How to Organize Auto Records
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Grab another binder because today I’m going to show you how to organize your auto records. If you’ve been following along on this little organization adventure, you can probably predict what’s going to come next. Yep, it’s another printable binder cover to match all the other ones that I’ve shared.
Slip it into your binder, and we’ll get on to the nitty gritty of sorting papers.
Before I decided to give our filing system an overhaul, we just had a file folder that we tucked all of our car stuff into. That was an okay strategy, but it certainly wasn’t great. I pulled everything out of the folder to see what we had, sorted it all into piles, and before long I had some clear categories in mind. Here’s what I settled on:
- Purchase Info
- Warranty
- Repairs/Maintenance
- Receipts
- Vehicle Specs
And now a look at what I tucked in each of those sections …
Purchase Info – This section includes a copy of the sales listing, the temporary tag (which shows the original mileage), the CarFax report, the buyer’s guide and the purchase agreement.
Warranty – I stuck a copy of the warranty here for reference.
Repairs/Maintenance – I started this section with a car repair/maintenance log. It includes a complete history of all the work that’s been done on our car – including all work done by the previous owner. If you’d like to use my log, you’ll find it posted here.
Behind the log, I stuck copies of all past work orders.
Receipts – This section includes receipts for any work that we’ve hired someone else to do, as well as any receipts stemming from repairs and maintenance work that we’ve tackled ourselves.
Vehicle Specs – This section is still a work in progress, but I plan to list the sizes and part numbers for any equipment that has to be replaced on a regular basis. Some things I’ll include: the tire size, wiper blade size, bulb types (headlight, turn signal and brake), oil type, oil filter size, air filter size, battery size, spark plug size, coolant type, brake fluid type and the proper tire inflation
Other Things You May Want to Include in Your Auto Records:
- A copy of your driving records
- Accident photos (before and after repair)
- A copy of your owner’s manual
- A copy of your insurance policy
- A copy of any roadside assistance contracts that you hold
Need help getting your filing cabinet under control? Stick with me, and you’ll have a complete binder system by the time we’re done. Here are the steps that I’ve shared already:
Many web browsers have their own built-in PDF viewers, but they tend to be buggy. If you’re having trouble printing or editing one of our printables, click here for help.
Um, I went over to about.com and found your post about this and I saw no link to print it out. Do you think you could look into this? I absolutely love this log and would be ecstatic if I could print one out for myself :).
Hi Ashton,
Thanks for bringing that broken link to the Car Repair Log to my attention. I just updated it, so it should be working now.
Hi, I am also having trouble finding a printable version of the car log. Is there another link we can access it from?
Thanks!
Hi Claudia, Thanks for bringing this to my attention. The link should be working now. You can print the log from this page.
Hi Erin, I have been so excited finding your binder system. I have seen so many, but they seem to overwhelm me. I am a perfectionistic over achiever. Your breaking things down into separate binders has inspired me so much, that i spent a few hours last night putting our financial records binder together. I have been trying to figure out a system that would keep those papers under control. My husband handles all of the financial things, and I am realizing I have no idea what to do if anything were to happen that I would have to take over in his place. Likewise, he and the boys, would be lost in handling some of the jobs I handle (notebooks will be so great). As I am trying to set up these notebooks, your worksheets that are not on THIS website are unable to be printed. I tried the about.com and thebalance ones. No link to print worksheets, just images. Even the links that are within the articles that are active, do not lead to a printable. I am now scouring the internet to find worksheets that will fill the gap. I would love to understand why you haven’t just moved them over to this site where you have more control over them. I actually feel that of the worksheets out there, yours are more fitting for my needs than the others I have seen out there. A lot are WAY to gaudy, or girly. I am a tailored, type person. Beside, my boys would not take the girly stuff seriously. Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Kimi, I’m glad to hear you’re finding my binder system useful. It was definitely a big game-changer in my house. Now even the kids know where things go. It’s super-frustrating to me that those About/thebalance links aren’t working. I’ve reached out to them to try to solve the problem, but haven’t gotten a response. I think those printables (or a new version of them) will probably end up over here. If so, I’ll probably start that project in January.
Just finding your binder system but also find it very useful. Will be incorporating these to my household NOW. 🙂 For you automobile binder, do you have a different binder for each vehicle? My husband has street rods and antiques so we have a few. 🙂 Thanks!
Hi Lindy,
We just have two vehicles, so I keep all of our car stuff in one binder. You could definitely break it up into multiple binders, if that works better for you.
Is there a way you can make a vehicle specs log, for people who has changed their car parts?
Hi Aprille, I actually have an auto repair log. It’s part of that household notebook that I’ll be moving over here soon 🙂