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Bought my first car which is a used 2010 EXL V6 with 70K miles on it. It drove smooth and hasn't got significant rust. Under the hood was cleaned well. All fluids(except power steering fluid) are at mid levels. Dealer's inspection report said everything was fine, except for tire tread related imbalance and so, I decided to buy it given that the used car market is crazy hot.
Upon reading more about cars I found that I should have looked at previous service records. Unfortunately the car was bought by then and when I look at the Carfax it doesn't show much of a maintenance/service history. I feel sad that I didn't really vet the Carfax thoroughly and just relied on personal inspection of the car.
TL;DR of history:
5/2010 - pre-delivery inspection and bought
6/2010 - 26mi - Dealer service ( vehicle washed/detailed ) and sold ( perhaps just a post dated update )
6/2011 - 3.5K - Third party service ( oil and filter changed, oil pan drain plug replaced )
8/11/2012 - 8K - same Third party service ( oil and filter changed, oil pan drain plug replaced )
8/28/2012 - 8.15K - Mini dealer serviced (Maintenance inspection completed, Engine checked, washed/detailed)
8/29/2012 - 8.2K - offered for sale at BMW showroom ( i guess the user traded off the car
9/2012 - 8.3K - 2nd user bought
5/2015 - ?? - NO Name. Serviced.
10/2018 - 26.7K - Dealer service. Recommended maintenance, Wiper, Tire repair
11/2018 - 28.2K - Dealer service. Battery checked.
11/2019 - ?? - 3rd user bought.
2/2021 - 57K - Third party service. Engine/powertrain computer/module checked.
12/2021 - ?? - Vehicle available at dealer for sale. pre-owned inspection completed with oil and gasket changes.
1/8/2022 - 71K - I, 4th user, bought it.
I'm the 4th user and going by the record of Carfax the 1st owner didn't even go to Honda dealer once for service and rather visited some 3rd party. Around 8K miles the car had its Engine checked and got sold on the same day. (Not sure if the dealer was doing a routine check before purchasing. But who would sell a brand new car in 2 years??). 2nd owner did one Honda maintenance after 3 years(2015) and one more around 28K miles in 2018. 3rd user looked cheap and undisciplined who drove 30K more miles without any Service at the Honda dealer. Only record I see is during 2019, around 58K miles, a Service ("Engine/Powertrain computer/module checked") done via some third party and sold the car in 11/2021 at 70K miles.
I found that V6 has Timing Belt and it had to be replaced at the earliest of 8 yrs / 100K miles. Surely prev owner didn't do this i guess, going by carfax, unless Engine module check includes Timing belt replacement too.
I would appreciate if you folks can gimme some tips like if i should buy an extended warranty or head to a dealer for doing a checkup. Or, should i proactively ask for timing belt replacement? I looked at upcoming minder code and it was A12. Location is Pacific NW and the vehicle history has been in the same location.
Upon reading more about cars I found that I should have looked at previous service records. Unfortunately the car was bought by then and when I look at the Carfax it doesn't show much of a maintenance/service history. I feel sad that I didn't really vet the Carfax thoroughly and just relied on personal inspection of the car.
TL;DR of history:
5/2010 - pre-delivery inspection and bought
6/2010 - 26mi - Dealer service ( vehicle washed/detailed ) and sold ( perhaps just a post dated update )
6/2011 - 3.5K - Third party service ( oil and filter changed, oil pan drain plug replaced )
8/11/2012 - 8K - same Third party service ( oil and filter changed, oil pan drain plug replaced )
8/28/2012 - 8.15K - Mini dealer serviced (Maintenance inspection completed, Engine checked, washed/detailed)
8/29/2012 - 8.2K - offered for sale at BMW showroom ( i guess the user traded off the car
9/2012 - 8.3K - 2nd user bought
5/2015 - ?? - NO Name. Serviced.
10/2018 - 26.7K - Dealer service. Recommended maintenance, Wiper, Tire repair
11/2018 - 28.2K - Dealer service. Battery checked.
11/2019 - ?? - 3rd user bought.
2/2021 - 57K - Third party service. Engine/powertrain computer/module checked.
12/2021 - ?? - Vehicle available at dealer for sale. pre-owned inspection completed with oil and gasket changes.
1/8/2022 - 71K - I, 4th user, bought it.
I'm the 4th user and going by the record of Carfax the 1st owner didn't even go to Honda dealer once for service and rather visited some 3rd party. Around 8K miles the car had its Engine checked and got sold on the same day. (Not sure if the dealer was doing a routine check before purchasing. But who would sell a brand new car in 2 years??). 2nd owner did one Honda maintenance after 3 years(2015) and one more around 28K miles in 2018. 3rd user looked cheap and undisciplined who drove 30K more miles without any Service at the Honda dealer. Only record I see is during 2019, around 58K miles, a Service ("Engine/Powertrain computer/module checked") done via some third party and sold the car in 11/2021 at 70K miles.
I found that V6 has Timing Belt and it had to be replaced at the earliest of 8 yrs / 100K miles. Surely prev owner didn't do this i guess, going by carfax, unless Engine module check includes Timing belt replacement too.
I would appreciate if you folks can gimme some tips like if i should buy an extended warranty or head to a dealer for doing a checkup. Or, should i proactively ask for timing belt replacement? I looked at upcoming minder code and it was A12. Location is Pacific NW and the vehicle history has been in the same location.