Service history of a used car

You probably can, but what it tells you is very debatable. When I hear expressions like “religiously maintained at dealership” for example, my reaction is “mixed”. It could be in good shape, with an involved owner. Or it could be a sorry mess, the dealership fleecing owner into high profit extra items of debatable value, while neglecting the basics.

 

In the US, if you pay a service like Carfax AND the car always received service at a shop that religiously reports service to Carfax, then yes it tells you the amount of service the car had. However, some dealers, independent shops and almost all owners do not report service everytime, if ever. Does not mean the service was missed but on the other hand you don't know.

An owner that keeps receipts for service regardless of source, including parts he may have bought, is an acceptable check as well. However that owner may have been good at keeping records while the car was in warranty and maybe not so good later.

A good independent mechanic's prepurchase inspection that includes a compression check and a knowledge of common problems is recommended even with a complete service record. For example a 2010-2013 gen3 Prius could have numerous expensive problems which are not really service related, at least not by a casual look at the records. Head gaskets could have just happened even though all manufacturer's services were performed ontime. Inverter and Brake Booster failures along with excessive oil burning are also frequent with those years regardless of service. In fact, if one or more of these problems had already failed on a high mile car and was properly fixed, that fact might be a better sign on a "deal" in these years.