Maintenance records.

When one sells his beloved porsche,, everyone says that inorder to get the highest dollar for it,, you should have all the maintenace records. What do you do if you have done all the work yourself and haven't had it to an "authorized" mech.. It seems that eveyone on this board has no intention of selling their P-car (myself included). But how do you convey all your time and money to a potentional buyer?
best of luck in 01.

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85 Carrera Targa

I had a ton of money in my last 911 ('73T/RSR). When I sold it I just showed the guy the phonebook thick folder of parts receipts. I gave him copies of the ones he wanted and through in a few tech books as well. Some of the work was farmed out, those receipts were kept as well. Generally, your time and work is worth nothing and the parts are worth about 1/2 when you go to sell the car. It looks pretty impressive to have those high dollar bills for labor, but you sure won't come out ahead for it. When I do general maintenance on my cars I log the work/mileage/date/notes in a logbook created for that purpose. This is about all you can show a potential buyer. They will be able to tell that you are an enthusiast who keeps his cars nice.

Having a lot of bills for parts/labor is not a bad thing. Depending on the person who is about to buy your car it can mean a lot. I bought mine because ALL bills were there, and from an official Porsche dealer. There was a fully stamped book plus everything else was there, including tool kit, air preassure checking device etc. etc. This doesn't guarantee for a good car, but it does make you feel more secure. Now I can tell when the fly wheel was replaced, the clutch, the drive shafts, the heater blower etc. etc. It's actually nice to know such things. And I know too that everything has been done with original Porsche parts.

So for me it made a difference. Others might not care for bills etc., but there's no harm in keeping a record at least. Certainly if you do your own work.

If you have the original factory warranty book you can make entries in there for each service you do. Although you are not a dealer and you don't have a stamp, you can still make the entries and ititial it with your own name so it's clear that the service was done. I don't think there's anything wrong with that as long as you're not trying to fool anyone.

Records were important to me, and I'd be delighted to buy a car from Brian, or someone else like him. It would comfort me greatly to hold a thick stack of receipts and wander around the car hearing tales from the seller about upgrades and problems solved using wrenches. If I were ever to sell my SC (yeah, right), you can bet I'd have good answers to the 'how does it run' questions. I have done nothing except carrera tensioners and popoff, but am just about to gently install upgrades. I'll have all receipts and I'll be able to prove the car has been loved, to any knowdegeable buyer's satisfaction. But then, there's gonna be no buyer for my car.

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'83 SC

I save all my receipts. But to get an idea of how loved my SC is, all one would have to do is ask any of my neighbors who have stopped by on many, many occations to see what was going on and how could anyone work on a car so much. I also believe that mechanic receipts are deceptive. Who was the mechanic? Was he [she] honest? Did they keep repairing the car with inferior parts, or did they use parts proven to enhance performance and reliability (e.g. pressure fed chain tensioners)? When I bought my car, not all thereceipts were there. But I did get teh name of the mechanic who had servicedthe car for the PO for about 10 years. I merely went down and chatted with him. But none of this matters because I'll never sell the car. Way to much time and sweat involved to start over. I'll just build a wider garage.
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Paul
78 SC Targa

There are a couple of things I look for when buying a car. One is an owner who is an enthusiast. Talk to the neighbors. If the guy has been seen washing the car in the rain you may be on to something. Another thing is economics. Is the car a financial strain for the guy, or can he throw money at it at will. If the latter is true, time to move on to the records. Can you eat off the engine? Another good sign.

I've washed my car in the rain.

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'83 SC

I've washed my car in the nude......no I didn't