tristan_od

I’ve put down a deposit on a car advertised as having a full service history from a reputable independent Porsche specialist. The car’s getting a major service and borescope check before I complete (with deposit back if there’s scoring). Car is at 81k miles and at a good price. It’s a 997.1 carrera manual.

Any thoughts or major concerns about the following history?

6 stamps. 5 Porsche and 1 independent (latest one)

They comprise of:

2008. 17k miles. Minor service
2011. 36k miles. Major, spark plugs and drive belt checked
2014. 62k miles. Minor. Drive belt replaced
2016. 67k miles. Major
2019. 73k miles. Major
2021. 77k miles. Minor. Drive belt replaced.

Brake fluid done each time.

My main concern is what happened between 36 and 62k miles, though with regular servicing since then and an inspection, issues addresses and full service now should I be less concerned?

yelcab

What is a minor service, and a major service?

Wayne Smith

Where are the 5K mile interval oil changes? Tires? Brakes? I would not consider this to be comprehensive.

tristan_od

This outlines the major service: https://pictures.dealer.com/porscheo...4b90d785c2.pdf

It actually seems to align with what I had, with major services required at 36k and 72k miles. For some reason I assumed they'd be more regular.

Good point above about oil changes. I'm assuming these are recorded in the service book, so without invoices for that it's hard to know when that's happened.

Tom R.

I have a thick file of receipts for my 997 from 24k to 82k. Not one was done at the dealer so no dealer history, and not one is on carfax since the indy shop owner doesn't pay for carfax. Assume there are no other documents for service?

SpeedyD

Looks fine. I have mixed and matched doing my own oil changes (for example) with dealer service. Someone going at those intervals is not neglecting the car. Important to see condition - how it looks today overall will give you a good sense of treatment (plus PPI).

yelcab

Those dealer defined Major and Minor services have a bunch of "looksies" and not very many of "replacements" and to me it's better than nothing but very inadequate for a car you want to keep for a long time.

A service schedule that you can be proud of looks something like this:

Oil changes at no more than every 5,000 miles
Gearbox oil changes at 30K miles, along with spark plugs, belt, belt bearings, air filter,
At 60K miles: same as 30K miles, with additional water pump, thermostat, coolant change, AOS,
At 80-100K miles, you want to see some serious repairs having been done: clutch, RMS, brakes, shocks, shock mounts, some suspension bushings, engine mounts,

groovzilla

Is the car a "Cold Weather" car? They seem to be more prone to scoring.
Also make sure when you do the Bore Scope Inspection they provide 3 photos of each cylinder that are clearly focussed/etc.