porsche purchase question

Dottore · 07-09-2010, 03:57 PM

This may be stupid question...

I've found a used Porsche at a dealer in the US that looks very nice indeed. The car is 4 years old and it has only 3,000 miles on it. No first service. Nothing. It looks and smells new.

According to Car Fax, there was one first owner, who sold it to the current seller.

Strangely (or not), the Porsche service book, that usually has the original selling dealers stamp in it, and option codes etc is completely blank. No entries at all.

I have no reason to suspect anything strange, but what would account for a completely blank service book?

Assuming the original was lost, can this information be obtained from PCNA with the VIN?

Should I be worried about not having the original sales/ dealer/ option code info?

The current dealer simply claims they bought the car from the first owner with a blank book.

Any and all comments much appreciated.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Is there any other documentation that supports the original sale? The delivery salesman/technician may have just been lazy in filling out the service book at time of sale. Seems a bit odd, though. Shouldn't that paperwork stuff be done when the car arrives in the dealer's inventory and gets checked out?

And the current dealership should certainly be willing to throw in the first maintenance visit/oil change for free, seeing as how that motor oil is now 4 years-old.

Dottore · 07-09-2010, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noah930

Is there any other documentation that supports the original sale? The delivery salesman/technician may have just been lazy in filling out the service book at time of sale. Seems a bit odd, though. Shouldn't that paperwork stuff be done when the car arrives in the dealer's inventory and gets checked out?

.

No other documents re the original sale. I always thought the dealer stamp and other entries relating to the original sale that are on this page of the Service booklet are what start the clock ticking on the warranty period—and are therefore vital bits of information to have. Am I wrong in this?

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Is this a Porsche dealer you're talking about or some Hank's Tanks used car corner lot?

Eric Coffey · 07-09-2010, 05:10 PM

I'd be suprised if it didn't have an "in service" date, and at least an initial factory dealer service. Any dealer (or PCNA) should be able to tell you the (dealer) service history via the VIN. You can also find out exactly what option codes the car has.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Coffey's right. Via the VIN, the dealer service dept should be able to give you a printout of all that vital service info. I'd be surprised if the dealership didn't have all the option codes accessible through the same or similar computer system.

Dottore · 07-09-2010, 08:37 PM

OK.

But apart from the negative re-sale aspects of not having the complete original documentation for this car—is there potentially any darker reason why the original service book and original sales information is missing, and why this has been replaced with blanks?

I just find it very odd that (a) this book and info is missing, and (b) the mileage is so incredibly low. But what do I know?

speeder · speeder's Garage

Ditto on the info being available from any dealer, I got a complete print-out on my '99 that included DOB, options, engine/trans serial numbers, etc.

Not sure how it works nowadays but back when I sold Porsches, (in the dark ages), the cars had two identical stickers that were on the inside of the front hood. One sticker was stuck to the sheet metal and the other was on contact paper still connected to the *stuck one*. When we sold the car, we took the *unstuck sticker* off of the contact paper and put it in the warranty book. (There was a place for it).

I was looking at some almost new 911s and turbos the other day and noticed that the cars don't have that sticker under the hood anymore. It was missing on the first one I looked at, so I checked a couple more wondering if that meant the first one had been in an accident. (Replacement hood). None of them had it.

Blank book isn't the end of the world since you will get it stamped for all of the services from here out, (including first service). It's a little weird, though...

Dot, did you get the message from me about the '08 997S? Might be more $$ than you want to spend but it's a prime cut of Porsche.

rnln · 07-09-2010, 11:53 PM

I have seen more than 1 blank service book, none 911.

Dottore · 07-10-2010, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeder

Dot, did you get the message from me about the '08 997S?

Thanks Denis. I got your message and thought I replied. I may still get back to you on this, but if the current car checks out next week, I'll be happy..

Steve Carlton · 07-10-2010, 06:53 AM

Why not call the original selling dealer per the Carfax?

Dottore · 07-10-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Why not call the original selling dealer per the Carfax?

No reference to original dealer in Carfax. Only reference is to DMV where vehicle was registered.

rouxroux · 07-10-2010, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dottore

OK.

But apart from the negative re-sale aspects of not having the complete original documentation for this car—is there potentially any darker reason why the original service book and original sales information is missing, and why this has been replaced with blanks?

I just find it very odd that (a) this book and info is missing, and (b) the mileage is so incredibly low. But what do I know?

Maybe the original book is in Houston.

Dottore · 07-10-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rouxroux

Maybe the original book is in Houston.

Translation?

onlycafe · 07-10-2010, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dottore

Translation?

victory motors.

Rot 911 · 07-11-2010, 06:21 PM

None of my BMW's have had the service book stamped. The dealers now keep everything on computer via the key fob. You go to the dealer and they give you a print out of all the services. Maybe Porsche does the same thing?

BRPORSCHE · 07-11-2010, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dottore

Translation?

I had to do a favor for a pelican that bought a 997 here. They forgot to mail the owners manual and key.

javadog · 07-12-2010, 05:13 AM

Some dealers will remove the first page of the warranty book, or give you a new one, to protect the privacy of the first owner. This also happens when cars go through auctions. Having no stamps in a service book is normal - few dealers stamp the book unless you ask them to do so.

The in-service date can be obtained from any dealer, as can the service history (if there is one) and the options. What bothers me about the car is that it might have missed it's first few services. Going on the basis of mileage alone, to perform the first oil change, isn't good.

JR

speeder · speeder's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by javadog

Some dealers will remove the first page of the warranty book, or give you a new one, to protect the privacy of the first owner. This also happens when cars go through auctions. Having no stamps in a service book is normal - few dealers stamp the book unless you ask them to do so.

The in-service date can be obtained from any dealer, as can the service history (if there is one) and the options. What bothers me about the car is that it might have missed it's first few services. Going on the basis of mileage alone, to perform the first oil change, isn't good.

JR

True and accurate post except that I would not be concerned in the least about the factory oil sitting in the crankcase. What pray tell do you think might have happened to it? Gotten moldy?

porsche4life · porsche4life's Garage

It might even still have German Air in the tires... I don't see a problem....