Vehicle Log Book

Why is keeping a vehicle log book important? A maintenance log helps protect your investment. If a warranty issue comes up during ownership, a vehicle log book is proof of proper maintenance being done per the schedule set out by the manufacturer. In a lease situation, it verifies you met the car maintenance contract. When selling, it substantiates your asking price and gives your vehicle an advantage in the marketplace, by proving your vehicle will last longer than other vehicles a buyer is considering.

Smart consumers keep track of fuel, maintenance and loan costs using a computerized log, which allows you to make changes as needed for your vehicle. The Microsoft Excel template gives you an instant view of total miles driven, miles per gallon of fuel efficiency, quantity and cost of fuel, maintenance costs and loan payments, to give you a comprehensive view of your true transportation costs.

How to Use the Vehicle Log Book Excel Template

This easy-to-use, customizable template is available for free download right here. Here’s how to use it:

• Enter your odometer mileage data, then save the document. You could then very easily copy the spreadsheet into additional tabs to track all your vehicles in one document.
• Following this, you can make entries for fuel costs and efficiency, maintenance records and loan payments, following the easy-to-use form below the graphs and charts.
• After this, just sit back and see the calculated miles per gallon for fuel, cost and quantity of fuel purchases, and total fuel, maintenance and loan costs.

Vehicle Log Book Excel Template: Tips for Using

• This vehicle log book format provides a window into your vehicle’s costs and performance over time, helping you with a cost-benefit analysis when you consider a new vehicle purchase.
• The drop-down menu in the chart can be changed to display fuel and maintenance costs as time passes, helping to show when it’s time to go shopping for a new vehicle.
• As with any form of electronic data, be sure to create backup documents. It may be helpful to print a copy every few months to keep in your vehicle’s glove-box; in case of a breakdown or maintenance question, the most recent records will be at your fingertips.

Vehicle maintenance can be a hassle, but you can benefit greatly with the tracking tools available here.

Download: Vehicle Log Book