Oil change and Brake question
 

Ok I tried to find this old thread but could not , so I will ask again, well I got 2 questions. I am about to hit my breakin mileage and would like to get an oil change. I have a '05 987. Should I get an oil change at the dealership or take it to a side mechanic to get it done. How much should I pay for an oil change as well. Also my brakes, they have begun to squeek a lot and have excessive brake dust onthe wheels. I am not sure if that is normal for such a new car as I only have 1800 miles on it right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Steve

Try to take it to the nearest dealership to get the brake issue checked out. You could learn how to change your oil yourself. The easiest thing for you to do probably is to just have them change it at the dealership while they inspect your brakes.

jango, I'm guessing your brake discs just need a good blast of water from your hose each time you wash your car. That fixed my brakes from sqeaking. It may cause bit of surface rust on the discs if not driven for a few days after you do this, but this is normal and doesn't hurt anything.

There's a lot of brake dust on my rims every time I wash the car. Waxing your rims will be helpful to keep them clean, but just know that the compound in the brake pads is softer than a passenger car (providing better grip) which means it wears faster too. All this means is that you'll have more brake dust on your boxster rims than usual. Also, high speed braking creates a lot of wear and dust, so keeping this to a minimum will be helpful in the future.

I sure wish I was just coming out of a break-in period in my new Boxster! I've got 94k on mine.

Jangobox,


I would check around your area, talk to guy's who post on Pelican Parts, that live near you, see who they use. If the dealership treats you well then use them. In my area, the dealer is difficult to deal with unless they sold you the car. A good independant wrench can be even more valuable, just do the homework for the area you are willing to drive to.

Jangobox- good job on getting an oil change prior to the 20K interval. This will be good for your motor. Oil changes are not cheap, but remember there is almost $60 just in retail oil costs. A dealer is probably going to charge you that plus a hour in labor. I have seen pricing from $110-200 for the complete job in my market.

Dealer until it's out of warranty.
 

To keep from having to "prove" you have taken proper care of it, I'd go to the dealer just in case. I would hate for you to have a problem that should be covered but they say "we can't be sure the maintenance was done properly, it's on you".

It will cost more, but compared to what it costs to have things fixed when they should be warrantied, it's good peace of mind. ;)

Just save the receipts that prove the vehicle was serviced. The notion that the best wrench is located in the dealer is a falicy. The car will speak for itself in appearance and performance if it is properly maintained. It is a given that vehicles in warranty should be dealer serviced.

Thanks guys for the advice. This forum is just too awesome. I appreciate it! :cheers:

Please don't misunderstand. I''m not saying the dealer had the best wrench, the best wrench for my car is me because I love the car and make sure it's done right every time. Since the warranty was up, my Boxster only sees the dealer in the parking light while I am at the parts counter.

You can go to any mechanic during warranty, but the dealer's "oil change" includes several of checks and lubing of the top mechanisms, cooling system, PST2 check and other things that another mechanic's oil change does not include. If another Porsche mechanic does the oil change for $125, he charged about $75 for the oil & filter and spent 30 minutes doing the change. The dealer's $250 oil change cost about $100 in oil/filter and 1 1/2 hours labor doing the change and all of the additional stuff. Most recalls or TSBs will show up during the warranty period and the dealer will just do them while the car is there so they don't have to inconvenience you later. If something happens that was preventable and listed in a TSB, an oil change receipt from another mechanic will not get you sympathy from the dealer.

GA,

My car is out of warranty so I will do as many of the repairs as I can, unless I trade in the spring for an 03 limited S I have an eye on. I took my 944 for belts to the dealer. On the ride home I found it was leaking oil like the Exxon Valdeez. When I returned to the dealer they said, yeah the front oil seal goes bad sometimes when you do the belts. Hummm, that would have been good info to have before the job or better yet call me while it's apart and suggest replacement. Dealers are like physicians, some are great and some suck. My dad owned a dealership for 40 years, no F ing way we would have sent a car to anyone leaking oil and told them tough ****************. I payed them to repair their mistake and never returned.