Just did the 30k service..

[deliriousga]

A few thoughts.

As Brucelee suggested, I had the dealer do everything until the warranty ran out just in case, but after that I've only had one other tech touch the Boxster one time.

Also, as several have said, there are several checks to be done at the same time. The full service takes me about 4 hours on my own so two guys doing it in two hours is pretty close as long as all of the checks were done. These checks really need to be done so if you don't plan on doing the checks, then you should not do the service yourself.

As far as a buyer wanting service records from a dealer, that is true for a model that's a few years old, but as they age you have to be aware of the buyer. Buyers of models that are 5+ years old are more likely to take care of things on their own. The reason is, if they have the money to pay somebody $200-$300 for every oil change, they have the money for a new model. Most buyers of a 5+ year old model would rather know the car is relatively easy to repair and service themselves. If you have all of the receipts and keep a journal of dates and exactly what was done, they see you have more interest in the car than most others. When you offer to take it to the Porsche dealer of their choice for them to have a PPI done, they know you are confident in the car and the service you have done.

Finally, and I think most important, as Jim stated, the "Porsche Specialist" does not always have more education concerning the Boxster than you, nor does he always the best interest of your car at heart (if ever). Not all dealerships require their techs to be Porsche Certified. Bottom line is it's the "bottom line". The specialist will do what his manager tells him to do in the interest of getting it done and out so the next can come in. Own your car for awhile and you will see what I mean. When I do things to my Boxster, they are done right and I take the time to make sure that's the case because it is my Boxster.

Things that "Porsche Specialists" did to my 928

Here's a list of some of the wonderful things Porsche Specialists did to my 928 as an example of how little somebody else cares about your Porsche. The PO of my 928 had the records and everything was done at a Porsche dealer or by a Porsche Certified Mechanic. Keep in mind, if this car were available today it would be a $120K+ automobile (thank God for depreciation in my case ), but they still did this stuff:

1) Missing bolts on the water pump. That's right, I replaced the TB and WP when I first bought it. Two bolts were missing on the water pump.

2) The PO said the A/C did not work. He had it checked out by a Porsche Specialist but it still did not work. He was not concerned with it because he lived up north so he left it alone. So what was this horrendous problem that alluded the specialist? The A/C compressor sending wire was unplugged. I found it while replacing the TB and WP. Plugged it in and the A/C has worked beautifully ever since.

3) Several other bolts/screws were missing in the engine bay.

4) There are some flaps in the front of the car that close off the air flow when the engine is cold to help it warm up faster. As the engine temp rises, the flaps open until they are completely open at operating temp. They were opening and closing constantly, back and forth, so the PO had it checked out. They told him it needed a new motor at $400 w/ labor. He didn't want to pay that much so they disconnected them in the open position. When I bought it, a trip to a forum suggested the relay was the problem, so I replaced the relay and it's been working beautifully ever since.

These are just a few of the things I have found so far. I'm sure others will surface as I work on it more.

Bottom line for me is if you want to do your own maintenance/repairs, do it, but only if you want to do the entire service and do it right. Otherwise pay someone else to read the manuals and do it.

[Ronzi]

Kudos to those of you that do your own maintenance, and I wish you every happiness.
In defense of my position, I offer the same hypothetical situation that I did the last time this issue came up on this forum.
You are examining for purchase two 10 yr old Boxsters. Both have approximately the same mileage, both appear to be in the same excellent condition, and drive well. A pre-purchase inspection reveals no apparent problems with either car. The asking price for each is approximately the same.
One of them has complete documentation for all maintenance either from an authorized Porsche dealer or from a Porsche specialist after the expiration of the factory warranty. The other car has a manila folder with a bunch of sales receipts for oil and spark plugs from Auto Zone.
Which one do you buy?

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Ronzi

Kudos to those of you that do your own maintenance, and I wish you every happiness.
In defense of my position, I offer the same hypothetical situation that I did the last time this issue came up on this forum.
You are examining for purchase two 10 yr old Boxsters. Both have approximately the same mileage, both appear to be in the same excellent condition, and drive well. A pre-purchase inspection reveals no apparent problems with either car. The asking price for each is approximately the same.
One of them has complete documentation for all maintenance either from an authorized Porsche dealer or from a Porsche specialist after the expiration of the factory warranty. The other car has a manila folder with a bunch of sales receipts for oil and spark plugs from Auto Zone.
Which one do you buy?

Hi,

Rarely are two cars as similar as you describe. I buy the Best one - period. The manner in which it was maintained makes no difference to me, properly maintained means just that.

I place no higher value on an OPC maintained car, in fact, I may place a lower value on it than a proper DIY Car for reasons others have already stated.

And if the cars are as equal as your hypothesis, I play one against the other and get the best deal. Any Car which would interest me would be worth buying at some price. I have owned 39 cars in my life, 33 of them used and I have never bought a Lemon yet. I have also never sold one for less than I paid for it, often times for much, much, more. I have sold Cars for 2½ times what I've paid for them and all Cars were maintained by me. I once toyed with selling my Lotus Esprit, because I was offered 3 times what I paid for it. When I took it to the Lotus Dealer for a PPI, they said they had never seen one in as good a condition and this was a 21 y.o. car solely maintained by me. Later, I chose not to part with it.

I don't fault you if OPC Maintenance means that much to you, I just think you're mistaken and placing waay too much value on it...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

[Brucelee]

In Ronzi's sceario, I would personally value the Porsche maintained car over Mike the Mechanic"s receipts (or even Jim the Mechanic). Subjectively, I am not sure how much but I would buy the dealer maintained car, ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL.

I can tell you that among my Porsche customers, that is a tendency of say, maybe half my buyers (very unscientific I know).

