2008 Boxster service quetison?
 

I have 2008 Boxster 1 year and 2 month old, only got 3500 miles. Should I do a annual service or just oil change.

Personally, I'd change the oil and look it over when you do for leaks or anything that looks out of place. Check the other fluids and run it..(when you can)

If you look at the manual, the 12K maint is mostly inspections - looking for things that have come loose and checking the oil and antifreeze level. Why pay an expensive Porsche tech to do a visual inspection? If you're barely mechanical you can do these things yourself (the most difficult job is getting the belly pan off and that only takes 20 min).

Whenever possible, I plan on doing my own maint but that doesn't mean I'm going to delay items like timing belts, brake fluid changes, etc. I'll do what I can do and take it to the dealer for the stuff I can't do. I figure receipts and meticulous records will trump a missing stamp in my owner's manual log. But that's just me, everyone is different.

You will be getting a msg on your dash around the 10K mi mark, which is Porsche's msg to you to take it in for the 12K maint. My dealer charged me $36 to reset it.

My 2008 Boxster S will be 1 year old next month, just under 3k miles. So I assume that the reminder is more mileage based than time?

I have the oil, filter, etc. and was going to bring it to the dealer and have them do the oil change; however, they still want $175! Anybody have a recommendation for someone to do it in the Jacksonville/Daytona Beach area?

No reason why you couldn't do all of it yourself, especially with the excellent DIY information available to you. Its tres simple.

EXCEPT

your car is under warranty. You will have to document yourself thoroughly with receipts and even some photos for CYA. Also get the checklist so you can check and initial your way down and add it to your file. No point in not having an aresenal of evidence in the event you get in a warranty argument.

Or check your warranty to see what qualifies as voiding the warranty. If DIY does not disqualify, then I am a big advocate for saving your bucks for something fun and DIY your service.

$175 doesn't sound too bad, considering that just buying the oil costs about $70, the filter is maybe $20 (can't remember). (I prefer to do all of my own work though)

At 3,500 miles, I don't think you're due for anything else. Next year, you'll need to flush your brake fluid (they recommend flushing every 2 years.) I work on motorcycles for a living, and I've seen what brake fluid does if you don't change it for a long time. I definitely recommend doing that one on schedule.

Change the oil now. You should change the oil yearly, regardless of mileage, IMO.

And in 10 months, you need to flush the brake fluid. This also flushes the clutch fluid.