Cbst09

Hello, I recently purchased a CPO Porsche with 18k miles from a dealer here in NC. The dealer gave me the service info that they performed including oil and air filter changes, spark plugs, CPO inspection checklist etc. I asked the dealer if they could check in the system to see what other services had been performed on the vehicle since new and they told me that although the car was purchased at their dealership it was serviced at another Porsche dealership and that their systems were not linked so they couldn't pull the records. Nothing shows up on the carfax report either. I have found that not all dealer service records show up on carfax.

As it turns out the car was previously serviced at another dealer which is the one right here in Raleigh. I stopped by the dealer to see if I could get a printout of the service that had previously been performed and they told me that they could not give that info out and that it was some sort of privacy thing and that they would need to get the permission of the prior owner in order to release those records. Has anyone heard of such a policy?

mattyf

The service records are going to have the previous owners name and address on them, so the privacy concern is understandable.

Edit... If you want to get all stalkery, check the nav for 'home' or recent locations and see if you can figure out their address. Then you can swing by at dinner and just ask.

Schpee007

Sure enough when I purchased my car back in December the Nav was still programed with the prior owner's home and work addresses.

Dealer where I purchased was the dealer that had done all the service. They were nice enough to print out all the records and white out the prior owners info.

I think privacy laws on this stuff vary state to state.

wc11

I bought a 2005 C2S CPO car in 2011 and it came with all service records and the PO's address & phone numbers were still visible. I suppose I could have called him to ask some questions if I really wanted to.

You could always ask the dealer if they'd be willing to black out any personal info of the PO and then give up the records.

Cbst09

Thanks, I did ask the dealer if they could black out the name and address and no dice. I was able to get any warranty or campaign repairs that were done directly from Porsche but unfortunately that's all. No a big deal since the car has such low mileage and I trust that the oil was changed at least once by the previous owner, beyond that I don't think the car really required anything

Sniff

It really depends on the dealership and the Service manager in particular. Many don't want to bother with hunting down that information. For my car I have 3 dealer services that show up on my CARFAX report as well as the accompanying stamps in my Maintenance booklet. However I don't have the itemized receipts.

I called Hoehn Porsche in San Diego (where the work was done) and asked if I could get copies of the receipts. I told them my VIN along with the exact dates and mileage of the service. I also said I would be happy to email them a copy of my registration to prove I was the new owner. The service guy told me their computers don't go that far back (we're talking 2007 - 2010 now) and he didn't have a record of the service. I realized he was feeding me a line of BS since he knew I was clear across the country and wouldn't help his bottom line. So I stopped asking. I just did a major service on the car in order to reset the clock on all the maintenance items. I just hit 17,500 miles so I'm really not missing much other than oil changes and brake flushes.

Some dealers are cool and will work with you while others are complete douche's.

Sean

malexgcab

Same thing when I purchased mine. The car was serviced by the same dealership and they just deleted the previous owner's info.

Cbst09

Okay so I called the dealership and got a different person this time and the person told me that he would send me the records once I send proof of ownership. Funny how you can get a different answer depending on who picks up the phone.

CamsPorsche

I received the previous owners service records from the Porsche Dealer and their software was able to omit the owners information.

It all depends on the dealer and its good to hear you'll receive your information.

JustinCase

I got the service records from the dealer where it was serviced, but not purchased by the original owner, complete with his name and contact information. I also noticed he had filled it in in the front of the service manual as well.

Also, I was able to tell almost everywhere he went for the first few years of the car (including his home address) on the Navi. I suspect the Homelink button would have opened the gate on his exclusive residence parking, but I did not try it. As soon as I realized what he had left, I deleted everything off the Navi and Homelink and started from scratch. I also made a mental note to remember to erase all data on ANY car I ever sell.

One last thing: I researched the original owner and discovered his email address. Once I had it I identified myself and the car and asked if he had any other service information. He did not, but he did send me a very nice note back in return.

wc11

Awesome. I guess the other guy wasn't gettin' any.

Funny, when I got the car, I also got the previous' eye glasses under the seat and a Zepplin CD in the radio.

sy308

I have purchased several cars sight unseen from internet listings. Obviously, one can imagine that service records are quite valuable in that circumstance. What you hear is the truth. Records are not linked from dealer to dealer. Proof of ownership is critical in releasing some of the information. It becomes more complicated when work is done by an outside shop. At that point repair history becomes all but untraceable. You might be able to find out from Porsche or CarFax what dealership originally sold the car though. Some owners fill in this information in the manual or service booklet. I have had mixed success with the cars I have owned. In one case, the dealer revealed service records indicating an engine taken apart for timing chain failure and the other dealer would not reveal the records but spent quite a bit of time on the telephone with me describing work that was done on it. The majority of the work and discussion was centered on the IMS failure and the new engine that was put in the car. If you are lucky, you will find a car that was purchased and stayed all its life at a particular dealership. In that case, if you are local, you might be able to more easily cajole them into revealing all the repair details. In some ways you are fortunate this is not an aircraft that comes with maintenance and repair logs. When such logs are missing or lost or destroyed, the value of the plane becomes much much less. It is still a chance you need to consider when buying a used vehicle and a reason why many people only purchase new ones.

cairo94507

It is sad that in this day of technology these records are not linked. Any Porsche dealership should be able to retrieve all records just by entering the VIN. Come on Porsche, wake up and get with it!

Cbst09

"It is sad that in this day of technology these records are not linked. Any Porsche dealership should be able to retrieve all records just by entering the VIN. Come on Porsche, wake up and get with it!"

I agree, the service records should be linked for any dealership that performs Porsche service. If Carfax can do it then I think Porsche certainly can as well. If the service records are for the vehicle than that information should be able to be shared with anyone that can prove that they are the current owner of the vehicle. It doesn't have to include the previous owners information so there shouldn't be any confidentiality issues. Anyone can call Porsche to get records of any warranty or campaign repairs that were made to a vehicle, we should be able to do the same for maintenance.
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malexgcab

BMW is linked.