Assuming work was done at a dealer, can you find out the service history of a car with the vin number? Carfax just says 'maintenance done'

 

unless the dealer input specific details, (ie, transmission replaced) that's all you get.

 

A dealer can. However, they will not all provide that info.

 

If the car was a local dealer serviced car, be very good friends with your local Porsche service advisor. Porsches network warranty computer also lists the labor operations which basically tells you what was done if you know those codes.
Be nice to the guys at the dealer and bring donuts.

 

From what I understand, warranty info is stored in a central database and should be accessable by VIN by any dealer. Normal repair/maintenance (non-warranty) can be accessed by VIN by the servicing dealer only - whether or not the servicing dealer will do it for you is another matter.

 

Oh okay. Makes sense. One or two cars ive seen are at a dealer for sale, but were trade ins there and they were not the ones doing the service.

Will a PPI be able to spot how a clutch is and if its new or original? I've had to replace a clutch in both my past cars, and would rather not have to do that again. Seems like a large bill that could already be taken care of by someone else

 

You might suggest to your dealer that if he wants to sell you one of the trades on his lot that he provide you a complete service history - let him do the work for you.

 

Yeah I'm still hunting for exactly what I want. I had my eye on a silver/boxster red car, but it sold The boxster red has really caught my eye, but it seems to be incredibly rare. May have to compromise and go for a more normal color scheme.

btw, slightly off to the side, but does something look wrong with the top in this pic:

It looks kind of beat up and like it doesnt sit right. This isn't really one I was too interested in, but am more curious about this for future reference if this is normal or not

 

It does not matter if they did the service. They can still "see" the service provided by other dealerships. As others have said if you have a good relationship with the dealer they may provide this to you, however in my experience many will not.

 

My dealer is saying that there may be some privacy issues that make it difficult for them to see/share a prior owners info. That is new within the past few years. If you call the dealership where it was done, they should be more helpful with general maint questions.

 

So is there a PCNA central database with oil changes, etc.? My dealer has been telling me no.

 

Dealers are funny with this type of thing. On my Cayenne, the dealer gladly gave me the entire service history, with the prior owner's information deleted. It was only a couple of years old, and there really wasn't much to release. I continue to have the vehicle serviced at the same dealer.

On the Carrera, they wouldn't release it. Fortunately for me, the prior owner asked for a full print out of all the records (at my request) and he gave them to me when I took delivery of the vehicle.

 

PCNA was able to tell me if any warranty/recall work was carried out and by what dealer. They were not able to tell me about general service/maintenance. For that I had to call the dealer(s) that did the work.