Self servicing VS Resale - Page 2 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Morning. I purchased my 997.1 C2s about 7 months ago and its done about 7k miles since its last service so id like to service it soon. I normally do all my own work on my cars as its the only way I can trust that its been done properly. See my readers cars thread for all the work iv done on the car so far: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Every time I do anything to the car I keep all the receipts and take pictures and document the entire process of what I'm doing. The car has full service history (mixture of main dealer, specialist and the last service was done at a non specialist garage) The plan is to keep the car for at least the next few years but I'm wondering what would happen value/resale wise if I am to service the car myself. Would self servicing the car be a big no no for future buyers? I know personally id rather buy a car where the previous owner was meticulous about Maintaining the car as oppose to someone who just had it sent to their local dealer once a year for a quick checkover. What are peoples views on this?

There are probably a lot of Porsche buyers who wouldn’t touch one without a full service history, but given the age of yours, I’d be comfortable buying without given the documented history of it. Most people will get a PPI done anyway - in short, you might narrow your market, but I don’t think you’d devalue it.

Given the non-OPC history so far I'd crack on and document everything as you describe you would. Can't see it would make that much difference to value in the future

What I used to do was self service ( everything bar oil ) my porsche then get the basic £250 oil change service done at the OPC. Book was stamped, inspection report done. Keeps the buyers happy.

I self service my cars and my rationale (I'm an economist) is that if the loss on resale is lower than the cash saved by self servicing then crack on and enjoy the extra cash. eg. Keeping the car for 5 years: OPC servicing at £600 a pop = £3000 Self Servicing at £100 a pop (decent oil, decent filter) = £500 If I have to take a £2000 hit on the resale, I'm still £500 better off...and I know that the job has been done properly. Obviously if I had a £150k GT3 then the loss on resale would be far higher and hence I'd get it serviced at an OPC. Likewise, for newer cars, I have always (begrudgingly) paid for main dealer servicing whilst the car was in warranty.

Thanks for your replys. Some very good points. Also note the car is pretty much on 100k miles so it's not a pristine immaculate low milage car that would attract the more "picky" buyer.

AyBee said: There are probably a lot of Porsche buyers who wouldn’t touch one without a full service history, but given the age of yours, I’d be comfortable buying without given the documented history of it. Most people will get a PPI done anyway - in short, you might narrow your market, but I don’t think you’d devalue it. But it will have full service history, he is going to document the service and keep all the receipts etc? What is a PPI and what will it tell the new owner about how / where / when it's been serviced? Genuine question by the way.

PPI = Pre-Purchase Inspection

PurpleFox said: AyBee said: There are probably a lot of Porsche buyers who wouldn’t touch one without a full service history, but given the age of yours, I’d be comfortable buying without given the documented history of it. Most people will get a PPI done anyway - in short, you might narrow your market, but I don’t think you’d devalue it. But it will have full service history, he is going to document the service and keep all the receipts etc? What is a PPI and what will it tell the new owner about how / where / when it's been serviced? Genuine question by the way. Yes, I meant stamps in the service book, which is the usual way someone would document a car having a full service history

I would go the compromise route. Get oil services done with stamps in the book by an indy. Do the rest yourself with full documentation. The oil services really, really won't cost much, but will keep people who want stamps in the book happy.

Export56 said: What I used to do was self service ( everything bar oil ) my porsche then get the basic 250 oil change service done at the OPC. Book was stamped, inspection report done. Keeps the buyers happy. +1

If it was me looking to buy I wouldn't be buying a Porsche without a recorded service history from a specialist personally without a very hefty reduction over the equivalent car with a stamped history with a specialist. It's a problem with many prestige sports cars that as they get older owners start cutting corners, nothing personal against you OP as i'm sure you are very competent to do it yourself but if I was coming in cold as a buyer that's how I would view it. I bought an older Boxster in January and I came across a number without a solid history which I passed over.

