RennSportV8

What percentage of diminished value would you attribute to a Porsche with no service records? Spoiled by my Audis, and by both being VW Group cars I though I could see the dealer records when I register the car. Can I?

I know, should not have made the purchase in the first place. In the last Year I have purchased two 982s. The first, a 2017 Garage Queen Cayman S, absolutely perfect, 12k miles with an MSRP of almost 120k. Never registered the car with Porsche, too perfect for a garage troll like me, I gave it to my younger son. A couple of days before Christmas I purchase a 2018 Boxster 28k mile base car, 77k MSRP with just the options I could not live without. PDK, PASM, Sport Chrono, Sport exhaust, 20" wheels and Sport Plus seats. The previous owner is giving me the runaround on the maintenance records. Before I schedule his root canal with my Proctologist please give your .02 opinion.

I am struggling with this, any and all help is greatly appreciated.
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SSDVC

Tell him he can redact his info from the repair orders if that is his sticking point. I have always asked for, and received, all available records. Hell, I even tracked down the original owner of my C4 Cab and he graciously forwarded me everything he had during his ownership, including the original dealer order paperwork. I have records for that car from birth! He even sent me the original valet key (thanks Jonathan)!! No reason not to provide records, unless there is something to hide.

Dealer may have something, but I don't think they will provide you past ownership maintenance and repair records (I could be wrong). If the records were that important, personally I would not have completed the sale until I got everything that was conveying with the car. As for diminished value, you paid what you paid. Only time will tell. Going forward, make sure to keep all records for the next person.

1RedHead

Am I understanding this correct? You already purchased a 6yr old used car and have no service records and you are now worried about some "diminished value"? And you are also upset that the previous owner is not being all that helpful by providing service records? Regardless of if you purchased it from them directly or through a third party, seems a little late to be worried about all of this. Why would the previous owner even care about providing you anything since they have sold the car and moved on?

mrandell

I don't want to pile on, but this is some odd stuff. Bought a couple Porsches. Didn't really drive one too much. Gave it to a family member to zip around in. Now trying to pester the previous owner to do exactly what? try and find something to feel bad about? These are poor life choices because they only lead to misery.

The other day, I looked up the current "value" of my car and realized it's probably worth $5k less than what I paid a year prior. There was no reason to do it and if the value was up, I'd just be more afraid of grocery store parking lots. If the value is down, I feel like a sucker. So don't engage in the exercise in the first place.

Secondly, you don't know what a car has been through and you don't know what will fail. The service records are nice, but what is the chance someone buys an expensive car and just never changes the oil and takes it straight to the Valvoline oil changers for service? Not likely. In fact, the car I purchased had great records from a Porsche dealer. It wasn't until I took it to an independent they told me the recommended service intervals are ridiculous and the car I bought had some deferred items. I spent about $4,500 replacing sparks and leaking master clutch cylinder.

After watching a million engine tear downs online from a bunch of manufacturers ("I Do Cars" youtube channel), I'm confident saying the only thing that can be reasonably done is changing the oil and filter annually, regardless of the mileage and never letting the engine overheat.

You'd just be better off direct depositing $300/month into a repair account and forgetting about the car history. If you still have the money in 5 years, put it down on a 911 GTS because you seem to value the options. That way you have something to look forward to instead of an exercise in galloping neurosis.

workhurts

1- Did you purchase direct from the owner and service records were promised or part of the deal? If yes, then I’d probably be annoyed if they’re weren’t provided. If not, why are you mad and what does establishing diminished value do if you weren’t promised the records?

2- Records won’t matter unless you plan on selling the car soon. You’ll be building your own records over time if you’re keeping it.

3- Best to assuming nothing has been done and check brakes, change all fluids etc with a used car anyway.