'Full service history?' - red flag? - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi friends - long time lurker, first time poster. I'm in conversations with a private seller about buying my first Porsche; a 981 Cayman, which is in really lovely condition. The book is stamped, but he only has once piece of paper to show for it - an inspection report back in December. The car will be OPC inspected before purchase. I might be wrong, but surely there should be a bit more paperwork? Would this be a warning flag, or a reason to not buy, for any of you? Many thanks

Depends on what value you put on all the receipts being present. The first question is whether the service book contains all the service stamps, brake fluid changes etc. Some owners don't keep paperwork and it often doesn't get passed on through dealer sales. It's great to have a file of paperwork but for me wouldn't stop me buying a car if the service history checked out and the inspection passes. If you can satisfy yourself through this that the car is good, then if not be worried.

Contact the OPC who stamped the book and ask for copies of the service history, you may need the current owner’s consent.

As said, some dealers dispose of all supportive paperwork due to (claimed) GDPR regs…

you can buy a new service book stamped up to your requirements online , so youre right to show some concern check if the stamps are real garages and call them to see if they know the car

I bought a 981 from an OPC and that too had no prior service invoices and therefore specific details to support the stamps. After I got it I contacted the dealers who had serviced it to get copies of the invoices. This proved to be a real challenge due to GDPR but ultimately suggesting that any personal details were redacted enabled them to send the docs. It did take time however!

Many thanks for the advice; I think that’s reassuring. I’ll be getting the car inspected at the OPC that it was last serviced at, so hopefully it should be a green light, perhaps they’ll let the service history be printed, and I can build up a bigger paper trail from there. The only other downside is no. of owners. I’d be the 4th, in a car which is only 6 years old. Would be a bit harder to sell if I ended up selling any time soon.

Robvee said: The only other downside is no. of owners. I’d be the 4th, in a car which is only 6 years old. Would be a bit harder to sell if I ended up selling any time soon. You're opening up a can of worms asking the ownership number question. Some will demand one owner and some won't bother. From experience I've often found that low miles few owner cars don't get the money spent after they've owned it for a few years. A new purchase you tend to lavish some attention on it. Some people only run a car 2yrs max and want to try something else so on 6 years old if it was an ex demo you'd be the 4th owner at this point. If the condition stacks up and it's the spec you want it wouldn't bother me. Clearly when you sell it you'll get low balled at every chance where the buyer can see an angle to get it cheap.

Mine had 4 owners and 10000 miles at 5 years old but it was a weekend car that most owned for a year before moving it on. I have had it for a year and 5000 miles and it’s been good as gold since. Touch wood that continues but these cars can get through a lot of owners in short time frames.

Robvee said: The only other downside is no. of owners. I’d be the 4th, in a car which is only 6 years old. Would be a bit harder to sell if I ended up selling any time soon. I was in a similar position and had similar concerns, I spoke to someone qualified to give a valid opinion and had nothing to gain/lose either way and he gave me an example of a 911 just over a year old which he had just sold to the now fifth owner. If that buyer hadn't bought it he had another two waiting for a call back on it if the sale didn't pan out. It didn't stop me and it wouldn't make any difference to me if the car was 100% right.

When I bought my 981 GT4 in early March 2020 I too expressed concern at the number of owners, however, being a GT4 it more than likely changed hands very quickly and probably more than once within the first year as they were fetching quite a premium in 2016 -2017. Mine was bought from an OPC with a full OPC service history and no paper trail, obviously due to GDPR, however, I contacted the OPCs who carried out the services to confirm what was shown in the service book and all checked out 100%. Thankfully the car had only been serviced by two OPCs so the task was relatively easy to do.

