Just did the 30k service..
 

Wow.... This was soooooooo easy. I just saved myself 1000 bux, as the parts only cost me about 200, and the dealer wanted 1200 for this..

Hardest/longest part were the plugs, but they were pretty easy just took a long time and if you take your time, no problems. the back ones on each side are the hardest :)

The entire service took about 2 hours for me and a friend to do.

I would also like to say that I got my parts from pap-parts and their quality is above that of the parts I pulled out of the car (dealer installed) The best example was the pollen filter, as it was a piece of crap, but the one from pap parts, which cost 1/3 the price was charcoal activated, thicker and much better.

If anybody is thinking of doing this yourself, definetly go for it... An added plus is you get to see your engine :) ehehe

Mike

If you and a friend did the "30k service" in 2 hours (with no previous experience), then you DID NOT do what the dealer charges the thousand bucks for.
I am not disputing that you changed the oil, plugs, and filters, all at a considerable savings over dealer fees, but I wager you did none of the laundry list of things performed by the dealer at the major maintenance interval.
The maintenance manual for the '99 Boxster lists 24 separate checks and inspections to be performed in addition to the replacing the oil, plugs and filters.
All this takes a trained Porsche mechanic about 5 hours to complete.
What you did was only a part of the specified maintenance.
This serves to emphasize the difference between owner maintenance and authorized dealer, or at least Porsche specialist shop, maintenance.
Somewhere down the road you are going to want to sell your Boxster, and if a prospective purchaser is at all savvy, they are going to want to see the maintenance records. A hand full of sales slips for oil, filters and plugs is a poor substitute for certified maintenance records.

Ronzi-

I semi-disagree. I've seen many a shop, dealership or not, do the "checkover". Literally it's just a look-over. No special equipment is used to do this and the mechanic might tap and pull on a few parts under the car but thats it! I'm not saying all dealerships or mechanics do this but business these days doesn't warrant allowing a tech to spend 5 hours on a car!

As far as selling the car without proper Porsche documentation...the grand he saves today in labor will more than pay for itself. If a savvy purchaser wants to knock a few bucks off the cars selling price due to not having the car serviced at a Porsche dealership, I highly doubt it would be much at all. Most people just want to make sure the basic upkeep was at least done to the car and a handfull of receipts should be just fine.

Just my opinion! :)

The other risk you face when you do it yourself is that if anything goes wrong with the car and you take it in for warranty work, what do you do if the dealers says that the problem was caused by an improper 30k service and tells you 1) the problem is not under warranty is going to be many thousands, and 2) the warranty had been voided. Granted it is illegal for the dealer to require that you have them service it. But what I do is always have my vehicle serviced by the dealer during the warranty period just to avoid and such issues.
I agree that if you know what you are doing it is better to do it yourself. You know it is done right and save money.

During the warranty period, I think it prudent to use Porsche for the scheduled maint. After that, I would not do so for cost reasons.

:cheers:

I just did the 60k service maintenance with the Spark Plug Tube/Gasket replacement. Dealer quoted $1,350 just for the 60k service/parts, NOT including the Spark Plug Tube/Gasket replacement and parts. I got the 60k service parts from pap-parts for $295. Total time for the whole service is only 3 hours(that includes hooking up my car to the Porsche diagnostic computer, cleaning the water drains/air ducts, brake fluid replacement/bleeding, Spark Plug Tube replacement, cig. lighter repair). Service was performed by my Master Technician friend of a major Porsche Dealer in SoCal.

Yeah, I agree with you. Say you buy your car new and pay for all the services required at the dealer until 60k miles. You spend 3k in service with them(this is conservative). You decided to sell the car then and get a camry or something. Does having all the documention add 3k to the car's value? Or does not having the car dealer serviced reduce the car's value by 3k? I would think not. At worst you will break even I would imagine.

Geez.. I wasn't expecting this reaction.. I was proud of myself until I read all this.. thanks for the support guys.

BTW, before you start bashing me I did everything that was specified in the service checklist, inclusing hooking up to a code reader, and we even bled the breaks.

If you guys want to continue funding the new granite floors and marble bathroom in the dealership owners house then go ahead, but please don't bash me or other for wanting to do the work ourselves.

I much rather get my hands dirty and get a beter understanding about my car, then pay someone else to do it. It's not a money issue as I am more then able to afford dealer upkeep, but why?

