Price of 40,000 mile service
 

What is a reasonable price to pay for the standard 40,000 mile "major" service? The maintenance booklet says that it's mostly just inspection of various items, plus replacing the oil filter, air cleaner filter, and particle filter.

I found a local place (in metro Atlanta) that wants about $500 for the service. Seems a bit high, but wondering if that's inline with what others have paid. This is a for a 14 year old Boxster.

Considering these are DIYs that come be done at less than half that price, going to dealership $500 is probably what any dealer would charge. You could look into local Indys, they cheaper than dealership

The $500 quote I got is from a local independent shop, not a dealership. And believe me, if I could DIY all the items on the 40K service checklist, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I have yet to find any service/repair shop that will do any level of routine maintenance (other than just an oil change) on my Boxster for under $200, so $500 for the 40K "major" service isn't surprising. Just wondering if others have had similar experiences with pricing.

Considering there is no 40000 mile service interval, I think you're paying too much.

15k are the minor Services and every 30k are the major services. Unless you're driving a completely different car that is...

According to the maintenance booklet that came with my car (2005 Boxster), there is major maintenance at 40K miles (and 80K, 120K, etc.) and minor maintenance at 20K, 60K, 100K, etc. And yes, it's very possible I am paying too much for the major maintenance service. That's why I started this thread. Unfortunately, I still haven't gotten a response from anyone stating what they paid for "major" scheduled service (whether 30k or 40k) on their Boxster.

Possibly because:
1) this is a 986 forum and you're asking about a 987
2) most of us are capable of changing a filter (my wife can) and visually inspecting a few things, so we don't pay shops a ridiculous amount of money (or any amount, for that matter) for 10 minutes of work. ;)

Try Rennlist. They have a 987 sub forum and plenty of members with more money than skill. :D

Price is definitely high. My local indy shop charges $350-$400 for that service.

To be honest, like others here, I have always DIY'd this work but I did call and get that quote for you. :D

With a few basic tools e.g. jack, jack stands, filter wrench, ratchet, sockets you can find how to do these easily in Youtube; step by step would only take you less than an hour.

I don’t know what’s in the 987 40k major service, but you said there’s a list of things you can’t do yourself. If you’re getting an oil and filter change, an air filter and spark plugs, a brake fluid flush and a comprehensive inspection I don’t think the price is unreasonable based on the cost of those parts and a reasonable hourly labor rate.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to point out my stupidity, my lack of useful skills, and your perception of my disposable income. All very helpful!

I will certainly check out Rennlist and hope that it will be a bit more inviting and tolerant of newcomers.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!

I don't see anything about brake fluid or spark plugs in the 40k service items list. Looks like I'm overpaying for the service. Oh well... live and learn. Thanks for your reply.

Have fun at Rennlist. I find that forum to be a snorefest. I'll pass along some advice... from a few things I learned when joining this forum:

1. Search these forums before you start asking questions. Near every possible inquiry already has been asked, and answered upon this forum. While information may change because of technology... the answers are here. If you can't find your answer upon this forum...

2. Google. Ask Google. Try a few search strings. You may find your answer already exists. If push comes to shove... you cannot find an answer... or you need clarification... post your inquiry.

3. Respect those members who've been here for a while, and have many posts under their name. Once you've been here a while you'll recognize who are the "leaders", and you'll find their advice invaluable. By invaluable I mean you'll save $$$$ following their advice. That's money you can spend on your wife. Or car. Whichever comes first. No pun intended.

Factually I know I've saved greater than $5K in the 18 months I've owned my car... and thanks to this forum.

Dude... learn how to install an air filter... a spark plug... do an oil change. Google. Youtube. You'll soon realize that by doing those things yourself you're saving a lot of money.

If you've no money, you've no business owning a Porsche. Sorry. That's the hard and fast of it. Now... if you've no money for mechanical and maintenance... better get to that reading.

Finally... post a pic of your ride, Man. Let us see that beauty!

Have a great day.

