Fully stamped up service book, but no bills or receipts.....

[davegreg]

Just been for a second look at a stunning 04 996 Carerra 2 Coupe - haven't got as far as the test drive yet. It's in a Vauxhall dealership for just shy of £18k with about 67k on the clock - as I say, fully stamped up but with no receipts. Should I be worried do you think?

[pete a]

I like to see receipts as well, getting a book stamped up is very easy.

[guyvert1]

You can sometimes call up the garage that serviced it and check work..

[anonymous-user]

No Porsche I have ever part exed has gone with my receipts, and no future owner has ever contacted me about the history.
Make of that what you will.

[jimmy p]

just use your phone and photo the service book then check up later at the garages for confirmation. Most garages have helped when I have done this in the past.

[David911RSR]

davegreg said:

Just been for a second look at a stunning 04 996 Carerra 2 Coupe - haven't got as far as the test drive yet. It's in a Vauxhall dealership for just shy of £18k with about 67k on the clock - as I say, fully stamped up but with no receipts. Should I be worried do you think?

Are you planning to have the car PPI'ed by a respected specialist if you decide to go ahead?

[mrdemon]

receipts is more a private sale thing unless a rare old car etc.

[supersport]

I would expect to find more than stamps, if not actual receipts then the service docs that list what was done. Never seen a car without these.

[Zyp]

I sold my 996 turbo to a dealer and included a folder full of receipts (from me and the previous two owners).
I hope they were passed on to the next owner - makes a great history for the car.

[mikem7709]

Got invoices all the way back to 2002 for mine, can't see any for £10K though !!

[mohitos]

drmark said:

No Porsche I have ever part exed has gone with my receipts, and no future owner has ever contacted me about the history.
Make of that what you will.

Why didn't you pass the receipts along when you PX'd? Any enthusiast owner would love to have them.

[mohitos]

mrdemon said:

receipts is more a private sale thing unless a rare old car etc.

I really see it differently. I love to have all the details, be it a private or dealer purchase.

[carcrazypop]

Some Dealers are the problem as a few of them can't really be bothered; I once traded a car and passed over all service receipts and spare keys. A couple of months later, the new owner wrote to me asking if I had the spare keys; I told them I had passed them to the Dealer, but he appeared to have simply 'lost' them.

[CraigJ]

When i bought my 996 in January it had a fully stamped book but no receipts. The same specialist had stamped it for the last 5 years so i rang them there and then. They confirmed they knew the car and the last owner and also told me about other work that had been carried out.

You have nothing to loose by ringing them.

[Geoff997]

Some dealers do not pass on receipts etc. because of fear of falling foul of the Data Protection Act. My local OPC does not take those sort of documents from previous owners, preferring the new owners contact previous ones directly to obtain any known extra documentation.

[mohitos]

Geoff997 said:

Some dealers do not pass on receipts etc. because of fear of falling foul of the Data Protection Act. My local OPC does not take those sort of documents from previous owners, preferring the new owners contact previous ones directly to obtain any known extra documentation.

This is also my experience although the inconsistency drives me mad! The 996 C4S I bought last year had a fully stamped book by two OPC's. one was prepared to send me copy invoices. The other reduced for reasons of data protection although did confirm by phone they were genuine stamps.

If Data Protection applies I totally understand, but I cannot understand the inconsistency and it really winds me up!

[anonymous-user]

mohitos said:

Why didn't you pass the receipts along when you PX'd? Any enthusiast owner would love to have them.

More than happy to pass copies on (I keep originals for my accounts) but OPCs not that bothered. What is surprising is that I never been contacted by previous owners either - my GT3 had £8100 spent on it in the 18/12 before I sold it yet the new owner has no record of the work. A shame.
Bottom line?IMHO, PH enthusiasts aside, most Porsche buyers just want a stamped service book.


Edited for accuracy!

Edited by drmark on Sunday 11th August 12:22

[Wozy68]

drmark said:

More than happy to pass copies on (I keep originals for my accounts) but OPCs not that bothered. What is surprising is that I never been contacted by previous owners either - my GT3 had 10k spent on it in the 18/12 before I sold it yet the new owner has no record of the work. A shame.
Bottom line?IMHO, PH enthusiasts aside, most Porsche buyers just want a stamped service book.

Agree. I'd not have a problem with records as long as the correct book is with the car and fully stamped up. Saying that though, I'd be only happy as long as the stamps were OPC and/or well known specialist.

[davegreg]

Cheers for the replies guys. I think the thing to do would be indeed to contact some of the garages on the service stamps. My other main concern is that this actual car is too nice to have parked on the street outside my house - even though I owned a Vauxhall Monaro for over 3 years which never came to any harm. One half of me is saying don't get one....and the other is saying 'life is too short - if ya want one, then get one'. We'll see.

Edited by davegreg on Sunday 11th August 21:09

[paul chocks]

A stamp only means the minimum service was completed (oil/filters etc). When you have a car serviced, you may well get a whole bunch of recommendations (some of which might be just the dealer trying it on!), however, a service stamp doesn't necessarily show the owner looked after the car as well as you might imagine. Hence, I like to see details - I wouldn't buy a car without. Having said that, as others say, most reputable dealers will give you a copy of the records, albeit with credit card details, addresses etc deleted.

Good luck