burkef123

Looking at a 2009 C4S with 48,000 miles, original owner. Car appears very clean and handles well after a short test drive. My concern is the service history, or lack thereof. The service booklet shows the selling Porsche dealer serviced the car on three occasions up to 14,800 miles, with oil changes and an intermediate service. Actual receipts from dealer and the original sticker are not available. The next entry is at 41,400 miles at an independent shop. That included oil change, new front rotors and pads, new alternator, new battery, and two new rear tires and alignment. Nothing since then. Seller says he stopped going to dealer because of cost.
If we get to that point, I would of course get a PPI but I'm wondering how concerned I should be.

Para82

Call the shop and get the receipts, they will have them on file. If not then it never happened and I would pass.

OKB

any used car has to be inspected by a porsche dealer, get a complete cpo inspection. get the complete service history from porsche. get a carfax on the car.
after you get the dealers opinion on the current condition of the car make a decision.
Now if you dont feel good about something dont buy it. but if its in perfect condition right now, whats the worry?

rickdogg82

What does the owner say about no receipts? Did he say the car was serviced? Do you believe him? Someone would have had to reset the service warning.

I would not worry about it if a PPI checks out, the car is otherwise in good condition, and it ticks all your boxes. Use the lack of service records to negotiate a better price.

PVKPorsche

Also, dont be concerned about the book being stamped. That used to be a big deal a few years back on all German cars but for the most part the books rarely get stamped now unless you ask. Technology now makes record keeping and availability very easy so you can find out everything you wish.

Wayne Smith

You are buying the seller as well as the car. I spend my first 15 or 30 minutes of inspection figuring out the seller and then look into the car only if I am still comfortable. Some people are not organized. Some people don't keep records. How do the shelves in his garage look? There are a lot of indicators you can use. As an original owner he has driven the car. That's a good sign. A private seller knows his car better than any dealer. Why is he selling it now?

I wouldn't necessarily be scared off yet. See what the PPI says.

One thing I have heard about on the 09 models is the High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP). Has this been replaced? After 48K miles it probably doesn't matter, but it could be another bargaining chip.

Robocop305

Don't worry about it. I have a 2009 that was always serviced at the dealer and my book is not stamped. I would get it if PPI checks out.

Cbst09

IMO I would not worry too much about it. You know the oil was changed two or three times up to the 14k mark and that leaves 26k driven up to the current mileage. Although certainly not ideal, even 1 oil change at the midpoint in that period would fall within the manufacturers recommendations-ish. If the rest of the car looks like it was well cared for and the PPI checks out I would give the seller the benefit of the doubt that he didn't let his $100k+ car go 26,000 miles without an oil change and not worry too much about it.

The only maintenance required up to the current mileage would normally be a brake bleed every 2 years (not, catastrophic if this wasn't done), perhaps a serpentine belt change and spark plugs based on time (again, neither of these would damage the engine if they weren't done) for a car with 41k on the clock

andy92782

Slight subject derailment but all this service record paranoia with potential buyers brings up an interesting question - We know spark plugs need to be changed on the 997.2 at 40K intervals. Suppose an owner is a DIYer and does the swap on their own. The owner saves hundreds of dollars but now lacks a service receipt from a dealer and/or a respected indy, potentially harming resale value later on due to the overly paranoid and picky nature of P-car buyers. Is it worth it?

Quadcammer

A smart seller will have a receipt for the plugs and if they're really diligent, a pic of the old plugs or similar. Absolute proof....no. sneaky sellers are everywhere, but better than nothing.

as to calling shops to get service records for services requested and paid by a prior owner...dealer will not provide them, nor should the indy shop.

andy92782

One other thing I've noticed - Indy shops, more and more, are reporting their services to Carfax. The records posted aren't terribly detailed but they're at least a smoking gun that a seller can use to justify a higher price - and part of the car's permanent record, for better or worse.

My 997 is coming up on 40K. I was going to do the plugs myself but now I honestly think it's better I pay an Indy to do it because I'll just get that money back later on (and perhaps then some) when I go to sell the car.

burkef123

Thanks everyone and I appreciate the advice. I've now asked the seller for some detail on the repairs done at 41K and whether they were part of a normal 40K service, or if the 40K service had in fact ever been done - but, the seller seems to have gone radio silent on me - so maybe I'll have to move on.

onewhippedpuppy

I've always DIY maintained my Porsches, and saved parts receipts to document as well as logging all work in a spreadsheet. I have never had a buyer question the receipt being for parts vs a mechanic. The Porsche community is overall a DIY friendly bunch. Ferrari buyers on the other hand expect a binder with full service from the "right" shop and photos documenting the work done. Insane.....

To answer the OP, with the relatively low miles a partial service history wouldn't concern me. Just budget to replace anything due that you don't have a record for, and you'll be back on schedule.

burkef123

Good news is seller reappeared and says 40K service was done at one independent (he's tracking down the paperwork) so the repairs done at 41K were at a different independent -probably based on what came up during the earlier inspection. Any thoughts out there on current pricing - asking $58K, which I think is strong - I did a KBB pricing thing and it came up at $55K. Carfax is completely clean, 48K miles, and original owner. Any price would be subject to a PPI.

workhurts

I've faced the same dilemma when doing DIY. I have my online orders, my log and pictures of the major stuff like plugs.

You really have to figure out if you trust the seller.

When I sold my Cayman, I told the owner to come back and I'd do the fluids and filters for free in front of him (on my lift).

The big fix this time around on the 997.2 was the spark plugs which I took pictures of. Also, kept one of the old ones.

Dealer service vs diy service vs random repair shop ... Inspect the hell out of the car.