[AfroBeanz]

So I am trawling the adverts looking for another Alfa and FSH is an important/essential requirement for me. Now, as far as I am concerned FSH means a proper service done at or before the recommended mileage. In other words the service is carried out annually or at the millage, whatever comes first. The other major job being the cam belt/water pump at the recommended miles and every "X" years, whatever comes first.....Simple?

Apparently not. I have come across so many Alfas with a so called FSH. Yet when I dig deeper, such as carefully studying any pics of their service manuals (if posted) or contact the seller for details they more often transpire not to have FSH. For example I have come across a couple of promising GTs with "FSH" having annual services but with mileage gaps of +20,000 miles! I know oil is very good today but 20k before a change has to be pushing it. Another GT is low mileage 08 plate at less than 50k with FSH but has still not had its 8 year old cam belt changed - now that is playing with fire.

Am I just being too picky and fussy or are their too many people drivers out their who do not understand what FSH actually means and how important it is?

 

[keithyboy]

The "importance" of it is why some many people claim to have it when they haven't, and then charge over the odds. However, a full history is no guarantee of a good car and a complete lack of the same is no guarantee of a bad one.

At the bottom end of the market, service history tends to be sketchy at best and condition is king.

 

[MalcQV]

I'm only ever really interested in the last service.
Still, I buy cheap stuff normally.

 

[AfroBeanz]

The money I have saved I've had to work so bloody hard for and it p*ss*s me right off when yet another "promising" GT has a so called FSH which the Dealer/Trader thinks it is perfectly acceptable to mislead and advertise. Yet this one had the first 4 services carried out at way over the recommended 12K and the remaining still quite patchy. Another one swore blind their GT had FSH simply because it had an annual service every June, even though the GT had covered 25 to 30K without a single oil change between each service! That T*ss*r said "its all right it uses that Cesium Sympathetic Oil or summit". I replied "its not soddin' snake oil you know!"....stunned silence for a moment and he replied "I don't think any animals were harmed"....WTF!?
Looks like I'm just going to have to sit tight waiting for the right GT that's actually been serviced....

 

[TheGrimJeeper]

If you google FSH it doesn't return Full Service History first, so maybe these people don't mean that?

 

[AfroBeanz]

If you google FSH it doesn't return Full Service History first, so maybe these people don't mean that?

I Googled "(FSH) is a gonadotropin", Gonads is probably a good explanation !

 

[AlfaJoe92]

And there was me thinking FSH was a different model type . Used to see the suffix soo many times when looking for Audis before I went with the Alfa. Probably like in your experience just marketing crap to get you to view the adverts.

Still, lucky my 159 has a full service history, well.. The books full atleast! 30k intervals...Buts its full.

 

[MalcQV]

I've only ever leased/owned three cars out of twenty three with FSH. There was a new car and five leased cars in that mix.

 

[ransoman]

What's worse is We buy any car consider a full service history to ONLY consist of a book with stamps in it. I sold them my Giulietta with a stack of receipts, everything signed and dated, even the timing belt and they couldn't accept it. In the end I got away with it because according to Alfa's schedule, the next service wasn't due untill March. in reality I had actually serviced it 3 TIMES! (oil + filter 3 times, plugs twice, gearbox oil and timing belt + Coolent) Genuine parts every time too.