buying without full fat history

[alfa phil]

I went to look at a 997 today that had full opc history, service book fully stamped, 1 owner he kept it around seven years ,rang the opc who were obliging and confirmed all the services and a bit more had been carried out by them, but my problem being, that not one receipt was with the docs, and only one mot, when i sold my boxster i kept all receipts for work carried out, brakes, pads discs battery ,tyres. my buyer was impressed and i sold the car quickly. so has any of you guys bought second hand without this info or am i expecting to much.
on a slightly differant note im working hard to get a test drive on the car at the moment. the usual,we want a commitment from you before, and if you get one its a 5 mile route,would it be unreasonable to ask for a longer one, he did say i would know if the car was right in a couple of mins, and he was a small family run buiseness that was not prepared to offer any more , which im not that unhappy about ,but ive never driven a 911 i suppose its just the same as test driving any other car. just looking for a bit of guidance from the masses, cheers

[kitesurfer2]

Not everyone is as dilegent as you at keeping the paperwork.
If the OPC confirms the stamps, that is not so bad.
Maybe if you turned up with cash at the sellers house and asked him to take you for a ten minute drive and then he lets you drive for five minutes that should be fine, but ultimately, unless you are confident and know your stuff, it might be good to have a proper inspection by a recognised expert.

[graemel]

The invoices have probably been put through their company and ended up in the vat files. No big deal imo

[GreigM]

graemel said:

The invoices have probably been put through their company and ended up in the vat files. No big deal imo

Very common - most owners don't understand why they would keep receipts - after all a FMDSH really just means a stamped book.

[mankey]

alfa phil said:

..... but my problem being, that not one receipt was with the docs

I'm obviously missing something here. I do understand what you're getting at BUT this is a mass production car and not a national monument we're talking about here. I know that the owner could have had an OPC stamp made up to demonstrate his diligence to the car but as kitesurfer2 has pointed-out, it's the service history combined with a good inspection that matters.

When I sold my last Porsche I just passed over the service booklet and that was it.

[marky911]

Alfa phil, as said, not everyone is bothered about keeping every shred of paperwork, especially some buyers of newer stuff, who know they won't be keeping forever as a collectors car.

You can get duplicate receipts sent out by the OPC who carried out the work, but they'll only deal with the guy that owned the car at the time due to data protection. Ask if he'll ring up and get copies sent out if you get closer to doing a deal.

[tjlees]

Yep i am ocd as well. I even kept the tax discs and info used in the original search for the car. Then presented in a ring bound file.

You can get reprints from the opc. Most main stealers will do this -BMW did it for me.

In terms of the test drive, it will tell you a few things on the braking, acceleration and cornering particularly if you have driven one from a main stealer. It is never been something that has really killed the deal for me, and I have only driven one car that showed it was obviously a ringer/old banger - since it overheated within a mile. So as always, get a specialist inspection. It will pickup those hidden problems that most of us could never spot. My inspection found a dead bird and a damaged a/c rad.

[alfa phil]

Thanks for the replys ,it seems going ahead with a deal is a no no until an inspection is carried out ,although i bought my boxser S from a small garage (5yrs ago) and did not bother just test drove it , liked and bought it, it was in the days of not reading the forums on piston heads, and the belief that it was a Porsche and would never blow up,it never missed a beat. now im getting paranoid

[sy247]

When I bought my 996t from 911V it had a FSH but didn't have any supporting invoices. I was concerned about it at the time and Tom said, if it bothers you don't buy the car. I ended up buying it and it was absolutely perfect and never missed a beat. I would say buy on condition. I would be more concerned about a car that had a FSH and receipts but didn't look like it should...

[barchetta_boy]

On the test drive point the vendor is being quite fair. 5 miles is more than enough to pick up any faults. You've kind of admitted that part of the reason for wanting to drive for longer is unfamiliarity with 911s. If I was a small family business retailer I would say - go and drive some 997s at an OPC if you really need to and then when you have confirmed that is what you want come and buy a sensibly priced car from me.

Joel

[alfa phil]

fair comment but a 20 thousand miler 997.2 from opc just aint gonna drive like the early leggie 997 i drove today,

[mollytherocker]

alfa phil said:

fair comment but a 20 thousand miler 997.2 from opc just aint gonna drive like the early leggie 997 i drove today,

Exactly why you should do it! You will be able to judge how worn the older car feels against the newer one!

[monthefish]

barchetta_boy said:

On the test drive point the vendor is being quite fair. 5 miles is more than enough to pick up any faults. You've kind of admitted that part of the reason for wanting to drive for longer is unfamiliarity with 911s. If I was a small family business retailer I would say - go and drive some 997s at an OPC if you really need to and then when you have confirmed that is what you want come and buy a sensibly priced car from me.

Joel

alfa phil said:

fair comment but a 20 thousand miler 997.2 from opc just aint gonna drive like the early leggie 997 i drove today,

Indeed, but if you can't tell the difference in a 5 mile test drive, then you should perhaps be questioning your ability to assess a used car.

[alfa phil]

Never said I cant tell the differance , but i dont proclaim to be, Jeremy Clarkson either, just trying to get out and drive a few before buying , the one i drove yesteday just seemed a bit tired to me , but hey what do i know,

Edited by alfa phil on Wednesday 30th January 16:37

[chiark]

Only you can decide whether to go for one without all history. I passed on 2 cars without full history then came across one which had everything, including the receipts for wiper blades etc. I bought it: no regrets!

[alfa phil]

Still looking for a nice 997 S. thought id look at one local a bit up on the budget.
nice looking car high spec good miles, but , (theres always a but) the last two services in the book were carried out by a Mercedes Benz specialist, is it me ,or is this not a problem, its putting me off a rather nice looking car, its had a new clutch by the said specialist, im sure they know what they are doing, but come resale surely this would affect the price , what do you think.

[GreigM]

alfa phil said:

Still looking for a nice 997 S. thought id look at one local a bit up on the budget.
nice looking car high spec good miles, but , (theres always a but) the last two services in the book were carried out by a Mercedes Benz specialist, is it me ,or is this not a problem, its putting me off a rather nice looking car, its had a new clutch by the said specialist, im sure they know what they are doing, but come resale surely this would affect the price , what do you think.

To be honest it wouldn't bother me, a decent mechanic is a decent mechanic and there is little "specialist" about routine servicing on a porsche these days. The only thing missing would be a proper read of the ECU (unless the merc specialist has a durametric). Given the age of the car (I'm assuming an earlyish 997) then it wouldn't be a big issue.

[alfa phil]

cheers Greig , any one else.

[Wozy68]

alfa phil said:

cheers Greig , any one else.

I have to say yes it would bother me on a car that is not that old. I would not be impressed that a 997 hadn't got a full Porsche history, or at least Porsche specialist. But then I'M OCD on such issues.

I'm pretty sure there was a guy on here who bought a car from a benz dealer and had problems getting the service light switched off (or something like that)because they serviced it but couldn't or hadn't the equipment to reset it, and Porsche did not want to know.

[Magic919]

The older the car gets, the less this matters. There is a point where full service history is sufficient rather than main dealer.

Once you look at 6-7 year old cars you have to expect some non-OPC servicing. However, I draw the line at specialist indies and wouldn't be happy with VW or Merc dealers on a 997.