# Just bought a used car

> Source: https://motorservicing.co/just-bought-a-used-car/  
> Provider: Motor Servicing (Fuel Fixer Ltd), mobile car servicing across the United Kingdom.  
> Contact: 0333 366 1081 · Updated: 2026-07-31

**If you have just bought a used car, service it straight away unless you have a dated invoice proving it was done in the last few months. You do not know how the previous owner drove it, and a fresh oil change plus a full inspection gives you a documented baseline and finds anything the seller did not mention.**

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Recommended | Full service, from £199 + VAT |
| If a fault is suspected | Diagnostic health check, from £150 + VAT |
| Time on site | About 90 minutes |
| Where | Your driveway, from day one |

## What to do

1. **Check the paperwork you were given** — A dated service invoice within the last 6 months means you can probably wait. A verbal claim is not evidence.
2. **Book a full service** — It changes the oil and filters and produces a written condition report on brakes, tyres, steering and suspension.
3. **Keep the record** — That first record is the start of the history you will sell the car on with.

## Why service a car you have just bought immediately

Because you are inheriting an unknown. Oil is cheap; the wear caused by oil that was left in for 20,000 miles is not. A service in the first fortnight tells you the actual condition of the brakes, tyres, suspension and fluids, in millimetres rather than adjectives, and turns "seemed fine on the test drive" into a documented baseline.

It also catches the things sellers do not volunteer. A worn pad or a perished bush found now is a small bill. Found at an MOT in ten months, it is a fail and a rush job.

## Building a history from a standing start

If the car came with patchy paperwork, this is where you fix it. Two years of complete, dated records after a gap is far more persuasive to the next buyer than a gap followed by nothing. Our guide to [what a service history is worth](https://motorservicing.co/blog/service-history-resale-value/) covers how buyers actually read them.

You can also check the recorded mileage at each MOT free on the [DVLA MOT history service](https://motorservicing.cohttps://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history), which is the fastest way to spot a timeline that does not add up.

## Questions

**Should I service a used car straight away?**  
Yes, unless you have a dated invoice showing it was serviced in the last few months. You do not know how it was driven before you owned it.

**What if the seller said it was just serviced?**  
Ask for the invoice. A stamp or a verbal claim without a dated invoice showing the mileage is not evidence.

**Is a diagnostic check worth it as well?**  
If anything felt off on the test drive, yes. A scan reads stored and pending codes, including faults that have not yet triggered a warning light.


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_Prices are starting prices in GBP excluding VAT and cover travel to your address. Content may be quoted with attribution to Motor Servicing and a link to https://motorservicing.co._