Maintanance Question - Need a quick answer on this one
 

Hi Guys,

My 2005 Boxster S at at Foreign Cars Italia in Greensboro, NC. I brought it in for a yearly service and oil change. The car is 41,000 miles. The car is running perfectly. Here is what they are recommending for maintance:

60,000 Maintance for $954 (They are telling me that Porsche recommends this service at 60K or 4 years, whatever comes first)

Has anyone heard of this recommendation or are they trying to pull a fast one on me?

They are also recommending 4 wheel alignment, Serpantine Belt and Brake Fluid.

Basically, I brought the car in for the yearly service and they want to do $1500 worth of maintance.

I need to make a decision on this quick. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!

Greg

Having looked into buying a car with that mileage recently can tell you that is correct. The 60k service is a bigger service including replacing the serpentine belt, all filters etc... I think prices I found were around 1000$ or so...
Comet

Oh however not sure about 4 year thing i have a 45k miles 2003 and am only doing the minor service right now....

I'd have to look at my manual to confirm recommendations, but some maintenance is contingent on either mileage or time: e.g., oil changes for15,000 km (about 10,000 miles) or each year, whichever comes first. As I recall the Serpentine belt was in fact part of the 60,000 mile service, not over and above it. Regardless, your owner's manual should let you know Porsche's recommendations.

As to alignment, unless you are showing unusual tire wear, it is completely unnecessary. Changing brake fluid may be a good idea as it does tend to deteriorate over time, but if your braking performance seems fine (no signs of fade, spongy pedal, etc.) then it isn't strictly necessary.

Brad

It is the recommendation of the 60,000 mile maintenance being done at 41,000 miles that really concerns me.

If you have access to a lift, the 60k service items are easy to DIY, if you want to save $600-$700

As others have said most service intervals are time &/or mileage dependant. Brake fluid should be flushed & bleed every 2 years. Alignment should be done whenever it is out of adjustment, best indicater is the tire wear pattern. Porsche has extended the change interval for serpinetine belt so you MIGHT be able to skip that.

I don't know if you have done business with this shop before, but if I was searching for a shop to take my car to, shops specializing in Itialian cars would be last on the list.

The journey to the belt is harder than the change, brake fluid? Simple on jackstands with a one time motive bleeder purchase. Sorry but the "major" service is a funny name to me, I grew up when that meant valves being adjusted or worse. These dealers make huge bucks doing the simplest stuff, I try to save their screwing of me for larger difficult items.

It is the dealer where I bought my Porsche. They have done the yearly maintenance I've done on the cue since I bought it a few years ago. They do specialize in Porsche as well. I do not doubt the work would be done correctly. I just feel like they are trying to push maintance that does not need to be done; specifically the 60K work.

If the car is new to you and you don't know the service history, I would want to check everything on the maintenance service list. If you are unsure of what treatment the car received in the past, doing the 60K early certainly can't hurt.

The best idea of all is to make a list based on your own research and then perform all of those tasks yourself, or at least as many as you can. The savings will be in the thousands over the next few years. Between this forum, Pelican Parts, and Pedro's Garage you will be able to find everything you need to know, including what tools you will need to get and where to get them.

Sounds like you need to start with a Motive European Black Label power bleeder and a set of Snap-On metric flare wrenches...

Up to you Greg....Depends on your skills and how you value your time.
That being said, none of these items are 'gotta do it right this second'. You are not close to 60K miles and filters and plugs don't go bad with time.

If you decide to tacke a few things yourself, I'd recommend you by replacing your air and cabin filter, along with replacing the serpentine belt. You will learn how to access your engine and once you experience the very little amount of time involved in these jobs, you'll gain confidence to move on to plugs or brakes.

Speaking of brakes, if you don't want to do this job, any decent shop can flush/bleed the brakes. There is nothing 'magic' about the Boxster brakes.

Plugs are not difficult either but there is a little time involved as you have to remove your rear wheels (one at a time if your on the ground) to access the plugs. The forward most coil packs are a little tougher to get at but certainly nowhere near impossible. Look for the DYI stuff mentioned earlier.

I did the 90K mile service on my car last year (purchased with 76K with limited service history). The most expensive thing was using OEM coolant and gearbox oil (gearbox oil r/r not required at 60K). The rest was easy. Autohauz AZ has good prices on OEM parts if you want to look around.

As I recall,
Plugs $38
Oil tubes and O-rings (didn't really have to) $50 (can't remember exactly)
Air filter $15
Oil filter $10
Oil $60
OEM Coolant $100 (not needed at 60K)
OEM Gear oil $80 ((not needed at 60K)

I'd already done my Serpentine belt (belt cost $22)

The car is not new to me. I've owned it since 2/2008.

The 60K mile service is not much. Changing oil, cabin and air intake filter, checking brakes, coolant and few other things. Yes, they say they put in the computer to check the engine history, like over revs and codes. Plugs are at 90K and a TIP service is now at 70K. Engine coolant is every 4 years or 60K but Porsche says the coolant is lifetime as they did with the TIP fluid. I did the 60K service on mine for less than $150 and a day getting dirty...big deal. GO here and learn a little.

mikesporscheboxsterwebpages - mikefocke2

Pelican Parts - Porsche Parts & BMW Parts - Automotive Parts and Accessories - Porsche & BMW

Technolab/PedrosGarage: Porsche PPI, Porsche Service, Performance Parts

From a '99 base model, but probably pretty close...

and one more

Excellent post. Thank you.

No prob...sorry so big.

edit: shrunk 'em a bit. ;)

60K service is a dealer service profit center. Most indy shops will do it for a 30% savings. DIY for $600-800 savings. Your choice, your dough. Offering a 60K service at 41K is not a crime. You can always politely decline the work.

Decline the entire thing and wait until you're closer to 60K. Nothing on that list really wears out with time. Fix only the items that you're actually having a problem with - if none, then no service is needed at this time.

Thank you for your advice. I did decline the work. It may not be a crime to try to sell service that is not needed; however, they have lost a customer as I no longer trust their intentions.