Does the workshop need the car brand's own service book?

This article is for independent garages that are met with the fact that service must be registered in the car brand's own service book for the warranty to last. This is not true, and it is worth being able to explain to the customer why.

The requirement is documentation, not a specific booklet

The factory warranty requires that the service is carried out according to the manufacturer's regulations, with approved spare parts and oil, and that it is documented correctly. It does not require which workshop performs the work or which book the registration is in. This has been EU law since 2010.

The Digital Servicebook meets the requirements for an original service book, and the registration can be made for all car brands. All manufacturers offer the same right of complaint, as long as the service is registered correctly.

The booklet can rarely contain it all

It is the car owner's responsibility to have the right documentation, and it is more than a stamp. Typically, it must also be possible to present an invoice for the work carried out and for the spare parts used. This is more than there is room for in the printed booklet.

Digitally, vouchers can be attached to the individual registration, so that invoices, parts and notes are together with the service rather than scattered across a folder at the customer's premises. The car owner therefore ends up with more documentation, not less.

Brand workshops can also see the registration

One objection you encounter is that a registration with an independent workshop is not visible to the brand workshop. That is not enough. OE workshops can access the car's data and documentation in the Digital Servicebook, so the history is not locked in with the person who registered it.

The service can also end up in the manufacturer's own service book

If you wish, the registration can also be sent to the manufacturer's own digital service book. This is the OE Upload service, and it means that you register once, after which the service is listed both in the Digital Service Book and in the car brand's own system.

It is an option and does not happen by itself. It requires a valid subscription, a signed authorization, that the workshop has a registered user on the relevant manufacturers' portals, and the car owner's consent. The registration takes place on your behalf and in the workshop's own name, so it stands as your work.

OE Upload covers a number of car brands, including Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Ford and Skoda, and the coverage is continuously expanded.

The current coverage is stated at the time of registration. There you choose the manufacturers that are relevant to you, and you can see which car brands and countries are supported at that particular time. Therefore, the full list is not here where it would have been outdated before you read it.

Note that being able to read a manufacturer's service book and being able to write in it are two different things. OE Upload is about the latter.

Some brands still use paper

Not all manufacturers have switched to electronic service books. If the car has a paper booklet, the contents can be photographed, and both the workshop and the customer can take care of this.

It is worth doing while the car is with you. A booklet in a glove compartment is easier to lose than a registration on the vehicle.

What it means in practice

You can carry out and register service on all car brands without the customer risking the warranty, provided that the work has been carried out according to the regulations. The registration belongs to the vehicle, so it follows the car to the next workshop and the next owner.

And it is the car owner who must be able to document correct service inspections, both in a warranty case and at the time of sale. Therefore, the customer's access to the documentation is not an extra service, that is the point. If you have any questions about a specific case, or if you want to hear about OE Upload, you can contact us.