Full or Part Service History ?? - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I am selling my Porsche Boxster S and have advertised as 'part service history' however a couple of people have commented it could be classed as 'full'.. The service history log is stamped every year up until Nov 2009 where it had done 76,285 miles. Next service Jan 2011 at 79,012 then the final service was done Feb 2014 at 89,793 miles. The reason a service was not done each year was down to the fact it was not doing a high volume of miles, only 10,000 between the last two. Can this constitute as full service history ? Any comments/advice would be appreciated!!

Does your service book just say 'Service every 10,000 miles' or does it also state 'or annually whichever comes sooner'?

SweetSarah said: I am selling my Porsche Boxster S and have advertised as 'part service history' however a couple of people have commented it could be classed as 'full'.. The service history log is stamped every year up until Nov 2009 where it had done 76,285 miles. Next service Jan 2011 at 79,012 then the final service was done Feb 2014 at 89,793 miles. The reason a service was not done each year was down to the fact it was not doing a high volume of miles, only 10,000 between the last two. Can this constitute as full service history ? Any comments/advice would be appreciated!! The Nov 2009 (76,285 miles) to Jan 2011 (79,012) wouldn't worry me as it's less than 3,000 miles in 14 months. The bigger gap from Jan 2011 (79,012) to your Last Service Feb 2014 (89,793 miles) would be an issue. Why wasn't it serviced for over 3 years?

Regardless of whether or not a 3 year gap is an issue, you have full service history. By that I mean the full history of the services carried out, it is not saying that these meet the manufacturers recommendations. If you say you have part service history then this implies to me that you are saying services have been carried out but you have no documentation for them. Edited by jkh112 on Wednesday 19th March 14:35

I agree. You have a full service history which shows that the car hasn't been serviced properly (sorry!). But frankly, depending on the age of the car it's hardly likely to matter. Some cars will have nothing more than an mot and a receipt for the last tank of petrol. Good luck with the sale.

jkh112 said: Regardless of whether or not a 3 year gap is an issue, you have full service history. By that I mean the full history of the services carried out, it is not saying that these meet the manufacturers recommendations. If you say you have part service history then this implies to me that you are saying services have been carried out but you have no documentation for them. Edited by jkh112 on Wednesday 19th March 14:35 FSH implies a car has been serviced as per the manufacturers recommendation and it's documented. If this car has a 3 year gap it obviously hasn't got a FSH.

g7jhp said: FSH implies a car has been serviced as per the manufacturers recommendation and it's documented. If this car has a 3 year gap it obviously hasn't got a FSH. I do not think there are any hard and fast rules on this. Anyone would be naive to think that FSH means it has been serviced as per manufacturers recommendations, in my view that would be 'FSH in accordance with manufacturers recommendations' or perhaps 'Full Porsche SH' . If I see 'FSH' without qualification then I understand that to mean full documentary evidence of the services carried out, (even if I see something like 'Full Porsche SH' I tend to assume it has always been serviced by an OPC but not necessarily in accordance with recommendations). As always it is up to the buyer to look at the FSH and form a judgement as to what it is saying. Edited by jkh112 on Wednesday 19th March 21:26

How strange. Service history means to me that there is 'history' of services. FSH means that all of the servicing has been done when it was supposed to have been done. Why is the word 'full' used if not to mean that the full amount of services has happened? Let me give an extreme example: If the car had been serviced ONCE in 12 years, and you had that history, no-one would call that FSH.

tomato / tomato etc. The full record is there, it's just not been done on schedule. It's not so far adrift from what should have been done that it's not FSH in my book. It is a full history of partial servicing. I don't know why I'm defending this position, I'm a stickler for proper servicing and documentation, but when you buy old cars you have to give a little on interpretation I suppose. The extreme example is just that. There may be a full history of its servicing but I would agree, a record of the one and only service in 12 years is stretching "FSH". Did you know, some people don't even change their brake fluid every 2 years?

