Afraid to work on my car!
 

I can't find the engine! I looked under the hood, but alI I found was a tire, some tools, and an amplifier!

The owner's manual tells me that only Porsche specialists should touch my engine.

But it's *my* engine!

How many of you do your own routine maintanence? How hard is it to change the oil and filter, for example? How do you get to the engine? Other advice? Thanks!

Check behind the seats
 

I hope you are kidding about not knowing where the engine is. But, I'd suggest taking a look behind the seats which is where mid-engine cars have them.

Haven't gotten into the engine myself yet, but changing the oil and filter is something just about anyone can do. Must be properly jacked up though or use Rhino ramps.

I think the Boxster FAQ link will have some info on that, not sure though.

There IS an engine
 

Most new car warranties are pretty good relative to maintenance. Basically, the only thing you will need to have done is oil changes (big debate on when/milage) and very frequent tire pressure checking (those shoes are expensive!).

I let my dealer handle the oil change. Although it is quite easy to do, my problme is the waste oil. There are few places anymore where you can have used oils disposed. Also, you do not want to mix synthetic oils with hydrocarbon oils so the few places that will accept used oil, do not want synthetics.

Getting to the engine from the top can be done (a small access panel) but it is a bit tricky and you are guaranteed to get many bloody knuckles.

Yes, pretty soon I think all these engines will be sealed in a black box. Thus making it impossible to do any type of work on it yourself unless you hold the golden key.

I used to rebuild engines as a kid for my old cars. But there is no way I woud touch one of these. There are a lot of specialty tools needed which are not available outside of Porsche :(