It’s all just dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s really. Best you can do is satisfy yourself that work has been done and that the car is in good fettle. A PPI is the way ahead to get the green light on the car’s condition. Ideally you have both a stamp and the paperwork, but I’d rather the paperwork than the stamp if I had to choose. My car had a new service book but paperwork for the services and other work. The services were at a well-known indy and an OPC. I called them both a couple of months ago to ask if they’d stamp the book if I sent it to them - no problem. I just want it so it’s more complete - really for the benefit of the next owner I suppose!

Not all dealers will accommodate the request for copies of service invoices - they quote GDPR and refuse to send them, even redacted. Was trying to track down a couple of invoices from Bristol OPC and just got stone walled, even though I sent photos of the service book with their stamps showing

I too had a similar issue when I purchased my Porsche. Fully stamped service history on a 996 C4, but no paperwork. All services were carried out at OPC apart from the last at a specialist which did have the invoice and the seller said the specialist had inspected the car and gave it an all clear. I contacted the dealers and not one of them would provide any additional information over the phone or provide even a redacted invoice. I naively assumed that an OPC service history meant something as all the advice I had read said it was very desirable when buying a car. What I learnt pretty quickly is that a full OPC service history without the paperwork showing the details of what was done and more importantly what advisory items were ignored, is pointless and adds nothing to the value or quality of the car. My first visit to a specialist for a little bit of work cost me over £4000 to get the car sorted and fix all the non-essential work that had clearly been skipped for many years to replace brake pipes, air con pipes, steering rack and fix a few oil leaks which needed new oil coolers (just the main items I can remember). Each of the services done during my ownership came with more additional advisory jobs to do, which I did but often made the standard service costs look like pin money Definitely proceed with caution, and eyes wide open if you do not have the details, and consider getting an inspection carried out

Also, DO NOT bother to get the car OPC inspected. This is a tick box exercise where, in my experience, they may not bother to check anything. They JUST TICK THE BOXES and charge a few hundred quid. In my case, before I bought my car privately I asked the seller (it has to be the seller, not the buyer) to get OPC Reading to do their 111 point check, which I then paid for. Despite a tick in the wheels box they didn't check the condition of the wheels, leading to PGB later making a goodwill gesture to get them refurbed after I complained. They also ticked the tyre compressor box, but it was entirely missing. This was picked up in a later 111 point check at OPC Leics for a warranty extension. So, get an independent inspection done. It'll cost more, but at least you may get some reliable information.

Hi all Thanks so much for your help; much appreciated. Two more questions I’d love to get your input on… 1. What is the service schedule for a cayman 981 2.7 - I’m seeing conflicting reports in google searches 2. Do you think we’ll see values decline much next year? Reports of a ‘bubble’ are balanced by lack of supply in my opinion Many thanks

Rob26 said: Hi all Thanks so much for your help; much appreciated. Two more questions I’d love to get your input on… 1. What is the service schedule for a cayman 981 2.7 - I’m seeing conflicting reports in google searches 2. Do you think we’ll see values decline much next year? Reports of a ‘bubble’ are balanced by lack of supply in my opinion Many thanks I hope your ‘crusade’ is going well! As mentioned, there are mixed reviews on a 111-point check. It seems they aren’t all created equal, although if it has a warranty as a result of that check, then that should add comfort. I would recommend a PPI at an independent specialist - the two I’ve had carried out were very helpful. Regarding your questions; 1) every 2 years or 20,000 miles, following the pattern ‘minor-major-minor-major-minor-major.. 2) I can see more of a plateau than a dip. Which means there will be a massive dip! Edited by Royal Jelly on Tuesday 21st September 06:19

Rob26 said: 2. Do you think we’ll see values decline much next year? Reports of a ‘bubble’ are balanced by lack of supply in my opinion Many thanks Why assume they will decline at all? If you want a late(ish) 6 cylinder Boxster/Cayman for less than £80k there is only the 981 to choose from. By the time you knock off the ones that don't suit that does not leave many to choose from and there are still plenty of people out there looking to buy one, yourself included. That does not seem like an ideal scenario for values to decline to me.