Thaddeus

My 928 had minimal records. I knew what I was getting into though.

Porscheologist

My car had minimal records. With 68k I knew the clutch was worn. I also knew the PO had just replaced the steering rack and battery. The PPI was clean (although they missed a small oil leak that I fixed during the clutch job). Would I have preferred a nice full set of records from day one?? You bet! I used that and a few dings in my favor and got a real good deal at the time. So as long as the expensive things (engine, gearbox, AC) are in good working order....go for it!

Caveman

Subject to a good inspection I would still look at a car but if it has done 60/70k plus miles and I had no idea when the scheduled maintenance had been done (if it had been done?!) then I would be nervous. I would expect to pay less for one that did not have decent records.

Cheers,

David

Ray Calvo

Records? Haven't touched records in decades; moved on to Minidiscs, CDs and SD memory cards.

Seriously, would put more faith in a detailed PPI by a shop I trust. Records of two oil/filter changes after "very little driving" is a good sign; shows that he cares. I wouldn't be worried about no spark plug changes in 41K miles; times I've done plugs on '84 and newer 911s they have been clean and well gapped, and the replacement job has caused more trouble/headaches than not doing them. The belts should definitely have been done, and this should be obvious to a mechanic just by observation. After 41K miles expect to need new shocks; this is a normal wear-&-tear item, not a regular maintenance item.

Caveman

Sadly, also remember that you can quite often buy service stamps off of Ebay....

Alan C.

My 95 had two previous owners. The first had it for about 5000 miles. The second owner put 72,000 miles on it. He was not the record keeping type. However, I did go to the garage where the guy had his work done and confirmed his oil and filter changes. The plugs were the originals and still worked fine when I put in new ones. The car runs great, carries 5 bar of oil pressure cruising on the highway and it doesn't use oil or smoke.

Dig a little and you can find out the basics.

ceboyd

except some folks (like eric and myself) do NOT take our 993s to the dealer (do not trust them)

Eric has done all the maintenance on my 993 for the last 5 years.. and I have not recorded what he did when just know approximately what was done when and that all is up to snuff, etc.

..so basicly if you have a good inspection, you can tell right away if proper maintenance was done.. along with a test drive.. IMHO anyway..

dmcentee

Records are nice to have but are no indication of future reliability or existing issues that were not dealt with properly. Given the choice of a great PPI or complete records, I would take the PPI every time. You will need to spend a little more on a car that does not have records doing things like a brake system flush, but if you like the car otherwise, go for it.

95 C4 993

I have most of the records on mine-all the way down to when it was waxed. If there comes a day when I sell mine, the next owner will have 4" folder of documentation.

ceboyd

lol... my 993 gets 2 brake fluid changes a year and lots of flushing in-between

Pedro356C

I bought mine with no records whatsoever...only thing I knew was the car had just one, almost neighbor, owner in Miami...took to my mechanic for a PPI and car passed with flying colors...and for my surprise, I found out my mechanic has been the previous owner's mechanic since 1999!! Lucky or what? If the PPI is good...go for it!

Davies

That's true, but just looking at the car, sitting in it and looking at the traditional dirt/wear areas (drivers footwell, seat bolsters, scuffed doorsills, how dusty are the dash vents etc..) can tell you a lot about the previous owner also.

Sometimes a fat list of records can give an overly-false sense of security. They often have absolutely no bearing on whether that CEL goes on when you're driving your new baby home...

ceboyd

yes, buying without records isn't always a bad thing.... we've bought several cars without a single record and never gone wrong.. ...of course it helps a great deal that eric is a mechanic and knows what to look at in a used car and has an eye for something amiss (like body work, and not JUST mechanical stuff, etc.)


...so he looks for things like cheap aftermarket parts vs. performance parts or OEM parts.... IE.. someone who put in cheap CarX brakes vs. factory or performance brake pads.. stuff like that which most people might not even pay attention to also tells things about the care taken by the previous owner..

For example..

You see a 993 with nankang or other no-name off-brand tires, carx brake pads (if they exist) and it makes you start to wonder if it even has sythetic oil in the engine... ...stuff like that....

c993k

I have a binder that I keep complete detailed records of everything I can find on 993's
I also keep bills and itemized records that I have done to my car.
The dealer has only seen the car once for the wiring harness recall and after I got it back
it needed an alternator. Dealer...never again.
My friend bought an 88MR2 SC from a lady last year, she owned since new and kept all the records and gave them to us,. all from the same dealer. It was incredible! $26000 in repairs since 88! He paid $3500 for the car. It's nice to have records but most people don't. Chris

hddude

Even a car that supposedly has all of its records may be missing the bad news. So unless you know the owner and trust him/her, I woudn't be too confident that you really have "complete records."

I noticed in a recent thread about the OBD II clogged port issue, one guy wrote that after he reset the light it didn't come on for a few thousand miles until he sold the car. Would you bet the farm that he told the buyer about the problem and its likely recurrence? Maybe he did or maybe he didn't; that's not my point. But unless I knew him and trusted him, I don't think his service records would likely reveal this ticking time bomb.