Collection of my thoughts

[Roman Legion]

This is a thread to post my thoughts as the name clearly states. Today I pulled my car title out and discovered the bank still had a lien on the title and it's been paid off for 2 years. So I go to the DMV and ask about it, I wasn't aware once you pay the lender off for a car and you get the title mailed that you have to get a new title from the DMV. So I I got the lean removed and when I asked my father about it, he had no idea either. It's a good thing that I looked and asked questions, otherwise I'd have had an issue when going to trade for my D. Other thoughts today are over my maintenenace log. I just got into it, so its going to be a little odd in format at first, but I was wondering it washes should be logged? My rule of thumb right now is anything I do to the car is written down. I really wish I started this log back in 2008, but better late than never. I immediately started one when I bought my motorcycle, so no worries there. So the first entry in my better late than never car log is going to be for checking the cabin air filter and replacing it, it wasn't too bad, but it isn't very expensive and the dirt in it bothered be enough to do it. Few hundred more miles until oil change, so that will likely be the next item on the menu.

Q: For those of you who keep automotive logs, can you show me an example of how you do it, I haven't found what I find to be the optimal format yet.

[Shep]

Q: For those of you who keep automotive logs, can you show me an example of how you do it, I haven't found what I find to be the optimal format yet.Personally I do it as more of a blog-type thing. I document all the work I do and places I drive as well as things that are related, like spectators, new work I'm planning, problems I come across, interesting information, etc. The links for mine are in my signature; the "Captain's Log" is the thread here, and the other two are the actual website. Posts are duplicated between both, so the thread here serves as a sort of "comment thread" to what's posted on the website. As time went on, I refined the format better and better, so the most recent posts are the most refined of the bunch. If you're interested, read the last few and see if it's the kind of thing you're looking for. (It's a year's worth of posts, way too many to read in one sitting.)

It's basically a blog describing my experiences, so I can go back later and say "Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Everything that's relevant I post. If you're keeping logs, you can never have too much! Just make sure to split it up frequently enough that each post has a sort of "theme". You'll notice my most recent post sort of jumps around -- I waited way too long to write it and it wound up covering a bit too much.

If you want to document times you wash the car, or times you drive, I'd recommend putting that in a separate section. That way you can have a combined list of every time right at your fingertips, without having to dig through the work you've done to figure out (for example) how frequently you washed it. That kind of information would actually be a great resource for future owners, and documenting all that gives them a good idea of how well it was maintained and taken care of. Noting when it was washed would certainly go a long way in making prospective buyers more comfortable that they're not buying a car with any hidden "surprises". Believe me, if I were to buy a car from a private seller, and knew he kept a list of all that kind of stuff, that would be a HUGE bonus, regardless of when you started taking those notes. It shows you really care about the car, and that speaks volumes to its reliability :thumbup:

[Roman Legion]

Personally I do it as more of a blog-type thing. I document all the work I do and places I drive as well as things that are related, like spectators, new work I'm planning, problems I come across, interesting information, etc. The links for mine are in my signature; the "Captain's Log" is the thread here, and the other two are the actual website. Posts are duplicated between both, so the thread here serves as a sort of "comment thread" to what's posted on the website. As time went on, I refined the format better and better, so the most recent posts are the most refined of the bunch. If you're interested, read the last few and see if it's the kind of thing you're looking for. (It's a year's worth of posts, way too many to read in one sitting.)

It's basically a blog describing my experiences, so I can go back later and say "Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Everything that's relevant I post. If you're keeping logs, you can never have too much! Just make sure to split it up frequently enough that each post has a sort of "theme". You'll notice my most recent post sort of jumps around -- I waited way too long to write it and it wound up covering a bit too much.

If you want to document times you wash the car, or times you drive, I'd recommend putting that in a separate section. That way you can have a combined list of every time right at your fingertips, without having to dig through the work you've done to figure out (for example) how frequently you washed it. That kind of information would actually be a great resource for future owners, and documenting all that gives them a good idea of how well it was maintained and taken care of. Noting when it was washed would certainly go a long way in making prospective buyers more comfortable that they're not buying a car with any hidden "surprises". Believe me, if I were to buy a car from a private seller, and knew he kept a list of all that kind of stuff, that would be a HUGE bonus, regardless of when you started taking those notes. It shows you really care about the car, and that speaks volumes to its reliability :thumbup:

So what you're saying is to bring the notebook log into the 21st century and make an automotive blog of my maintenance log, so everyone can see what work I'm doing as well as myself? Do random people reading it really care about this? lol

Another thought, since it was the end of the week,my car got a nice wash, I'm going to take the bike out toget some wax as I ran out last time. I saw others washing their cars and noticed that people either leave the water on their car and rims by not wiping it off before they drive off, hoping to 'air dry' it, or they wipe in a circular motion, which has a greater chance to leave nasty lookign swirls, rather than wipe in one straight line.

[Shep]

So what you're saying is to bring the notebook log into the 21st century and make an automotive blog of my maintenance log, so everyone can see what work I'm doing as well as myself? Do random people reading it really care about this? lol
Just a thought. Doesn't work for everyone, but you asked for some ideas, so I thought I'd provide one. It's mostly for myself rather than for others; I doubt too many readers care about the fine details either ;)

Don Camillo (VIN 573) in Germany has a restoration thread going that focuses entirely on the restoration and the work he's put into it without any sidetracking like mine does, so you might want to check his out as well. His is mostly pictures with a little bit written describing each one. His handiwork is impeccable, and showing it off works better than describing his work. Everyone has their own format they go by. Go through a few of them here for ideas, and pick out parts you like about each one :)