jnx

or very minimal records, it's a 95 C4 3 owners 41k miles. Current owner has had it for 16 months, driven very little. He has records of his maint. 2 oil changes. Should the plugs have been changed by now? any advice? ppi will be performed.

BIG-BRO

Do as much homework as you can - PPI, some Porsche dealers will give you warranty info that has been done by VIN#, some will have service (see varying opinions in "search"). Will he give you previous owner info ?

And, of course, use his lack of records to help negotiate price... "well..... I don't know if x,y,z have been done so it might cost me $$" and knock that off your offer....

mrsullivan

some are very serious about this... i certainly keep all records on my car... however, depending on how/where it was serviced, you can also request them... if the car has been serviced at dealers, any Porsche dealer can pull them up... when i bought my C2S, i had my local dealer look up and print the history....

Topless in Temecula

The plugs should certainly have been changed by now. The car should have had its 30K or 10 year service by now. I turned 30k recently and had the plugs done, belts, oil, both filters, pollen filter (starting to get moldy - it was original one), etc. the manuals should have the 30k and 10 year service schedules in it. Also had PPI when bought at 19.6k in Oct. 2004. Lack or records isn't a deal breaker for me. You can also check with PCNA for info on recall items being done yet and if so where.

gordo993

If you are able to findout where the car has spent it's life via DMV records, check those local dealers for service records. I did that with mine and recovered all but an 8k mile gap. Not bad for a 50k car!

eloyex

well ... mine has few records and was topnotch condition.
20,000 miles at that time.
better if you have records of course ....

ZombiePorsche44

This is exactly why I waited for the right car to come along and not comprimise my minimum records requirements in a used car.
I know every service and tire change my car has gone thru in it's life with the first owner and should I choose to ever sell it, the third owner will know every thing I have ever had done.

It may just be piece of mind to me, but I'm convinced it also adds a bit to the resale value...............ZP44

Ms Kita

First, try to controll you emotions! Think with your wallet!!!

I have purchased without records. I tried to get a much information as I could without driving myself "NUTS".

For the most part the information guarantees nothing about the present reliabity about the car. Yes, find out if it's been in a accident or a lemon? The car-facts records, DMV records, anything the dealership can provide from the VIN# regarding dealer service. Overall, your car does not have what I would consider alot of miles. You should be able to get lot's of information from the dealership....warranty and maintance work for those early miles.

My car is the same age as your consideration....it rarely went to the dealership, most of it's was done by it's previous owners and independent shops, hence a misleading paper trail.

First a good PPI....worry about what needs to be done to the car now and the near future. That where the real money is YOURS, not how much someone else has spent!

My wonderful 95 C4 needed a new steering Rack. Besure the PPI is thorough!!!

My state has a "kick-*** inspection", if yours state has a notorious history, run it through just to see what they pick-up. My own was much less expensive then the orginal PPI and was more thourough. I found a guy who worked on german imports to do the inspection. He measured the rotors---failed one unit short.

The prior owner told me the car had new brakes--yes pads--not rotors. I flipped!! So much for the PPI. It was performed by a dealership.

Negotiate your finding into the price your willing to pay for the car. Remember to expected the unexpected. I'd factor in a 5% reduction in total price to cover that cost.

Sorry, but I've purschased 2 used Porsche in 2 years! And, I got the repair receipts to prove it.

Good Luck with your decision.

Van1

I bought my 39k mi car with no records other than one stamp in the book at 9k mi. Carfax reported two other dealer services that corresponded with the 20k and 30k oil changes. The car passed a PPI with flying colors and 10k mi and a year later no problems. Other than the oil changes, which are important, what other service would you expect to see at 40k mi, unless it required any warranty work. I suppose a brake fluid flush or two, but if in doubt as to when it was done, just do it if and when you buy it. I don't really care about trivial stuff like what the second set of tires that the original owner had on it. All I know is that my car had brand new tires when I bought it.

Berkley

Did you pass on the '98 and the '96?

You can always have a Porsche dealer run the VIN#...sometimes they will show if warranty maintenance was done....also will show if wiring harness was replaced under recent recall

brucec59

I looked at a couple of cars w/ no records before I found mine. They both seemed fine (mostly), and I didn't get far enough making a deal to have a PPI done. But something about not having any records made me nervous. How do I know if the clutch is almost new or about to go? How often was the oil changed? Are the spark plugs the originals? For me, there are just too many questions left open when there are no records.

As for dealer info, it would have been no help in my case, as both previous owners used independent shops, as shown in the complete servce history that I got with the car, and by the fact that the dealer had no record of any service (I took it to the dealer for the wiring harness recall and 90k service).

jimwood

I would prefer to have records, but wouldn't think twice about buying one without records if everything is in order.

Miller_arch

I did, no PPI either. After almost 2 months and 2,000 miles no major problems.

Carfax and stamped service book plus one owner for 150,000 miles bought for at a decent price made the decision acceptable.

If I was throwing down full retail or buying lower mileage or multiple Owners I would be more careful.

TheOtherEric

While some people will refuse to buy a car without records, I take a more practical position. Without records, you'll incur some expenses that you otherwise might not. So if it's a 30k mile car, the lack of records only means you'll need to do a full 30k service, which isn't that expensive. But a 100k mile car without records and you'll be stuck spending a lot on maintenance; new plugs, wires, tranny fluid, brake bleeds, etc. plus the risk that the engine/tranny have internal damage due to lack of maintenance. So the risks and costs go up with mileage. But otherwise, there's nothing magical about records.

stedge

The magic of records is that you can tell something about the previous owner based on them. How did they attend to detail? What did they let go? etc.