So, I am clear that there is no right or wrong answer to this question. It is, like many issues here, one of how one chooses to spend their time and money.

Hey, I was watching the ALCS when I could have been changing the oil in my Box!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Perfectlap]

Same here, I'll go for the dealer maintained car every time. A prospective buyer has no idea what sort of training/competence a DIY owner has. As opposed to a Porsche mechaninc who does the same procedures hundreds of times the average DIY owner is doing most of these upkeeps for the first time on a particular car. Its a big difference in the piece of mind department for a educated buyer.

[kavlono]

Dealer maintaned-without a question.

[RandallNeighbour]

Now here's where I must differ with a few of you.

I've bought pre-owned cars from guys who really loved the car I was buying. They did all their own maintenance, and researched what needed replacement and did lots of preventative maintenance and replacement on the drivetrain, suspension, etc.

I'd buy a car from a guy who flat loved his car enough to learn how it works and how to repair it to his own level of satisfaction over a guy who enjoyed driving his car and took it to a dealership.

Last weekend I bought a floor jack. In a year or two I will have done some big repairs on the car myself and will be proud to say that if it needs fixing, I can do that myself or learn along side my mechanic while he does the work and I help him.

Whoever buys my car (which won't be any time soon) will drive away knowing that he or she has bought a vehicle that has been cared for by a hands-on owner who not only did his own maintenance and repairs to save money, but for the love of doing it and the love of the vehicle. <-- That's the kind of person from which I would like to buy my next Porsche, if I ever sell mine.

[deliriousga]

Sell your Boxster???? Blasphemy I say!!!

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

In many ways this thread has turned into a merely academic argument. You buy the car which is front of you.

If the Car is what mostly you want (buying used almost always entails some compromise - options, color, condition, etc.), the price is reasonable for the Car presented, it passes a PPI with few faults (remember this is always a What's Wrong with this Car Inspection - no Car comes away with an absolutely Clean Slate), Service Records (OPC or DIY) and it Tickles Your Fancy, you make an offer and hope it is accepted or a compromise is reached and you purchase the Car.

Changing Wear & Tear items such as Belts, Hoses Fluids and such is a given. But, realize that repair, whether it be OPC or DIY is, for the most part, Reactive, that is, you repair the Broken or Worn Part. Sometimes R&R is made because you're already in there... so you may as well do it, but most often as I say, it's Reactive.

Buying a Used Car, whether DIY or OPC maintained and Serviced is still an unknown to some degree. A Part may fail a week after buying the Car in either instance, and not be the fault of prior Service and maintenance in either case. You can cut down the Odds of a Bad Experience with a thorough Inspection, but you cannot ever eliminate them. The PPI Inspection is much more important then where, or whom, did the Service and Maintenance. A thorough one gives a good Snapshot of the Car as it is Today.

As stated by several others, OPC Maintenance can often overlook things, or simply not take the time and care a skilled DIY would because they have other priorities.

But, again, it's the Car which is in front of you at the time you're looking which matters far more than your percieved value of either OPC or DIY Maintenance and Service. A Good Car should never be discounted, or passed over simply on the basis of whom or where the Service and Maintenance was performed...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

PS @ BruceLee - your comment about me was a little Snide and Uncalled For, what's your problem..? - Chill Out!!

[Brucelee]

I would buy Randall's car but then, we know how he is with his cars!

:dance:

[xclusivecar]

Originally Posted by Ronzi

You are examining for purchase two 10 yr old Boxsters. Both have approximately the same mileage, both appear to be in the same excellent condition, and drive well. A pre-purchase inspection reveals no apparent problems with either car. The asking price for each is approximately the same.
One of them has complete documentation for all maintenance either from an authorized Porsche dealer or from a Porsche specialist after the expiration of the factory warranty. The other car has a manila folder with a bunch of sales receipts for oil and spark plugs from Auto Zone.
Which one do you buy?

Here's how I look at it...The seller who had Porsche maintain the car and is selling the car for the same price as the guy who DIY will LOSE BIG MONEY in your scenario. In theory, the guy who allowed Porsche to do the maintenance should get thousands MORE than the guy who DIY.

As far as someone buying the car they MAY favor the Porsche maintained car initially BUT...with good receipts and when talking to the seller if he seems truly into the car, I would buy from the DIYer hands down.

[99-Boxster-MK]

Her is a perfect example even though its not a Porsche..

I was working on getting my other car (VW golf) ready for the winter and decided to change the front brakes, not scheduled, but I thought it was a wise thing to do as they were not changed for ages..

Pop everything open and notice one of the splash panels has a crack around the mounting point and is close to falling of from one corner.. So I fix it by re-inforcing the mounting point.. Would the dealer of done this? probably not, and the panel would have fallen off and exposed my timing belt and cam gears to salt and slush..

All it took was my time to fix, but since I love all my cars I am more then happy to put in the time, but I doubt the dealer is willing to invest this time without charging, and I doubt the panel would have been brought to my attention as it was not technically broken..

so maybe sometimes it is not always best to buy dealer maintained, but that depends entirely on who was maintaning the car..

Mike

[Brucelee]

If I were doing my own service, you can bet the car from a dealer maintained owner is a better deal.

[blinkwatt]

What are you guys even talking about. You are on this board because you are a big time boxster fan and would like to gain more knowledge of your vehicle. I think resell value is useless on this board. I know I am never selling my Boxster.

[xclusivecar]

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

I know I am never selling my Boxster.

I will never, ever, ever, ever sell mine either. Actually ALL of us should never ever sell our cars and ALL of us should DIY maintenance. That will teach the dirty dealerships a lesson or two on overcharging!