I've recently bought myself a Titanium mk7, 58 plate, 1.4 manual which appears to have come with a partial service history (it was the right price so I figured I'd take a punt).

It had its first year service at roughly 12k with Ford, it's now done 35k and there's unfortunately no sign of any servicing in between.

It used to be a Motability car which suggests it would have been serviced properly, however the previous seller was absolutely disastrous in the management of their paperwork so I gave up pushing them to try and find any interim service receipts. I don't have an oil service warning light present on my dash however, which tells me it may well have been done at some point given the 25k service paperwork is missing.

I intend on immediately giving the car a full service myself and have already bought the bits to do so, and I also appreciate it's very easy to just reset the oil service indicator yourself at any point. But for curiosity's sake is it possible to check to see how many miles there are until the next service interval according to the car? I imagine it'll pop up nearer the time warning me it's coming up, but can I "force" an indication early? Thanks!

Can't answer your questions I'm afraid (but i'm sure others can) but I wasn't aware that there is a service indicator light. How would your reset it ?

Interesting that it is an ex-Motability car (as is mine) but a manual box.

You reset it with a combination of pedal presses and key turns (has been posted on the forum somewhere)

If it was done at 25k (which is also an interim) then it's due a full service at 37.5k

you can have a motability car if your disables but have someone else drive it. when i worked at volvo we had several owners who had motability cars and were manual and the disabled person didnt drive it.

if its got a stamp in the service book then phone up the place that serviced it and ask them for the cars service history. if it was service by them then you can send your service book to them and they will update it and send it back to you

I believe the reset's done by holding the brake and accelerator pedals for 20 seconds whilst the key's in "accessory" mode (first notch, I believe). Mine's a keyless start, so not actually worked out how I'm going to manage this myself however!

And Mr Singh's absolutely right on the Motability front - it's not uncommon for carers to drive them.

I'm aware the next service is coming up pretty soon so perfect timing really (normally get these things done immediately upon purchase for piece of mind). Hadn't really considered contacting the dealer who did the previous service to ask; hope they're kind enough to entertain the request!

On a final note, given I haven't had the chance to purchase a Haynes yet - I've been looking around for videos and guides for servicing but have yet to find a relevant one for the mk7...

Plugs and air filter seem pretty straight forward (assuming the air box comes apart with a few screws).

Is a brand new sump plug/washer completely necessary? (I've switch from a Golf, where it wasn't).

I assume there's an undertray in the way of the sump; again I presume these are released via a few cross-head screws.

Is it advisable to access the oil filter from above or below the car? (I've read both, and it's chucking it down outside so haven't had a chance to take a proper look yet).

Thanks again!