996 Dealer Service History

I was wondering if anyone can tell me if there is a way to get the dealer service history for my 996. My indy had offer to pull if for me here in Miami but has ether decided not to do it or can't. So the question is do dealers keep the service history and share it and can we have access to it? Jaime Miami, FL

No. Unless the dealer offers to do it, there is no way to access the service history.

I like your car, Jaime!

Quotes source post: 12997255

Nice, mine is a 99 and could not be happier, I love the speed yellow color.

If you know where the car was serviced, you can contact the dealer's service department and ask for info regarding service history. Avoid asking about the previous owner. When I did this when researching a 996 Turbo I didn't ask for copies of the invoices -- the owner's info would have to be blacked out or somehow removed. I just had the woman give me the month/year of the service and what the service was. After calling the various dealers in the area where the car spent it's time with the first owner I had a pretty good feel for the car's service. If you do not know where the car was serviced you can get a CarFAX report and perhaps glean from this where the car spent some time and then call the Porsche dealers in that area. It was from the Turbo's CarFAX report I knew it spent time in the SF Bay Area and I just called every Porsche dealer (there are 6 in the area) and found 3 of them where the car had been serviced. The dealer service history databases are not linked and the factory might have some service history info but AFAIK it doesn't share this. (Almost every time the car is brought in for service it is connected to the diagnostics computer and a scan of the car's electronics is done and with this some info regarding why the car is in might be entered/provided by the tech as he gets the scan going.)

When I bought my Boxster, the Carfax had 3 pages of service at a local Porsche dealer. It was obvious the car had been regularly serviced at the dealer. I called the service dept and while they would not give me copies of invoices, they did tell me what was done. As there was no service logbook in he car, I bought one and they filled it out and stamped it.

The only national database of service records that dealers keep is for TSBs. If your car was serviced for a recall campaign, then any dealer should be able to access that. Aside from that, you'll need to contact the servicing dealer as Macster mentioned. Some will help, and some won't. Even the ones that will help can often offer you only vague information rather than complete records. For example, you may find a record that says something like: "Vehicle over heating. Tech(s) 164856. Engine Cooling." It gives you some idea of the issue, but doesn't tell you anything about the repair that was performed or the cost.

When I purchased my 996 ,the log book showed a certain dealer had worked on the car since new. Called them up and they were happy to fax me all the previous service records . The PO's name and addy were blacked out but I now have a complete set of invoices for (parts and labor) all the work done to my car . All depends on the dealer and how friendly they are.

Same here. I used Carfax to determine the dealer and gave them a call. They blacked out personal details, but otherwise all service information is intact. R

My local Porsche dealer pulled mine. I may have known where it was purchased and serviced the first half of its life. TC

I have the last four or five years of service on my recently bought 2000 Cab...they crossed out the name of the owner and address, and then gave me the docs that show what dates, parts, reason for service, prices, etc. However their records don't go back farther than that, unless they are stored in boxes somewhere, but their computers can't pull them up. Doing it in person can be more effective since they can see you and that you actually own the car. Over the phone people become much more cautious about giving out information.

Just ask nicely once you figure out which dealer(s) it was. I got mine from the dealer that sold the car the first 3x, I bought it from the 3rd owner direct. They blacked out all ID info which is fine since it still shows the VIN. Mine is a 2002 and I got it all the way back to day 1 (this was requested back in 2012, no problem finding and faxing 10 years and 40+ pages of work orders) In that same vein, they were more than willing to look up my radio code for me last week when my battery died even though I have never been to their location, I live 2000 miles away from them and as such am unlikely to ever become a customer, and frankly they owed me nothing. It's up to the dealer and perhaps even up to the individual you speak with. Maybe if you do the Johnny Ireland way and pay $300 for an oil change and while you wait flash one (or more?) of your Rolexes at the Espresso Girl, she may be able to pull a string or two for her temporary boyfriend if you catch my drift... :-)

When I bought a 2007 BMW 328XI Touring a few years ago I gave the VIN # to a friend who's a BMW tech. Turns out the car had been bought and serviced at his dealership since day one and he was able to print out a full service history for me.

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Your experience is the exception rather than the rule. One can ask for this level of response and if he gets it that's great. But I would not push for it. I'd rather get the info even if the person at the dealer has to read the info to me over the phone than not have the info at all.