Just ask Marc next time you are there. He is the resident DPE and a wealth of knowledge.
Just because something is loggable it doesn't mean you should log it. Keep this in mind for future reference especially if you plan on flying professionally.
I totally agree however I do not feel that this would fall into the shady logging category. A student pilot intending to fly and then returning to the ramp for maintenance is legit in my oppinion. I used to teach at the airport he is training at and it is not a .1 issue at your small GA field it ends up being .3-.4 all said and done.
I think the shady logging category ends up with the safety pilot gig that all these schools run when you know that there is no hood involved on half the flights and they are just joy rides to such and such a field where they both log PIC. Or when a private pilot rides along in a King air 350 and logs it as dual recieved because the pilot is an ATP. The list goes on and on and we could all list countless examples. I just do not want to mislead this student pilot into thinking he is being dishonest in logging this time. In the end it is your logbook and to each is certainly own.