Jamescrs said: If it was me looking to buy I wouldn't be buying a Porsche without a recorded service history from a specialist personally without a very hefty reduction over the equivalent car with a stamped history with a specialist. It's a problem with many prestige sports cars that as they get older owners start cutting corners, nothing personal against you OP as i'm sure you are very competent to do it yourself but if I was coming in cold as a buyer that's how I would view it. I bought an older Boxster in January and I came across a number without a solid history which I passed over. I would agree - you probably lose a large proportion of potential buyers. I would personally be looking for cars that had been maintained by independent specialists or OPC and who could demonstrate that the common wear and tear/preventative maintenance items had been addressed, not just oil and filters. Obviously having a well documented service log would help, but only with the few buyers that have not been put off. Don't forget that these are expensive sports cars, not a shopping car

anonymous said: [redacted] I forgot to say that the car will do about 10-15k miles a year, so the 20k service by the garage (if I go this route) would be done every 1.5 to 2 years. My own services would be done every 6-9 months

I can only speak for myself, but to echo others (and I change my oil every 5k on sports cars) I’d want the specialist/OPC stamps as required, but would certainly be pleased to see interim oil changes.

Thanks for all the thoughts and opinions. I think the most sensible thing for me to do is to get the services done by a Porsche specialist/ OPC. Just slightly paranoid as when the car was in a garage to change the gearbox oil for the last service with the last owner they overfilled the gearbox (as shown in my thread on the car: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... I also don't let the car out my sight and the only person who works on it is myself - its the only way I know everything has been done correctly. I live near to Unique Porsche Specialists and Hartech which is pretty fortunate so I'll probably be using one of them. I also work near an OPC but I think I would trust a specialist more. The service intervals are 20k miles which is ridiculous and probably a huge cause of the bad reputation these engines get. So one idea is to get it serviced at a specialist every 20k interval to keep the service history, but then service it myself every 5-10k miles. So every 3/4th service would be done at a specialist with a stamp in the book. I guess this way it would keep the full service history? Any opinions on this approach would be much appreciated NOTE: The car will do/does 10-15k miles a year so it would never go more than 2 years without a stamp in the book if i was to take this possible approach to servicing. Edited by adean22 on Friday 27th May 13:05

The 20k official interval is too long. It's only 20k to allow Porsche Europe to posture re sustainability. In the US where looking sustainable has historically been less important they only briefly moved the interval to 20k before moving back to more sensible 10k intervals. On a relatively high reving sports car engine, 10k is the absolute maximum I'd be comfortable with. Viscosity of the oil has changed dramatically by that point. Running to 20k would be like putting oil in that's absolutely miles out of spec and running it for 10k. Probably not an issue in the short to medium term, but likely will limit long term engine life. I think the 20k intervals are probably why bore scoring on M97 lumps seemed to become a really widespread issue here before it became quite such a big thing in the US. It's pretty bad in the US, too, now, but anecdotally, it was epidemic here before it became seen as a major worry in the US. Suspect that is down to the ridiculous 20k service intervals here.

esotericar said: The 20k official interval is too long. It's only 20k to allow Porsche Europe to posture re sustainability. In the US where looking sustainable has historically been less important they only briefly moved the interval to 20k before moving back to more sensible 10k intervals. On a relatively high reving sports car engine, 10k is the absolute maximum I'd be comfortable with. Viscosity of the oil has changed dramatically by that point. Running to 20k would be like putting oil in that's absolutely miles out of spec and running it for 10k. Probably not an issue in the short to medium term, but likely will limit long term engine life. I think the 20k intervals are probably why bore scoring on M97 lumps seemed to become a really widespread issue here before it became quite such a big thing in the US. It's pretty bad in the US, too, now, but anecdotally, it was epidemic here before it became seen as a major worry in the US. Suspect that is down to the ridiculous 20k service intervals here. I completely agree with you. As mentioned I wouldn't dream of going past 10k between a service. I normally change my cars oil between 5-8k miles, iv done about 6.5k in the 911 since last service so that's why this thread was started so I could discuss the possible options and get peoples opinions on it.

adean22 said: I completely agree with you. As mentioned I wouldn't dream of going past 10k between a service. I normally change my cars oil between 5-8k miles, iv done about 6.5k in the 911 since last service so that's why this thread was started so I could discuss the possible options and get peoples opinions on it. In which case, if you get the scheduled stamps but do oil changes yourself in the interim, you’re not limiting your resale prospects in any way.

