would you buy a car without service/maintenance records?

Read between the lines. They will make the effort on your behalf but you don't know what kind of busiess relationship they have with other shops or dealers. How satisfied will you be if they provide you incomplete info vs. doing it yourself and getting the same information?

Part of my purchasing is to understand where the owner had it serviced (if private party), run the CarFax to get an idea where previous owners went for service even if that is incomplete, and contact each place myself. I do this on top of a PPI.

It's a privacy law that prevents dealers from giving out personal information of other owners, but some have skirted this in years past and I have had packets of records with original copies complete with owners info mailed to me USPS in a brown envelope. Some dealer systems can also do a summary print out without owners information. Some will refuse to give you any info but I find this is rare and atypical.

If you're charming, and the service advisor is willing, some will detail right there on the phone with you so take notes. Regular services, major repairs, and declined service are all great things to know if you can get that info.

What do you honestly expect to learn from someone who gained pleasure keeping it in the garage a few years and put less than 2,000 miles on it? They don't have a good understanding of the car let alone much incentive to keep it serviced. Fun is over, pass it on to the next owner. That was such a reliable car, it never broke in the 2,000 miles I drove it. Ferrari's are great! Pathetic.

I bought my F430 without a PPI and had to roll the dice with an unwilling owner. They didn't trust the dealer network or service shops laying hands all over their car. So how did I get around this? Both dealerships, one an official Ferrari dealer, were willing to read out the services and repairs to me on the phone. The 2nd owner for 8 years and 19K miles is the one who had the most opportunity and exposure to maintenance and repairs which was detailed out by these two dealerships. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

I downloaded the buyers checklist assembled right here on F-chat from the 360/430 section, did what I could, test drove it moderately, and felt extremely confident. When the car arrived and I was able to really dig into it my shop and I discovered it needed $500 to $600 in repairs. It's been fantastic the last 5 years.

P.S. 2006 F1 berlinetta, 26,500mi, $78K, and it came with a new clutch

 

I bought a ferrari on ebay. No ppi or nothing. It was “high” mileage and i had a lot of fun.

 

Wow Sunny! That's a great deal! Glad you had no issues

 

I am so rammy sometimes, if I see what I want and I have to have it, I just buy it. Got a bit burned on my last purchase (and by what I thought was a reputable dealer) but it was a smokin initial deal and I’m just putting everything right with it. I love the car so much.

Next car I will thoroughly have PPI’d

 

I have bought 6 ferraris with no ppi and mixture of records fully documented and some with just 1 key to start the car. It does not matter. Records give a flavor or the car and it's owner. It is interesting reading but little more than that. I got one checkbook owner car seemingly well maintained. It was on it's third set of cats. When one would fail the owner was convinced he needed both replaced. That happened with 2 local mechanics with good reps in the area. Ultimately it caused a mild fire and the owner said uncle! And that's how I ended up with the car. No one fixed the cause only the resulting symptoms. So a seemingly well maintained car by pros looks like junk no fault of the car. I've owned this car since and it works perfect because it's been fixed correctly.

 

Yes, you are mistaken.

 

???

 

For me personally, i couldnt care less about service history etc, yet i do want it with my cars, not for me personally but because it makes reselling the car so difficult if theres little to no history to the car...

 

I’ve bought six Ferraris over the last 9 years. The two with thorough service histories, including an indication that the former owners were meticulous and obsessive, and with work done by respected dealers, have been the most reliable. The cars with service history gaps were the most unreliable.

If I were buying a Ferrari with no SH, I would prepare for potentially very big bills, at a greater probability to one with SH. I wouldn’t do it myself but that’s my risk profile.

 

Feel lucky ?
No records and a problem with a tail light that’s never been addressed which also triggered a lemon title .
$105k
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