How much for oil change?

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by z12358

bmussatti:
"You must maintain your Porsche according to the Maintenance Schedule in the Maintenance Booklet and the Car Care Instructions in the Owner's Manual and keep the receipts as proof of maintenance"

Thanks bmuss. I'm just worried that somewhere there in the fine print there isn't something like: "All service has to be performed by a Porsche Certified shop, blah, blah...". If I was the one offering the warranty I'd probably want to have something there that would ensure a certain standard of quality for the work done on the warrantied car.

Hi,

Why? Porsche can (and does) deny a warranty claim initially on a lot of issues. Only when an owner is persistent do they become more accommodating. The reasoning goes something like this "I can dig into my own pocket to fix something which shouldn't have failed (which is my fault to begin with), or, I can simply say NO and have the Customer hand over even more of their money to me..."

Look at Sammy with his RMS issue (http://www.986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7298&page=1 ). Porsche denies the claim (doesn't even call him back), only his persistence got them to cough up 66% of the cost. And, let's look at that for a moment. Sammy ends up paying 33% of the Shop Charge, while Porsche only have to pay the actual cost. Porsche and the Dealer ends up making money 2 ways; Sammy pays for a third of it including the Mark-up (retail), while Porsche and the dealer probably only pay actual costs equal to maybe 40% of the retail warranty claim, so they profit 2-ways. They may even write-off the Labor as Training Expense or some such thing.

My point is, Porsche doesn't need all the fine print when they can simply deny the repair and probably have 50% or more claimants leave it at that and shell out for the repair on their own. It's a Dealer's game; they have the deck stacked in their favor.

There are two kinds of Automobile warranties offered by manufacturers; Those to keep Customers (Lexus, Jaguar, Kia, and others), and those to get Customers (Porsche, GM, Chrysler, and others). Porsche needed to offer a warranty in order to attract buyers, so they did. From a lot of the reports we see & hear, once they get the sale, they try to dodge and weave as best they can on warranty issues to preserve their profit, not their customer. I look at the Porsche Warranty with great skepticism, not any feeling of security, like a Blanket full of holes...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[z12358]

Now I remember how we didn't conclude anything on the warranty thing before. Let's assume that the prohibition of outside service is not there until someone actually reads it.

Assumming that I bring my own oil, filter, ring, etc, do most oil change places (such as Jiffy Lube) have the tools (wrench, etc.) to do an oil change on the Boxster? This may not be a bad idea, as I can probably find such a place closer to my storage and the drive will be shorter before I store the car with the new oil. Of course, if I do it I'll be standing right there watching like a hawk.

Z.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by z12358

Now I remember how we didn't conclude anything on the warranty thing before. Let's assume that the prohibition of outside service is not there until someone actually reads it.

Assumming that I bring my own oil, filter, ring, etc, do most oil change places (such as Jiffy Lube) have the tools (wrench, etc.) to do an oil change on the Boxster? This may not be a bad idea, as I can probably find such a place closer to my storage and the drive will be shorter before I store the car with the new oil. Of course, if I do it I'll be standing right there watching like a hawk.

Z.

Hi,

The drain plug wrench is common enough, 8mm Allen bit. But, the Oil Filter wrench (74mm, 14 flutes) isn't that common, so I wouldn't expect Jiffy Lube to have one.

Besides needing to torque the Plug and Filter Cannister (37 ft.lbs. and 19 ft.lbs. respectively) could also be a problem, they may not have a torque wrench, let alone an accurate one.

Also, by the book, the Oil needs to drain for at least 20 min. to get the most old oil out and I cannot imaging Jiffy Lube holding a Bay out of service for that long.

But, the biggest concern I would have would be having their guys waving open quarts of Oil around my trunk!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Brucelee]

My experience would support Jim's observations on warranty coverage. Lexus has always been VERY accomodating with me on warranty issues.

Porsche has been the opposite. Fortunately, I have some very good service folks here in Carlsbad who fight the good fight. I have seen them haggling with "the factory" on issues.

It is too bad. If the car fails under warranty, lets keep the customer satisfied.