Question…Boxster S with 329,000 miles

[Jaxonalden]

With all the negative talk about engine failures, it's nice to read one of these fell good Threads.

Thank you Florida Bill for instilling confidence in these beautiful cars! If I see you on the road sir, first beers on me.

[rp17]

329,000 miles?! 15 K oil change intervals? Nice!!! So, how often does the tack hit 6k? And is it driven everyday? I think Bill needs a thorough interrogation.

2x Cheers to FloridaBill and Jager!!!

[2003S]

300K is a good start:

3 million mile Volvo: Long Island man's P1800S won't quit (+video) - CSMonitor.com

[The dude]

Originally Posted by FloridaBill

When I got in the car, the technician I had initially spoken with had left on the seat a printout from ALLDATA Collision showing plug changes as part of a 60K and not a 30K. This means the shop owner was taking a different position than the technician…the tech was saying it wasn’t part of a 60K, whereas the shop owner was saying the maintenance schedule is secondary to their inspection of the vehicle. So my question to you all is: Were either the shop owner or tech correct in what they were saying? I really don’t want to go through the process of finding a new qualified tech if I don’t have to.

Thanks…FloridaBill

If you read your post again..... The tech said spark plugs are changed at 60,000 and that's what the sheet said. The shop owner said they didn't replace them sooner and they just inspect them. Why replace them if they are good. I don't think the shop owner would have refused to change the plugs, but it sounds like you jumped the gun on finding him to be incompetent.

329k is ridiculous. That is awesome. It makes me seem silly that anything over 100k worries me.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by 2003S

300K is a good start:

3 million mile Volvo: Long Island man's P1800S won't quit (+video) - CSMonitor.com

3 million? On one car? That is insane!

[springer123]

I bow to you.

[Dave928]

and here i felt bad about going from 35k to 95k miles in the last 3 years.

FloridaBill, your only mistake was not asking the shop owner where your old tech went.

[986_inquiry]

Originally Posted by FloridaBill

Hi,

I bought my 2000 Boxster S new in March, 2001 and now have 329,000 miles on it. For the first 255,000 miles I had it serviced at Porsche recommended schedules at two different local Porsche dealerships. By the time she was ready for her next 30K at 270,000 miles I had relocated. I was fortunate to find a local shop that specialized in Porsches and BMWs, and their Porsche mechanic really seemed to know what he was doing. I have used them for 3 years, but a problem developed when I dropped her off for a 30K last week.

I called first to schedule an appointment, and found out that the person that had always done the work on my Boxster was no longer there. I asked his replacement a few questions to see if I was comfortable with him doing the work; among other things, he stated he had been working on Porsches since 1984. So I dropped it off with specific instructions for a 30K maintenance.

I received a call from him 15 minutes before I was supposed to pick it up; he was requesting extra time. In the ensuing discussion it came to light that he wasn’t planning on replacing the spark plugs. I told him I was surprised at that, since replacing the plugs was part of a 30K; furthermore I was surprised that if he had been working on Porsches since 1984 he didn’t know that. He said that on newer Porsches the recommended replacement is at 60K. I stated that I had always had them done at 30K and wanted it done that way since that is what my owner’s manual stated.

The more I thought about it, the more I become convinced that I didn’t want this guy working on my baby. I called back and told him that since he didn’t know plug replacement should be part of a 30K, I no longer had confidence in him and didn’t want him proceeding any further. I picked it up and paid for an oil change.

Before leaving I had a polite discussion with the owner of the shop telling him why I would not be doing business there in the future. The owner of the shop was polite, listened without interruption, and then proceeded to tell me their policy was to replace what needed to be replaced, and not replace what didn’t need to be replaced (and not charge for it), regardless of the published maintenance schedule. When I pointed out that I had two previous 30K maintenances done there with the old tech, and each of those included the plug changes without me having to specify it, he proceeded to disparage the old tech and said that is the reason he was no longer there. The discussion was civil and ended with us agreeing to disagree.

When I got in the car, the technician I had initially spoken with had left on the seat a printout from ALLDATA Collision showing plug changes as part of a 60K and not a 30K. This means the shop owner was taking a different position than the technician…the tech was saying it wasn’t part of a 60K, whereas the shop owner was saying the maintenance schedule is secondary to their inspection of the vehicle. So my question to you all is: Were either the shop owner or tech correct in what they were saying? I really don’t want to go through the process of finding a new qualified tech if I don’t have to.