When I look at these maintenance lists in owners manuals there is always a lot of "inspecting." Things like latches, hinges, handbrake function, lights, air pressure, etc are easy enough. But if you don't have a lift, checking wheel bearings, CV joints and boots, brake pad thickness, brake rotors, plugs and coilpacks is a pain. And if you don't have a good scanner, checking for codes is another thing you can't do. If you just got this car and don't know the service history, a good overall inspection of the car is in order, to know what needs to be done and to have peace of mind. Since the car is now 14 years old, the 40,000 mile service list is one thing but there are things to look at just due to age and not mileage. The labor rate at my independent shop in NJ is now $125/hour, but they do great work and I trust them. You should find a good local independent shop and once you're comfortable with them, stick with them for anything you can't or don't want to do yourself.

Up until I purchased my 2003 S in 2014 I hadn't really done any DIY on any of my vehicles since I owned my 1978 Fiat X 1/9 which I sold in 1985. I did all the work on that car including clutch, brakes, induction, exhaust etc. It was an amazingly easy vehicle to work on and being in my late 20's to early 30's I was flexible enough to do the work.

Flash forward to 2014. I just turned 60 and bought myself my retirement gift, an '03 S. Other than having the IMS, clutch, fly wheel and RMS done by a local indie, I have found that this is a great vehicle to DIY. I have done brakes (SS lines, pads & fluid), spark plugs, manual transmission oil, coolant flush, radiator replacement, MAF cleaning, throttle body cleaning, accessory belt, A/C expansion valve, oil and filter change, new battery, sway bar bushings and all four trunk supports all on my own with a high rise lift, some specialized tools and basic tools.

My advise is don't let the mid engine placement deter you from doing much of the routine maintenance or some more complex work yourself. Parts can be expensive but shop around on the net and on this forum for deals. Woody (itsnotanova) is a great source for used parts and places like Rock Auto have a great cross section of specific parts on hand. And you would be surprised at how reasonable some items can be from the Porsche dealers themselves.

Sorry for the long winded diatribe but for me part of the joy of owning a sports car is the satisfaction of really getting to know your car and the best way to do that is doing the maintenance yourself.

have fun driving and working on your Boxster

And one other thing (there is always one more thing) get a '101 Projects For Your Boxster' manual and also a Bentley manual if you can. These are more aimed at 986 models but many subjects pertain to the 987 as well. I have found both invaluable in tackling DIY on my car.

Well just an oil change at a dealer is $200+ (Not sure what a inde would be)
It would be nice to know what items a 40k service includes. Would give us a better perspective as to the fairness of the cost.

Keep in minds (If you already didn't get the vibe) that most here tend to DIY most of the maintenance stuff. It's the only way I can afford the car. Also lets me justify buying more tools

For reference, that $200+ dealer oil change, DIY = $65+ with about 1 to 1-1/2 hours worth of work (30-45 mins of that is getting the car up in the air).

Look, don't let the door hit your butt on the way out. You need a bit thicker skin--there's lots to be learned on forums, but they are populated by people, some are terse, some are patient and nice. Particlewave knows a whole lot about Boxsters and is very sharing, sometimes you just need to put up with his moods.

If you think this place is nasty, you should try the motorcycle forum called Advrider. Some of those guys make a career trolling the newbies!:troll:

Indies around here charge $125 or more an hour. How long do you think the service would take? A PPI runs $200 or more, replacing the oil and filter ain't cheap. If you want stuff like new coolant & brake fluid, that ain't cheap. I'd opt for a new serpentine belt, too. Not to mention trans fluid or lube.

You can probably do all the stuff in your driveway Gonna require jacking the car up enough to be able to crawl under. And removing all 4 wheels.

BTW, so it's a 14 year old car? So what? They don't give any breaks for old cars, you know.

Good luck, be sure to shop around.

Every spring when i take my car out its $500.00 at the dealer they change the oil filter do a complete check up of everything top up all fluids and very the wheel alignement. Not worth my while to do it myself i can make more money at work and if not i can go and play golf.