If you think about it 2 people at just over 2 hours is 4 hours of labour anyways.. so its damm close. Me and my friend weren't working together, as much as each of us were doing our own thing. I did half the plugs, he did the other half, while he was jaking the car and taking the wheels off, I was replacing the air and cabin filters, etc... so I think we were rather thorough.

Mike

Its not bashing. It is helping you understand the downside. I am sure we are all envious that you can do that and we old want to also. I know I am. Presenting someone with the negative consequences of their actions is good because it allows people to act with their eyes open.

You did fine. Do my basic maintenance myself too on a new purchased 01S.
OPC is a ripoff.

And the sollution to reduced price when selling is DON'T SELL IT. Enjoy it for live.

Mark.

I did my own 30, 40, and in a short while will be doing the 60k service. I have done the 60k service on other Boxsters but I have not yet reached that mileage on my own car. There is nothing magic about it. The warranty was over 6 years ago.

HI,

Too many people think there's something mystical about Porsche Mechanics and Porsche Service. Many of them have less education and mechanical experience than many of us.

The Warranty Violation issue is a semi-valid one - your warranty for a non-related part is still intact - By Law - whether you had the Maintenance done by the OPC or not.

The Resale argument is a bunch of Baloney! If you do your own work properly and thoroughly, there'll be no difference between DIY and OPC. If maintained properly, either by you or the OPC, this will reflect in the overall condition of the Car. No prospective buyer is going to worry about what method was used if the car is a fine example, they're just going to want the car. If they try to use OPC Service as a haggling point, just don't let them - stick to your price. If the car is a good example properly maintained, you'll have no trouble finding another buyer.

On the other hand, an OPC maintained car is no guarantee whatever that the car is in any better shape than the PPI indicates. It will certainly be neither a Deal Maker or a Deal Breaker - it's the car which counts!

I say Bravo for the job you did! My car will never see the OPC unless the service is a better use of my time or resources or if it is beyond my capabilities which are quite broad - including Engine/Transmission rebuilding, and just about everything in between. For me, OPC Service is simply a waste of money, for others (who cannot or will not do their own work, OPC is their best option)...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

Exactly my point...

Some things are even easier on the porsche then on some other cars. I think doing your own maintenance is a great way to learn about your car, and to get an appreciation of how well built and designed it is.

Mike

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 :eek: ), 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. :rolleyes: 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.

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

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:cheers:

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.

Dealer maintaned-without a question.

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.

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

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!!

Buying a used car is the pre-eminent example of caveat emptor. Buying a bad used car can be anything from mildly irritating to disasterous, with a bad Porsche tending towards the disasterous end of the scale, depending on one's own financial situation.
The reliability of the maintenance records can, and should be, one factor to be taken into consideration when making a buying decision. Not the only factor to be sure, but taking a seller's word for the efficacy of his undocumented maintenance practices when he has a heavy personal interest in the outcome of the discussion, has "gullible sap" written all over it. Maybe you'll get lucky and buy a car from Toolpants or MNboxster. But maybe you won't.

Hi,

You are of course correct with your Caveat Emptor approach, but there's a reasonable limit. Do you restrict yourself to strictly one-owners? Or Cars under 30k mi.? Or Cars which are purely Stock with no Mods or Hacks? Or cars which have had no major repairs?

With each requirement you impose, you limit the field of available Cars and probably pass up several good ones in the Bargain. That would be OK if your search led you to the Perfect Trouble-Free Car, but there's absolutely no Guarantee of this happening.

Agreed, due dilligence is required, but don't lose sight of the fact that eventually you must make a judgement on the examples which present themselves to you. This judgement is much more likely to be correct if you base it primarily on what you see and what the PPI tells you. And, realize that the only way a Car gets a PPI to begin with is that you've looked it over and it appears good enough to warrant the expense of a PPI and further investigation. Whatever got the Car to this point, whether it be OPC or DIY Maintenance and Service becomes somewhat moot.

If you're comforted by restricting your search to only OPC Serviced and Maintained Cars, well that's up to you and certainly your right. But, you're likely to pass on some very good examples if you do.

Where I might employ the percieved difference between an OPC and DIY Maintained Car is during negotiation. But, by this point, I've already pretty much decided that this is a Car worth having. So again, I'm not sure how much weight I'd bring to bear, rather I'd bring it up to see if I could benefit from it...

