TEND / VEHICLE RECORDS

Know the car’s story before the next trip.

A family car maintenance log for service dates, repair notes, costs and what should happen next—kept with the vehicle and shared through iCloud.

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Tend record detail screen for organizing a home or vehicle record

When a car is shared, its maintenance history can end up split between the person who booked the service, a glovebox folder and an old message. That makes routine questions harder than they need to be: when was the last service, what did the repair cost, and is anything due before the next long drive?

A simple vehicle log solves a modest but useful problem: keep a readable timeline that another driver can understand. It is not a substitute for the owner’s manual or a mechanic’s advice. It is the household’s memory of what has happened and what should be checked next.

A practical car service log template

For every service or repair, record enough detail to identify the work and continue the history:

WhenDate of the service, repair, inspection or tyre change.
WhatWork completed, parts fitted and any follow-up recommended.
WhoGarage or provider name and the best contact detail you already have.
What nextNext service date or a note to check mileage against the owner’s manual.

If it helps your own record, include the odometer reading in the event note and keep a photo of the invoice. Tend stores notes, dates, costs and photos with the vehicle record; it is not a vehicle diagnostic tool and does not read data from the car.

Tend activity timeline used to keep a dated household record
A dated history makes it easier for another household driver to pick up where the last one left off.

What to track between services

  • Annual inspections or registration renewal dates that apply where you live.
  • Tyres, battery, brake or fluid work recorded by your mechanic.
  • Insurance and roadside-assistance renewal dates, if you want them beside the vehicle record.
  • Repair estimates and receipts you may need to refer back to.
  • A next-action note such as “ask the garage about the noise on the next visit.”

Make the log useful to more than one driver

Give the record a name everyone recognizes, then keep each event short and dated. When someone books a repair, they can add what happened while it is still fresh. The next driver does not need a long handover; they need the latest service, any open follow-up and a way to find the invoice.

For a household with more than one vehicle, make a separate record for each one. Do not combine service notes for the family car, van and motorbike in one running note—the point is to find a fact quickly when a specific vehicle needs attention.

Where Tend fits

Tend is a private home-and-family organizer for appliances, vehicles, pets and appointments. Add a vehicle record, keep dated events, notes, costs or photos, set a reminder for a real due date and share the record through your household’s iCloud. The app does not supply vehicle-specific maintenance schedules, diagnose faults or replace service documents; follow your manufacturer and mechanic for those.

Start with the last serviceEnter one recent event and the next date you already know. A car log becomes useful through accurate small updates, not by trying to reconstruct every year of ownership in one sitting.

Related Tend guides

Home maintenance remindersAppliance warranty trackerShared household maintenanceRecord-keeping system for a home

Maintenance intervals depend on vehicle, usage and location. Use the owner’s manual and a qualified mechanic for vehicle-care decisions.