is this C4S one to avoid?

Looking at a variety of 911 Cabs and this one has caught my eye - a 2003 C4S with a great spec. Been in contact with the owner and I have a copy of the service record, it was not stamped between 2005 and 2009, so has missed 3 services - unless it is on 2 yearly services - it may be a MY04. It has just (two weeks ago) had a major at Classic and Sports in Cheshire. The owner is flexible on price and is aware that the price is impacted by a far from perfect history. 2003 PORSCHE 911 2dr Carrera 4S Convertible I called Porsche Wilmslow who were the last OPC in the service book and they did not see it after 2005. They tell me there is no national Porsche database for servicing records. It looks a lovely C4S but would it be a world of pain owning it with a dodgy past?

What was the mileage at the last stamped service? It may have become a weekend car and hardly put any miles on between then and now. Some owners who only do very low annual mileage just don't see the point of Porsche stamped services once the original warranty has finished. It may have had 4 years of Mobile 1 top-ups but doesn't mean its going to implode! Have you tried contacting the garage that did the most recent major service and ask for info?

Sports and Classic have a very good reputation. Speak to Mike and ask his view. Would he enroll the car onto his lifetime maintenance plan? If you can buy the at a reduced price and no further maintenance is required, may be worth a punt

That is what I thought, but there is something like 35,000 miles between the 2005 and 2009 services!

Id give it a miss and continue searching. The price is not tempting either...

Agreed, not that tempting at the price with the missing history. Depends how flexible he is on price and a good PPI would be worthwhile. Cheers, Phil

I know that synthetic oils are good - but they aren't that good! It would worry me what damage might have been done in that time, and there is no way of assessing it. It would need a serious reduction in price to be worth considering, and I mean serious - enough to pay for a new engine should this one let go due to lack of care. I would also query what else had been neglected if he couldn't even stick to the service schedule.

If your concerned about its past when buying, think about how hard it will be when you end up trying to sell it. The longer you keep it then the gap in the history will become less significant. But at its current price it does not seem a bargain... There must be better examples out there ?

Thanks for all your comments. This C4S is now getting a wide berth!