Every vehicle that comes through your workshop gets its own record in Pistonlog. Once created, that record stays — its full service history, mileage readings, and owner details are always available, no matter how many times it comes back.

What a Vehicle Record Stores

Each vehicle record holds:

Registration — the number plate, used as the primary identifier
Make — manufacturer (e.g. Ford, BMW, Toyota)
Model — specific model (e.g. Focus, 3 Series, Corolla)
Colour — exterior colour of the vehicle
Year — year of manufacture
VIN — Vehicle Identification Number for precise identification
Mileage — current odometer reading, updated each visit

One record per vehicle, reused across every jobcard it appears on.

Creating a Vehicle

There are two ways to add a vehicle to your garage.

From a jobcard

This is the most common route. When you create or edit a jobcard, type into the Vehicle field. If no match is found, click Add New Vehicle and fill in the details. The vehicle is saved to your database automatically and linked to both the jobcard and the selected customer.

Creating a new vehicle inline while building a jobcard

From the vehicle list

You can also add vehicles ahead of time — useful when onboarding a fleet or importing records from a previous system.

Open the vehicle list

From the sidebar, click Vehicles.

Click New Vehicle

Click the New Vehicle button in the top-right corner.

Fill in the details

Enter the registration, make, model, colour, year, VIN, and current mileage. Select the owning customer, then click Save.

Creating a vehicle directly from the Vehicles page

One record, used everywhere

However you create a vehicle, the result is the same — a single record available across all future jobcards in your garage. You never need to enter the same vehicle twice.

Vehicles and Customers

Every vehicle belongs to a customer. A customer can own multiple vehicles, but each vehicle has one owner.

When you select a customer on a jobcard, all of their registered vehicles appear for you to choose from. If the customer is bringing in a new vehicle, add it from the jobcard — it's automatically linked to that customer going forward.

If a vehicle changes hands, update the owner on the vehicle record. The full service history stays with the vehicle regardless of who owns it.

Ownership changes

When a customer sells a car, you don't need to delete the vehicle. Update the owner to the new customer and the service history carries over intact.

Finding an Existing Vehicle

The Vehicles page shows all vehicles in your garage. Use the search bar at the top to find a vehicle by registration, make, or model.

When adding a vehicle to a jobcard, the same search works inline — start typing in the Vehicle field and matching records appear as you type. Registration is the fastest way to find a specific vehicle.

Finding an existing vehicle by registration or make and model

Editing Vehicle Details

Wrong colour on file? VIN missing? Open the vehicle record and update it.

Open the vehicle

Find the vehicle in your list (or click the registration from any jobcard) and open its record.

Edit the details

Update any field — registration, make, model, colour, year, VIN, or mileage. Click Save to confirm the changes.

Updating a vehicle's details from its record page

Viewing Service History

Open any vehicle record to see its full history with your garage:

Jobcards — every jobcard ever created for this vehicle, with status, date, and totals
Customer — the current owner linked to this vehicle

This gives you a complete picture of what's been done to the vehicle before you start work. You can see past jobs, parts fitted, and when the vehicle was last in — invaluable for diagnostics and repeat work.

Browsing a vehicle's past jobcards and work history

Mileage Tracking

Each time a vehicle comes in for a jobcard, the mileage field is updated with the current odometer reading. Over time this builds a mileage log across visits.

This is useful for spotting service intervals, tracking wear patterns, and giving customers accurate advice on upcoming maintenance. The mileage shown on the vehicle record is always the most recent reading from its latest jobcard.