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

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

:dance:

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. :cheers:

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

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

:p

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.

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! :D

"I know I am never selling my Boxster."

Wanna bet?

:)

Im pretty sure I will not sell my boxster because it was the first car i bought and paid for on my own. To be honest the car has been the most source of fun since all my friends went off to college, it has also helped bring my dad and I together more then we used to be(he is a big time Porsche fan).

In the final analysis, whether one is an astute buyer or a gullible sap depends entirely on the outcome of the transaction.
I bought my '99 out of an auto trader magazine 500 miles from home after 15 minutes of walk-around inspection and a 10-minute joy ride. The "maintenance documentation" I put so much faith in consisted of one (1) oil change receipt, albeit from a Porsche dealer.
Fortunately for me it turned out to be fault-free in spite of it's ownership history as a lease car from humid and slushy Chicago, and cosmetically immaculate into the bargain. Apparently the lessee didn't drive the car in the winter, and took good care of the car as revealed by the warranty history I subsequently obtained from the my local Porsche dealer.
All that aside, the next owner will receive as full and complete a maintenance history as I can provide, so they will not have to wonder whether the car they bought is a good example of the marque, or a bucket of crap with leather seats.
I also agree with Brucelee, the liklihood of any of us keeping our Boxster "forever" is just about nil.

This Porsche will be a very famous one when one looks back twenty years from now. This design is a dozen years old yet still looks current. That rarely happens.
The Ferrari 355 of the mid 90's is another example but that car was in a whole different price league.

Now I am thoroughly confused...your first post basically rips the guy up for doing his own maintenance because nobody would ever purchase a DIY maintained car and now you admit yourself that you had purchased a car without any idea of what you were doing? :confused:

In my eyes the 986 has a classic timeless look and 20 years from now, if I am still alive and still going to car shows, I will see if this has changed. Do not like the looks of the 987. Never liked the 911/996/997.

After 6 plus years of ownership I have been looking for something new. Mid-engine. 2 seats. And a roof that you can remove.

Now, if that Elise just did not look so goofy....

This is soooo true of many Porsches. My wife is amazed at how many people have followed me into a parking lot or stared as I pass by in the 928. Several have asked "Is that a new model?" then their jaw hits the floor when you tell them it's 20 years old. :eek:

The Boxster will be the same way 20 years from now, that's one of the things that makes it such a sweet automobile. :D

Funny thing about that 928. I used to think it was stone ugly.

Now, I stare at them and think, "hey, I have to buy one of those!"

Same thing on the 968.

Go figure?

:cheers:

Same here about the 928,I have considered a GTS or S4. They have started to grow on me.

xclusivecar wrote:
"Now I am thoroughly confused...your first post basically rips the guy up for doing his own maintenance because nobody would ever purchase a DIY maintained car and now you admit yourself that you had purchased a car without any idea of what you were doing?"

I wondered if somebody was going to nail me for that.
Was it Karl Marx that said "Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small mind"?

My position is that full maintenance records are an important factor to be considered in the purchase of a used Porsche. Not the only one, but an important one.
In the case of my car, it had a little over 26k miles on it when I bought it, not yet up to the major maintenance interval of 30k, so it had as yet not potentially missed a major maint. At most it would have missed an oil change or two.
Not the best thing in the world, but not fatal, either.
Since the rest of the car was in extraordinary condition, I chose to ignore the lack of maint. records, and buy the car anyway.
Another point to consider is that as a car becomes older and racks up the miles, regular maint. becomes, in my mind, more important. That's the reason for my little example stating that the two cars were 10 yrs old.

My initial post was more intended to point out that changing the oil, filters, and plugs at 30K does not consitute the "major maintenance" specified to be carried out at that interval, and for which a dealer charges approx. $1,000.
To be sure, the rest of the maintenance consists almost exclusively of checks and inspections. How thoroughly those checks and inspections are carried out at any particular dealer is open to question, as subsequent posts by others have pointed out. However, by stamping the maintenance book and/or invoicing a customer for a 30k maintenance, the dealer is certifying that the work has been carried out. Does that mean anything? I think it does, but others disagree. At least it means more than a seller saying "Sure, I did the 30k maintenance" when questioned about it by a prospective purchaser of his car.