Thanks…FloridaBill

I'm confused, did they refuse to change the plugs, even after you asked for it?

Because from the way your story is worded they just were not planning on changing the plugs because it was not necessary yet and the manual says it should be every 60k

Then when you found out they were not going to replace parts that did not need replacing you became upset?

[tonycarreon]

it looks like floridabill's question was "who was right?"
- the original tech who did the change at 30k?
- the new tech who says the change only needs to be done at 60k
- the shop owner who says the service schedule is not as important as their inspection, and the plugs only need be done when the inspection shows they need replacing. ("the shop owner was saying the maintenance schedule is secondary to their inspection of the vehicle.")

i think we all agree that if he wanted the plugs changed, regardless of the mileage, the shop should have done them. most of us agree that if that's not part of their regular price, he should be charged a little extra for this service.

[Overdrive]

This was a treat to see how much mileage this original owner, engine, and car, have racked up over the years. Kudos, sir.

The situation you mentioned sounds odd indeed, but if they outright refused to do work you were prepared to pay for then maybe you do need to take your business elsewhere. I don't know many shops that won't go the road of "the customer is right", even after explaining just how/why you do/don't need something.

I'm also curious like others to know if you've experienced the magic of 4k+ rpms in your car. I also wonder if this is a manual or Tiptronic?

Congrats again, that's a very impressive feat. If my rough math is right (~30,000 mi/yr), you'll be around 350k by the end of the year.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by FloridaBill

Hi All,

Thanks for all your input. Sorry for the late reply.

“Other that the maintenance, what have you had done?”
Water pump twice (the second was just last month). Motor mount at about 160K. Just routine maintenance otherwise.

“maybe it was his first visit to the forum, and he's now too busy searching to figure out what the hell an IMSB is”
I have no idea what an IMSB is…is this something I need to be aware of?

Further research has shown that the original Porsche recommended schedule was 30K for plugs, and since that has served me well I think I will stick with that. Since I had two prior 30Ks done at this shop I didn’t ask the cost, I just dropped it off with instructions for a 30K.

Here’s the pic of the odometer for Jaxonalden.

Best regards,
FloridaBill

Greetings FloridaBill,

If you're still out there, I was curious to hear how you typically drive the car. Meaning what's your typical rev-range for driving on the highway and city? Does the car see much revving in the 4-6K range?

We often debate what's good or bad for the engine. Some think going below 3K RPM is not so good while others believe being at exactly 3K RPM can become problematic. Thus the conventional wisdom has become to keep it above 3K RPM once the fluids are up to temp. But on the highway some find this less than ideal preferring to stay in the 2-3K RPM range.

[ekam]

Raby either paid him off or made him sleep with the fishes...

[eacallo986]

Originally Posted by 986_inquiry

I'm confused, did they refuse to change the plugs, even after you asked for it?

Because from the way your story is worded they just were not planning on changing the plugs because it was not necessary yet and the manual says it should be every 60k

Then when you found out they were not going to replace parts that did not need replacing you became upset?

Thank You for the story!

[Luv2Box]

This is not supposed to make a difference but out of curiosity where was your Boxster built Germany or Finland?

[KRAM36]

Initial post July 2012. Wonder how many miles are on the car now?

[Redboxs]

Originally Posted by KRAM36

Initial post July 2012. Wonder how many miles are on the car now?

Assuming he maintained his average of ~27,000 miles/year he would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 390,000ish

[Jake Raby]

Has to be a record... When you need something I'll give you a great deal just to see inside that one.

[Meir]

WOW!
so my engine is practically new.
this is a picture i took last night driving from work.



missed the mark by 2 miles

[rdass623]

30 interval for plugs seems frequent to me. the bosch on an old car with breaker points, yes but with a modern electronic ignition, it seems to be waaaay premature. i would feel much better with a mechanic who would read the plugs rather than just replace them. from what i have seen the frequency of alot of porsche's maintenance is premature..... except for the oil change intervals. it is my honest belief the maintenance schedule is to keep owners coming back to the dealerships to hook them on the sale of a new car. good marketing to set the hook on a new sale, but maybe not so good for the consumer.

[jeepdad]

Originally Posted by Jaxonalden

With all the negative talk about engine failures, it's nice to read one of these fell good Threads.

Thank you Florida Bill for instilling confidence in these beautiful cars! If I see you on the road sir, first beers on me.

Agreed. I humbly suggest this thread be "stickied" alongside the your-engine-will-blow-up threads.