Service history on a car which has been in storage?

Just wondering what the general view is on cars which have obviously been in storage for a number of years and so may go 3 years, 5 years or even longer without a service? Assuming the car has been serviced at an OPC or Indy before & after, with receipts to verify the work and mileage, is there going to be any negative impact on resale value down the line? I've been looking at some Turbos and GT3s this week where they've had extended periods off the road, which in most cases has resulted in lower-than-average mileages. Anything specific to look out for on these - new tyres, fluids, battery etc? Thanks!

Well my view would be if they have not been used they do not need a service. If a car is in storage then components can get sticky, brakes bind and so on but generally if it was in good fettle before storage it will be the same when it emerges into the light. What have you seen?

If a car has been prepared properly to go into ,ong term storage I can see why it would not necessarily need a service. But it has to be prepared properly. Otherwise there's may need to be replaced, there could be corrosion on parts. Need to know where it was stored (heated, dry location?) etc.

Yes there will be an impact on price. It will always have the service gap so price should reflect that vs a full service car. When you sell someone will ask the same questions you are. Place I use for storage will take the cars for Mot/service etc without issue, so no real excuse not to maintain the car to spec really (OPC or indie). The issue as others point out is not knowing where/how it's stored. But 996 are getting on a bit so the usual Advice to have a PPI is the same regardless of the individual car.

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Its just been interesting - my friend was initially looking for a GT3 but has accepted they're out of his price range just now so changed to looking for a Turbo. There's a few with very low mileages which obviously are priced at a premium and there's lots available with 80-100K miles on them, but he's been to see two in the last week which are around 55K miles. Both cars looked immaculate, but when looking at the service history a couple of things stood out. One was that they both had gaps of 3-5 years where they were clearly off the road and in storage. The mileage either side of the gap tallied and was accompanied by dealer stamps for services with receipts to back them up. The other thing was that servicing on both seemed to follow the every 15K rule (Minor - 15K, 45K, 75K; Major - 30K, 60K, 90K etc.), kind of which got us wondering how many of these cars aren't bought by "petrolheads" who will stick to the servicing intervals religiously and do more frequent oil changes and the like. If the cars get a full service before you buy them and you have them PPI'd, everything looks good and you have receipts for all of the regular and preventative maintenance in between, what's a reasonable deduction to ask for from the asking price? If you're not buying one of these as an investment with very low miles, what is your future penalty going to be when you come to resale, if you have a car which has maybe gone a bit longer between services at one point than was recommended?

That's thing, neither of the two cars with this gap have any supporting documentation other than the dealer saying "it was in storage." There's no reason to doubt that based on the mileage either side of the gap and the condition of the cars. I think he's going to get a PPI on one of them, but its also raised the question in his mind about the difference in valuation on a car which has got a FSH by the letter of the law (i.e. its been serviced at around about the right time according to the miles or date) and a car which has been serviced more than recommended. If there's nothing untoward highlighted on the PPI, should you buy on what you see in front of you, maybe ask for a few grand off the price, or should you be wary about its past?

The service history on my 911 is not always exactly on time because I work at sea. So often I do it when I'm back in the country. I also noticed last night that my car went for almost a year without an MOT because of my work and other travel. But it's not because of neglect, the car gets everything it needs, just not always on time. Sometimes life gets in the way.

Just buy on the condition you see, the 993 I've just bought has very little recent service history but that was allowed for in the price and I'm prepared to have it gone over. Already had four tyres. Two years of pandemic hasn't helped as a lot of cars have gone unused. 996 Turbo is a great car, I bought one with 124,000 miles on a couple of years ago.

Yes, that's what I was basically saying to him - unless you're shopping at the very top end of the marketplace, you're going to see a very wide range of service history on these cars. I'm close to getting my first 911, a 996 C4S, but its been interesting having a look around some GT3s and Turbos while I wait!

Yes. Just assume someone might do the same when you sell. They might not but it's all part of the game.

Check the dates on the tyres, could be an indicator of how the car has been looked after. Also that they are matching. If it's been stored they might be very old. You're looking about £1,000 to replace them so worth checking. Anyway a PPI will show up all this.

I think it's quite common for 911s to be stored and not used, if its had a recent service & once over prior to storage that would be beneficial. I'd also drop the oil in-between services but that isn't essential. If you having a PPI it will come up with a list of subjective issues, tyre date codes as mentioned is quite common (as people don't do the mileage) Good look with your search

The last service and inspection is only the one to count. Whilst I get the imperative for service history it would not matter to me one jot if the car had been in long term storage as I would be having a thorough inspection on it before I bought it and would make my decision to buy at a price based on that.