Hello.

I understand that Porsche North America no longer issues Certificates of Authenticity.

I heard they now offer other types of certificates/verification. Can someone elaborate? I've not been able to find anything on this topic via Google or the search function here on 914 World.

Thanks in advance.

The COA was replaced with these two documents:

https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesands...calcertificate/

https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesands...cleinformation/

IMO kinda sad. The original COA was a brief technical document of each car, with no fuss. This new thing is more about the experience and selling the brand (and just selling). I know Porsche is not the only enterprise that has decided to sell the brand instead of the product itself, but the change is not a happy one.

Its interesting that the "Tech Cert" will supposedly confirm the:

*Actual transmission number and notation of matching or mismatching transmission
*Actual transmission type and notation of matching or mismatching transmission

When they couldn't provide that detail originally with the COA?

Porsche Classic certified dealers also have a process where they inspect the car noting things like engine#, transaxle # etc. Only a few dealers have it and the process is not cheap.
Thought about doing it with my'72 T targa but I know most of its history anyway and luckily have a COA from when they still did it.

No reason to do it to my '71 since I've had it since day 1 and haven't lost my memory... yet...

Think it is a very poor move on the part of Porsche also. I know from experience that they will not judge a car at Parade unless you have a COA or the original window sticker.
My son didn't bring them after I asked him to. To pay $500 and have to take the car a long distance to get the new version is a rip. Bottom line is that I am paying someone this money to read the engine and tranny number. Fortunately I have the COA for most of the cars. Picking up one this week that I will need to figure out what to do.

Porsche seems to have forgotten that customer loyalty is involved with the older cars as well as the new ones.

Apparently Porsche felt they had to change the method of "certifying" Porsches from sending out the old COA which listed the numbers to inspecting the car and then documenting that the numbers are correct because if a person has the numbers then they can forge them unto a car transforming a run of the mill classic into a multimillion dollar copy which may have happened to Seinfeld

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/jerry-se...edster-carrera/

I'd argue that COA had nothing to do with that problem.

Do we really think that the Porsche Classic Partners have some guy in the back of the shop that has more expertise than Seinfeld, Gooding & Company, various Concours judges, and/or Frio had available to them?

The whole story never really made sense. Why didn't Frio use Maxted-Page Limited to do a PPI when it was initially purchased? Would have saved him about $1M.

I once was duped on a 914/6 transaction that went bad. It was actually a car that had the 914/6 windshield vin plate and right front fender VIN moved over from somewhere. Proabaly to a /4. Luckily I discovered it only 1 hour after purchasing the car. Fought like hell with the seller, and got 90% of my money back same day on a $9k transaction and title was never transfered to my name. However, I was still at fault for having pulled the trigger on the purchase. No different if you do it on a $9k deal or a $1M deal. Buyer beware. Do a PPI. COA means nothing.

For OP @DC_neun_vierzehn . . . contact @DaveP . He can do something very similar to COA to get you details of your vehicle as-built. His fee is resonable given the work involved. I used him and was highly satisfied with the result of his research.

I'm going through this process right now to see if I can get a certificate. They asked me to fill this document out and they will get back to me in a month or so. Haven't heard anything back yet - it's been 3 weeks.Click to view attachment

They also sent the following note:
Hello,

Thank you for your Porsche Production Specification request. We are in the process of implementing the Porsche Production Specification in Canada and therefore your request may experience delays.

We value you as a Porsche owner and thank you for your patience during this process. As a goodwill gesture to you, we will be providing you with the Porsche Production Specification at no cost. You can expect your complimentary Porsche Production Specification to arrive in approximately 3-4 weeks. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by responding to this email.

We wish you many more pleasurable miles driving behind the wheel of your Porsche!

I think that part of the problem here for their PCNA USA & Canadian owners was that their COA staff did a reasonable job on newer Porsches where you can get the full build sheet from the VIN, but were woefully uninformed, notoriously erroneous on older 70's & older P-cars - especially for the 914s, & were resistant to change & correct their errors.

Recall Pat Garvey's erroneous "Sweden Equipment" for his 72 9194/4 that he's owned since new & had the window sticker, yet they refused to correct his COA, insisting that the wrong option code was not for a 914 that they used to get "Sweden Equipment"!?

And it wasn't this type of "Swedish Equipment" either:
Click to view attachment

... or for the 914er Gals:
Click to view attachment


It took me 3 tries & a complaint to the PCNA Customer Care GM over a year just to get the COA somewhat but not completely corrected, for my `73 914-2.0 that I bought from the OO in 1975 as a known 2L & original colors.

Heck - VW Classic got my `88 Westy's COA 100% correct the 1st time for 1/2 the cost!

I hope that their new staff, procedures & documents are better - than were their really poor performance on COAs.

Apparently, Europe didn't have the same problems, and was handled by their Porsche Classics Division - which is sounds like where they're doing these new tech docs now.

So that may be the reason behind the change.

PS - I've always thought that it was just BS that they don't give you a copy or print out of the original Kardex record of your car with the COA or these new Tech Docs!

PSS - $110 + Shipping etc. for the "Porsche Production Specifications (PPS)" 9$10 discount for PCA members, as with the former COA);
- $500 for their "Classic Technical Certificate (CTC)" + local tax, shipping or transport to the closest "Certified Porsche Classic Partner" dealership.
per the links posted by Jeff above.

Cheers!
Tom
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If I remember correctly, the earlier COA's had more detail on them than later versions.

The last 356 I restored had two COA's because the PO didn't realize he already had one. The one from the early 90's had the trans SN and the one from early 2000's didn't. I think that was the only difference?

Rusty got 3 COAs for Elwood when he was the owner. All three COAs are different. All are very close, but only one has a heated rear window listed.

914 COAs are not really that good. I got one for Betty's car, but it is a bit vague on what was installed in the car.

My Reports do have more detail than most CoA ever did. It should only take a few days to acquire one also. The transmission # is a sore point though because the records did not have them for the 914. The options are not much of a problem for me since I have 40 years experience with the cars, and access to a pretty good set of documentation. When there is a problem, I treat it like a challenge to overcome, and learn from. The 1975 & up interiors are a bit of a challenge still since there is some incompatible information.
If contacting me, please email since I need to send documents that way.

I received my certificate of authentication from Porsche today. Free of charge. Took about a month to arrive.

I'm curious ... has anybody done either of the new options yet? If so, worth the money?

Porsche Production Specifications (formerly referred to as the Certificate of Authenticity). This document lists vehicle-specific information such as original manufacture options, exterior color, interior color, etc. https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesands...cleinformation/.

Classic Technical Certificate. More detailed and expensive version. https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesands...calcertificate/.

I got the old style COA from the PO, so have not been tempted to try the new certification.

Is it worth it? Why do you want it? Do you have a high quality classic 914 and want to sell it for top value? Or show it at exclusive events? Then maybe.

Do you just want an accessory? Sit by the fire on a cold winter night and read the COA? Then up to you.

So this is basically what you'll get with the PPS. I have no interest in ever getting another one, mainly because, as you can see, it's not exactly "teeming" with information. The only reason I got this one was to confirm from Porsche that it was indeed a true LE Bumblebee car. I think, at the time, it cost me about $200.

Click to view attachment