Personally at your cars age I would do what others have said get the oil changed when it's needed for the stamp but keep all the bills and document what you have done yourself. For an older Porsche as long as it's had regular oil changes happy days Plus it doesn't matter where what is was serviced for 10 years ago it's about the last 2/3 services with bills and any work undertaken. Plenty of capable mechanics out there who do just as good of job as opc. At half the price. Enjoy.

'So one idea is to get it serviced at a specialist every 20k interval to keep the service history, but then service it myself every 5-10k miles. So every 3/4th service would be done at a specialist with a stamp in the book. I guess this way it would keep the full service history? Any opinions on this approach would be much appreciated NOTE: The car will do/does 10-15k miles a year so it would never go more than 2 years without a stamp in the book if i was to take this possible approach to servicing.' Would there be any reason not to put your own interim services in the book without an official stamp, I'd think that would good in between the official ones, with the receipts available to back them up ?? Or is that a daft idea

Not a daft idea by any means, but knowledgeable buyers want receipts & invoices, rather than stamps. Both is a bonus I guess. As long as you can show buy either measure that the oil has been changed, you’re going to be appealing to buyers.

Nothing like running a sports car on a shoe string and scrimping on service and maintenance to effect resale value. You will lose more than you save so why even bother. Car will be gard to move onbwith majority of potential buyers put off by this cost saving approach

Curledge said: Nothing like running a sports car on a shoe string and scrimping on service and maintenance to effect resale value. You will lose more than you save so why even bother. Car will be gard to move onbwith majority of potential buyers put off by this cost saving approach I'd tend to agree, but I think the OP is planning to maintain the official service history plus carrying out additional interim maintenance/oil changes, surely that demonstrates an increased level of car care ?? I can relate to his paranoia after my own Spyder oil change at an OPC - not in Scotland so that eliminates 4. Pool of oil under the car after a few weeks in the garage, sump plug not tight, just can't understand how that can be allowed to happen especially at an OPC, and sorry they just don't come loose if they've been tightened properly in the first place with a new seal ring.

Sandy59 said: I'd tend to agree, but I think the OP is planning to maintain the official service history plus carrying out additional interim maintenance/oil changes, surely that demonstrates an increased level of car care ?? I can relate to his paranoia after my own Spyder oil change at an OPC - not in Scotland so that eliminates 4. Pool of oil under the car after a few weeks in the garage, sump plug not tight, just can't understand how that can be allowed to happen especially at an OPC, and sorry they just don't come loose if they've been tightened properly in the first place with a new seal ring. This is an issue - the fact that OPCs produce vast numbers of stories of sheer incompetence. Obviously run of the mill oil changes and the like, tend to be done by the least experienced/knowledgable tech. Go to a good indie specialist, and you’ll be in safe hands.

In the end I ended up doing the major service myself - I had a free weekend and I had an urge to work on the car so I ordered spark plugs, millers 10w50, brake fluid, all filters and a new exhaust system and cracked on with it. Iv got every receipt and many detailed photos. Iv probably just devalued the car but I had a great weekend in the process, iv learnt loads about the car and I know everything was done properly. To go with my own service records i am fetching the car to a highly regarded local specialist to have them check it over and read over revs etc - this should go with my own service records and show that i did get a professional to look over the car and the work i did - they may even find things that need doing on the car, in which case ill crack on with doing them aswell.