The Globe and Mail Jeremy Sinek Published January 14, 2021 Mihajlo Maricic/iStockPhoto / Getty Images The key to a long and peaceful relationship with your new-to-you vehicle is to know as much as possible about its service history. Then, if you discover any gaps in that history, make a plan to fill the gaps yourself. If you bought a nearly-new certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle, the selling dealer should have given it a thorough going-over, but try to confirm what exactly was done. If you bought privately, the seller might provide records of all service and repairs performed under their ownership. Or if the vehicle came with a history report like Carfax, it may list when and where past service work was done (though possibly not in much detail).