Nice 997 C2S...but patchy service history

[Pnj2018]

Hi all
Looking for some advice... I am currently considering buying a 2008 plate gen 1 997 Carrera 2 S from a dealer. I have seen and driven the car and it appears in good condition, has 1 previous owner and only 30k miles on the clock.
The sticking point is that the owner ‘lost’ the service record book and wasn’t able to recall what service history he had done on the car.

I’ve been able to determine that it had had its 20k service done at an official Porsche Centre but that was in 2013 when the car was 5 years old so it seems the owner had ignored the 2 yr rule and just waited until 20k was on the clock.
The dealer who is selling it had a service done late last year at an independent Porsche specialist (at 30k miles) ahead of marketing the car.

So for a 10 year old car, albeit with low mileage, the service history is patchy.

What do people think? Avoid it like the plague, or not get too hung up on a few missed minor services for a low-mile car? (It is priced sensibly)

Many thanks in advance for the collective wisdom!

[Wilmslowboy]

It doesn't take a big effort for the prev owner/ seller to contact the dealerships and get them to re stamp a duplicate service book, and supply copies of the receipts.

Probably add £2k++ to the value of the car - if they can't be bothered to do it...suggests there might be something a miss in the history.

If the car was not serviced in the first 5 years - then what else could the owner not be bothered to do - it would need to be a cheap car and a long term keeper.

[g7jhp]

They're not that rare, why not wait and get one which has the right history.

[MrC986]

If you're asking the forum the question, I think you know the answer.....if it's a patchy service history (or currently non-existent one given the current lack of "history"/age) it'll be a right hassle to sell on as and when you've finished with it & would need a sizeable price chip vs a similar car with history & I'd suggest it would need a full inspection & major service by a reputable independent Porsche specialist before you collect (at the sellers expense) if you were to buy it & that they attend to any issues highlighted by the specialist.

I suggest you get yourself onto 911uk & post the same question as the response will be to generally to walk away from it as it could be a costly experience and I'd doubt you'd get an after market warranty on it, if you wanted one. I'd also check the online MOT history as it'll tell you what else has been lacking maintenance-wise.

You cannot afford to miss modern extended service intervals IMO on high performance cars such as these.

[RiccardoG]

First service at 5 years age sounds like the kind of owner that will redline it from cold. Not someone you'd really want to buy a used car from, in my view.

My vote, pass.

[watercooled]

Have a compression check done and the overrevs checked. If O.K., make a really low offer. If that is not accepted, move on.

[Pnj2018]

Thanks all for the sanity check, you’ve helped me decide to give it the swerve and keep on looking!