30 K MIle Service at the Porsche dealer...? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

calvani · 04-18-2005, 01:47 PM

Hi Folks,

I need to perform the 30 K mile service on my '01 Boxster. This will actually be the
first major maintenance service I am performing on the car since I bought it (with 20 K).

Can anyone recommend a good mechanic in the Baltimore/D.C. area? Or do you guys think it's better to take the car to the Porsche dealer to perform the maintenance (for the peace of mind). (Even though the cost at the dealership will be much higher, of course).

Any suggestions? Thanks very much in advance...

Humberto-

'01 Boxster 29.9 K - Triple Black

Brucelee · 04-18-2005, 04:40 PM

It may or may not be MUCH HIGHER.

Depends on the labor rate at your dealer vs the local German car guy.

Parts costs may be exactly the same unless you can source them yourself.

Are you under Porsche extended warranty? If so, I recommend the dealer for this service.

PS- if you use local German car guy, specify the oil or they may put in whatever they put in!

Ronzi · 04-18-2005, 04:57 PM

It's supposed to be about a 5hr job, if they do all the checks that are supposed to be done, and change the plugs and the oil and filter.
Doing the math on the shop rate, plus the parts, should get you close.
In my case it was $900 at the dealer vs $750 at an independant.

Brucelee · 04-18-2005, 06:28 PM

If the car is an 01, I don't think the plugs get done until 60K. I may be wrong on that but that is what my dealer cheat sheet says.

The plugs is about a 2-3 hour job, so the 30 K should be much less money than you suggest.

I think this is in the $500 range but as you can imagine, I never pay that much for this service.

Ronzi · 04-19-2005, 07:37 AM

Well, I'm holding the dealer 30k maint. invoice in my hand, and it reads $598 for labor and $309 for parts, for a total of $907.
Obviously you can change the oil, plugs, and filters yourself, and forget all the checks, and save yourself a ton of money.
If you take it to a Porsche dealer, $900 is about what it is going to cost, is all I'm saying.

calvani · 04-19-2005, 10:05 AM

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your comments. I checked with my nearby Porsche dealer (Valley Motors) and the cost of the 30 K service is ~$880 (as said before, roughly speaking). An independent Porsche mechanic in this area states that labor+parts will amount to ~$700-750.

Given the relatively low cost difference and the fact that the car is *still* under extended factory warranty, I think I will go ahead and bring the car to the dealer. If something goes wrong during the service (although probably unlikely) I will not have any problems with the warranty. Which after all I already did paid for... !

Thanks again...

Humberto-

Brucelee · 04-19-2005, 11:32 AM

If your dealer is changing the plugs at the 30K on an 01-he is hosing you. That little ditty is about $200-300 for labor and around $90 of the plugs.

If that is true, I would certainly chat with the dealer about the plug issue.

Like picking your pocket, no?

calvani · 04-19-2005, 12:11 PM

The estimated $880 for the 30 K service *does not* include changing the plugs. For an '01 Boxster this is recommended at 60 K miles...If the plugs were to be changed the dealer would charge a total of ~$1200! Sigh....

But still, ~ $880 for changing the oil, filters and performing the checks sounds like a rip off to me...

Believe me, I don't like picking my wallet unnecessarily

Humberto-

Thumper · 04-19-2005, 12:26 PM

Why is changing plugs so much? Do they have to drop the engine to do it?

Brucelee · 04-19-2005, 04:17 PM

I could not agree with you more. As you can imagine, I don't use the dealer for these services.

Aye Carumba!

Quote:

Originally Posted by calvani

The estimated $880 for the 30 K service *does not* include changing the plugs. For an '01 Boxster this is recommended at 60 K miles...If the plugs were to be changed the dealer would charge a total of ~$1200! Sigh....

But still, ~ $880 for changing the oil, filters and performing the checks sounds like a rip off to me...

Believe me, I don't like picking my wallet unnecessarily

Humberto-

Brucelee · 04-19-2005, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thumper

Why is changing plugs so much? Do they have to drop the engine to do it?

In the 996, it takes about 3 hours, most of which is removing the various shields and parts that are in the way to get to the plugs. I assume it is similar in the Box but I have never been under there during the plug process.

calvani · 05-04-2005, 11:18 AM

HI Folks...At the last moment I decided to check the conditions for my extended warranty (which was not purchased through the Porsche dealer), and I found out that I can actually bring my car for service to *any* mechanic (or even do it myself). I simply have to keep all receipts of the service/parts, and naturally, perform the service in accordance with the owner's manual....

That being the case, I took the Boxster to a reputable Porsche mechanic in the Baltimore area (Genady Soykher @ GT Performance). I watched as they performed all the 30 k service checks and changed the air/oil/oil filters...The entire work took only 2 hours for a total of $207!!! So, I really don't know where the 5 hour estimate from the dealer comes from, but I am really glad I decided to take this route...$900 for the 30 k miles service is simply not honest in my opinion...

Humberto-

99-Boxster-MK · 05-04-2005, 12:09 PM

When my 30K service is due, I plan on changing the oil, plugs and air filter myself and have the dealer do whatever else is involved, like all those checks which should not take them more then an hour or two..

I think most of the time is spent getting into the engine to do the work..

Mike