Forget the 'full' or 'part'. Just write something like 'well kept and well maintained by OPC and Porsche specialists with documented servicing at the following dates and mileage', then go on to list the dates and mileage. Full service history is meaningless if all the owner has done is done the minimum required to get the book ticked but left all of the urgent or recommended works on the table.

Most of the history is fine. It is not FULL though. There is clearly a 3 year gap when nothing was done/checked

m3evo321 said: There is clearly a 3 year gap when nothing was done/checked Nothing? Except all the stuff they check at an MOT you mean surely? I.e. for a low mileage car, Porsche advocate an "Annual Check" which is little different to an MOT anyway (and less thorough in some areas), with no parts replaced at all. From the OP's profile pic the car is a 986 Boxster, which is 9.5-18 years old - I think anyone would be foolish to reject the car based on the service history (but as ever the car itself should be checked properly). If the car's no good, fine, but if it's perfect in all other respects and you said "nah, the history puts me off, I'll walk" then you are daft. All comparable used cars differ from one another in various ways be that spec, colour, mileage, condition, number of keepers, upcoming work due, seller's location etc etc - buying a used car is kind of a box ticking exercise from a logical point of view (though emotion does and should come in to it for a non-utilitarian car). I'd rather have a perfect car with the history discussed here than a perfect history but a tired looking car, or one in a colour I wasn't as keen on, or without an option I really wanted.

edc said: Forget the 'full' or 'part'. Just write something like 'well kept and well maintained by OPC and Porsche specialists with documented servicing at the following dates and mileage', then go on to list the dates and mileage. Full service history is meaningless if all the owner has done is done the minimum required to get the book ticked but left all of the urgent or recommended works on the table. Thanks everyone for your comments, I guess the definition of service history means different things to different people. The last thing I would want would be for someone to travel a far distance to view and be disappointed with the service history if I had advertised it as full, so I feel 'edc' gave good advice - listing the services dates and mileage.

I'd say that's a full service history. Others are just splitting hairs.

Ozzie Osmond said: I'd say that's a full service history. Others are just splitting hairs. we are not splitting hairs just relaying the facts. The s/H is not full. If the owner has not felt the need to change the oil for 3 years what else have they neglected? The car may well be in excellent fettle BUT the s/h is not full. anyone who knows anything about engines must appreciate the importance of regular oil changes as a minimum when it comes to maintenance. If that is not realised they probably aren't aware that engine oil needs to be up to temperature before driving at higher revs etc etc.

Ozzie Osmond said: I'd say that's a full service history. Others are just splitting hairs. Top trolling

(pedant mode on) Perhaps he should advertise it with Full History of Servicing

gfreeman said: (pedant mode on) Perhaps he should advertise it with Full History of Servicing Which could be worded as full service history I think it's semantics now really. Oh, and a true pedant would have noticed the OP is a she not a he

thegoose said: Oh, and a true pedant would have noticed the OP is a she not a he Custard test to confirm?

thegoose said: Which could be worded as full service history I think it's semantics now really. Oh, and a true pedant would have noticed the OP is a she not a he Kee H rist M, how did I miss that? Can the OP please post some 'bridge' pics?

thegoose said: gfreeman said: (pedant mode on) Perhaps he should advertise it with Full History of Servicing Which could be worded as full service history I think it's semantics now really. No - it couldn't. Really - it isn't. When you rearrange words in a sentence, they can give a completely different meaning, as is happening here. thegoose said: Oh, and a true pedant would have noticed the OP is a she not a he I thought that was the only reason any of you were replying to this thread.

Orangecurry said: I thought that was the only reason any of you were replying to this thread. I must admit I am finding some of these comments very entertaining.. however, I was of the impression the responses were simply to advise and be helpful, not just because I am female..

thegoose said: Oh, and a true pedant would have noticed the OP is a she not a he We're discussing a Boxster, of course it's a girl's car!

When advertising the car, list the services carried out with dates and mileage. Any potential purchaser can make up their own mind if it has full history or not. I did this along with all MOT's and mileages and also a list of "other" parts replaced with the mileage. That way, everything that has been done to the car is visible and up front.