Range of Prices for 60k mile Service

[NickCats]

Well, it's time to bring my 99 in for the 60k mile service so I called around to the local dealers for a quote. Once again, very suprised at the range :

Dealer 1 - $954
Dealer 2 - $1300
Dealer 3 - $1100
Dealer 4 - $1250
Dealer 5 - $1600
Dealer 6 - $1830

So, I have an appointment at Dealer 3 on Monday ( Dealer 1 is an hour and a half from the office, Dealer 3 is 10 minutes )

All stated the same work would be done ( highlights ) :

- Change Oil and Filter
- Replace Spark Plugs
- Replace Air Filter
- Replace Pollen Filter
- Replace Fuel Filter

( plus a bunch of checks and inspections )

Hope this helps someone in the future...

Nick

[ekam]

Why are you going to the dealer?

- is it because of the free coffee?
- hot receptionists?
- get to sit in the demo cars?
- loaner car?

If it's not for the above 4 reasons. Don't. Go. There.

[NickCats]

2 reasons :

- Loaner car
- Gotta get the little stamp for the maintenance book !

Nick

Nick, what about Fischer in Lake Barrington? Call them- 847-304-8822. Jmatta goes. there I.I.R.C.

Nick, one moe thing. Are you going to Motor Werks? I think I have a 15% off coupon for them for scheduled service. You can have it. Call me.

[ramo80]

how about replacing the serpentine belt. I thought that was part of the 60K service.

[tonycarreon]

agreed. i went to a dealership for the 1 yr. service ( $15 headlight clip, oil change and new wipers were the only "new" things put on / in the car ) and left $800 lighter.

they also recommended some things:
- upper strut mount : $1080
- cv boots: $950
- ac line: $765
- rear pads & rotors: $1000

took it to an independent porsche mechanic to do the strut mount: $445. he laughed at the ac line and brake "issues" and suggested replacing the cv boots for $740.

he buys his parts from the same dealer i took it to...

if the person i'm buying my used car from can produce the documentation for the work, that's as important as having the stamp in the book, but maybe that's just me.

[NickCats]

ramo,

You are correct. The 60k also includes checking the condition of the polyrib belt and replacing if needed...

Nick

[Adam]

Make sure they bleed your brakes and clutch too.

[Jake Raby]

We are learning that more should be inspected at 60K than just what Porsche recommends.. This includes a lifter inspection and an inspection of the variocam components as the tensioner pads are normally shot at 60K.

I have saved more than a few engines by pulling the sump at 60K miles and cleaning sealant from the oil pick up tube that had been partially blocking the oil inlet, thus reducing oil pressure.

By 60K most engines have a handful of lifters that have seized and at least the upper vario cam pad tensioners are heavily worn. Timing chains are also starting to wear and can have notable wear at 60K miles.

I have yet to do a single 60K service on a vehicle that didn't have at least 3 ignition coil packs that were cracked and required replacement.

Long story short, done right this inspection needs to go further than the "book" says to ensure you don't end up without an issue that can cut your engine's life short.

From what I have seen the Techs that are doing these inspections just go through the motions at the Dealerships.. They don't look at anything they don't have to per the directives and they certainly don't go any deeper than they have to looking for issues that can be noted and then solved with preventive measures before they break.

A car came to us for an IMS bearing retrofit recently and it had just had a 60K done by a Dealer in Texas..(700 miles prior) All 6 coil packs were cracked, it had a broken vario cam tensioner pad on the 4-6 bank and 6 noisy lifters. The Dealer didn't annotate any of these issues on the invoice but they did charge 1100 bucks extra to re-seal the cam covers. (and they still leaked)

Ensure who ever does these services doesn't just go through the motions and follow some generic check list. What was **believed** to be necessary at 60K miles when these cars were new isn't what reality has proven to be necessary. Having deep internal experience with these engines has taught us whats really necessary.

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

We are learning that more should be inspected at 60K than just what Porsche recommends.. This includes a lifter inspection and an inspection of the variocam components as the tensioner pads are normally shot at 60K.

I have saved more than a few engines by pulling the sump at 60K miles and cleaning sealant from the oil pick up tube that had been partially blocking the oil inlet, thus reducing oil pressure.

By 60K most engines have a handful of lifters that have seized and at least the upper vario cam pad tensioners are heavily worn. Timing chains are also starting to wear and can have notable wear at 60K miles.

I have yet to do a single 60K service on a vehicle that didn't have at least 3 ignition coil packs that were cracked and required replacement.

Long story short, done right this inspection needs to go further than the "book" says to ensure you don't end up without an issue that can cut your engine's life short.

From what I have seen the Techs that are doing these inspections just go through the motions at the Dealerships.. They don't look at anything they don't have to per the directives and they certainly don't go any deeper than they have to looking for issues that can be noted and then solved with preventive measures before they break.

A car came to us for an IMS bearing retrofit recently and it had just had a 60K done by a Dealer in Texas..(700 miles prior) All 6 coil packs were cracked, it had a broken vario cam tensioner pad on the 4-6 bank and 6 noisy lifters. The Dealer didn't annotate any of these issues on the invoice but they did charge 1100 bucks extra to re-seal the cam covers. (and they still leaked)

Ensure who ever does these services doesn't just go through the motions and follow some generic check list. What was **believed** to be necessary at 60K miles when these cars were new isn't what reality has proven to be necessary. Having deep internal experience with these engines has taught us whats really necessary.

It looks like alot of the engine has to be disassembled to replace the variocam pads. Is that something that's easy to inspect? How about the lifters?

[Bobiam]

That is a lot of money to spend on a '99 car. For those of us that have the space to work and the time, all of this stuff is good DIY work. Also, I encourage drivers, especially of older cars, to learn and practice such maintenance to save some bucks and become more knowledgable about your cars.

However, if DIY isn't your thing then I strongly advise finding a good aftermarket shop. But dealer pricing is outrageous. We can do better than that......keep in mind that they service cars worth between $60,000-$200,000. They don't even understand that the guy with the '99 might not be rich!

Bob