so in the listing or the first conversation.
4. Check whether the car has an open recall campaign and get it done before the sale.
5. Let the buyer take the car to a garage of their choice. A seller who refuses loses more buyers than they win.

The RAR Auto-Pass certificate#

Since December 2024, the Romanian Automotive Register (RAR, Registrul Auto Român) has issued the RAR Auto-Pass certificate, online only, by VIN. Both the seller and the buyer can request it, without taking the car to RAR. According to RAR, it contains:

• the odometer readings taken at ITP (roadworthiness test) stations or RAR offices the car has been to;
• repairs done in authorised workshops, including those after serious accidents that affected the steering, brakes, structure or safety components;
• periodic inspections and the manufacturer's recall campaigns.

RAR says the database fills up as the car goes through workshops, ITP stations and RAR offices, so a car recently brought in from another country may have little on it. As a seller, you can request it yourself and show it to buyers: it's the simplest way to show you have nothing to hide.

As a buyer: how to read a service history#

• Mileage rises with the dates. Put the jobs in order and check that no newer invoice shows less mileage than an older one.
• The pace is plausible. Work out the kilometres per year between jobs and see if they match what the seller says about how the car was used.
• The VIN matches on the invoices, the registration certificate (talon) and the CIV.
• The garage exists. Call one of them and ask whether they remember the car or have the job on record.
• Big jobs the car should have had at its age and mileage, such as the timing belt kit, are in the history or not.

Don't buy a car without a CIV, or with a promise that the papers “will follow”. RAR advises avoiding such cars: you may not be able to register it.

Signs the mileage has been rolled back#

No single sign proves the odometer was tampered with. Together, though, they tell you when to ask questions or walk away:

• Wear doesn't match the mileage: a shiny steering wheel, worn gear knob and pedals, a sagging driver's seat on a low-mileage car.
• Mileage drops from one invoice, ITP or service sticker to the next.
• The history is missing exactly in the years when the car was imported or changed hands several times.
• Very low mileage for its age, with no believable explanation.
• The seller is in a hurry or won't let you take the car to a garage.

A pre-purchase check at a garage#

An hour at an independent garage you choose can save you an expensive repair. Tell the mechanic you want a pre-purchase check and ask them to look at:

1. the faults stored by the car's computers, with a diagnostic check;
2. brakes, suspension, steering and tyres;
3. oil or coolant leaks, exhaust smoke, engine noises;
4. the bodywork: signs of repairs, colour differences, rust;
5. where possible, the mileage stored in other modules of the car, compared with the dashboard.

The CariX car passport#

In your free driver account, each car has a “Car passport”: the history of jobs recorded by the garages that work with CariX, which you can show to a buyer.

• Jobs you can't edit: the garage that did the work records it, with the date, parts, labour and mileage. That's what gives it weight with a buyer.
• “Mileage history”: mileage confirmed by garages, kept apart from the mileage you declare. If a newer record shows less mileage than an older one, the warning “Warning: the mileage goes down” appears, on the public page too. It may be a typo or a rolled-back odometer: CariX doesn't inspect the car, it only shows the mismatch.
• A public link you can switch off at any time: turn it on when you sell, put it in the listing and turn it off after the sale. People with the link see the jobs, make, model and year; they don't see your name, phone or email, and the plate and VIN are partly hidden. With “New link”, the old link stops working.
• PDF: download the history and send or print it. Your own PDF includes the full plate and VIN.

The honest limit: the passport only shows jobs recorded in CariX. For work done at other garages, keep the invoices listed above.