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Self-service?

Forrester

Active member
Joined
11 May 2014
Messages
37
My 911 4S is coming up to 4 years old at the end of Feb 2018. The warranty expires then and it's due for a major service. It seems that a major service will cost around £700-£800 (brake fluid change, new spark plugs, oil change & air filter). From reading around, servicing doesn't seem too difficult and £800 seems a ludicrous price for the above.

So I was wondering if anyone else had gone down the self service route and if so, any advice or regrets?
 
With a 4yr old Porsche without having a stamp in the book by an OPC will be the kiss of death come sale time. I wouldn't buy it and would move on to one with full OPC history. Plus you will not be able to extend the warranty once it goes outside the network without having the 111 point inspection and I think major service first.

You might also get hit with needing brake pads so it might be worth exploring these yourself with genuine parts before it goes in. Also some OPC will allow you to supply your own oil to save you paying their ridiculous per litre charges.

Yes it is a ludicrous price due to high labour rates but then these cars aint cheap in the first place and on 2yr service intervals aint as bad as other exotica :what:
 
:yeah:

You might save yourself £400 but you'll automatically be reducing the value of your car by at least that.
 
+1 on the above also.
You could be a Porsche mechanic but it won't make a lick of difference when it comes to resale time. You may save £400 now, but you will certainly cost you more than that down the road.

If it.makes you feel better, it costs less to service my 911 than it does my Audi A6
 
You could always try Porsche specialists. Mine in Surrey does a major 991 C4S service for around £500, and you'll get a proper stamp in the service book.
At just four years old it's practically new, if my 15 year old 996 is anything to go by.
 
hmmm ... well, you're an unadventurous lot!

But seriously, yes, I know that there would be a financial hit (to say the least) if I were to sell it. And it's clear that a lot of people would be put off buying because of the lack of OPC stamps.

However, to me, my 4S is (almost) the perfect 911. It's NA with a lovely sound, ridiculously fast and I totally love it. I don't intend to sell it for a least another 8 years and possibly a lot longer.

I tend to keep my cars for a long time. My previous BMW (a 5-series E34) I had for 22 years. My Landy 110 Defender (naturally air-conditioned due to the holes in the bulkhead and 0-60 ... eventually) I've had for 25 years. Apart from welding (a lot, believe me) I do all the servicing. My current DD is a BMW 525 F11 - 6 years old, serviced by me for that whole period. Good, reliable, more toys than you can count and boring as hell. I'll keep it till it falls apart (or I do).

When I said almost perfect, I'd like to make the following mods:

1) 911.2 GT3 Sport steering wheel - I really like this. Much nicer than the equivalent on the 911.1

2) better sound (and I don't mean Bose). I have the basic sound system and I've listened to both it and Bose. Couldn't tell the slightest difference. The only advantage I can see for Bose is that the car is pre-wired for something better.

3) rear camera. I have it on the BMW and really miss it on the 911. There's a good DIY write-up by Plenum. My main hang up on this is that it involves drilling a hole in the body somewhere.

I think #2 & #3 would rule out the extended warranty.

The cost of the service doesn't bother me - it's the feeling of being rooked by the OPC for something which, at the end of the day is a simple oil change (+ plugs at a major).

However, adding up the costs over 8 years (say) comes out roughly like this:

Extended warranty = 8 * 1k
Major Service: 3 * 0.8k
Minor Service 3 * 0.6k

Total = 12.2

The cost to me for a service is (again roughly)

10l Castrol or Mobil oil = £80
2 * air filter = £70
6 * plugs @ £5 each = £30

Total = £180 for a major and £80 for a minor not including brake fluid and brakes, which are not that expensive over 8 years), so total over 8 years is £700.

That leaves £11.5k that isn't in the OPC's (or warranty company's) back pocket. That covers a lot of things going wrong - and I can also do my mods. As far as I can tell from reading around, the main things that fail are the change-over valves (COVs). It's pretty rare, though not unknown, for something major, like the PDK, to fail.

So there is choice between safe, boring and feeling robbed and on the other hand getting exactly the car I want with some risk.

That's why I was curious if anyone else here had gone down this route. Once started, it's not really reversible and I've a few months left to decide.
 
Yes .. its not hard if you want to do it , you will need either a ramp or the car jacked up on each corner to check suspension .

Oil lvl is a pain with out a tester to say how much is needed , it takes longer if you use the cars gauge ( crap cough .. )

Plugs are a bit of a challenge if on your back but all in all its not hard .. hell i get employed to do it for a living and i wouldn,t if it was difficult ;) .
 
Ive always serviced & repaired all my own cars and even friends & family cars. Saved myself a fortune over the years.

However with my 997 I take it to the local indi. Whilst I dont intend to sell it any time soon, on cars of this nature, people get very nervous when buying them and want to see a full book of stamps from either an OPC or an reputable garage.
 
Forrester said:
........... That leaves £11.5k that isn't in the OPC's (or warranty company's) back pocket. That covers a lot of things going wrong .......

As someone who's claimed twice that amount in the last 3 years I'll be sticking with my main dealer servicing and warranty. :grin:

Seriously, if you're keeping your car for that long and have the time/inclination/ability to do everything yourself I can see your reasoning.

I think you'll find yourself in a massive minority though. :wink:
 
DO IT! (but as said it only stacks up financially if you plan to keep it a long time).

I do everything to my 996, and mine is 18 years and 132k old so things wear out and break, so I'm constantly planning the next surgery to keep it reliable.

On a 4 year old car, you're just going to be dropping the oil each year for a long while yet. Work will be MUCH easier due to fewer seized bolts and rusted up parts.

I suppose if something major goes wrong, there are fewer used spares around or pattern parts (suspension arms etc) for the 991. But they will come in time.



If you plan to keep the car for 8 more years (car will be 12 yo), there is no reason not to! I mean in 8 years time its not going to sell for £11.5k less is it.

Recently you could buy a whole 12 year old 911 for that.....
 
How are you going to reset the service interval schedules on the OBC. Or is there a workaround someone has found holding various buttons in etc :dont know:
 
I decided to my own servicing on my 996 which has done all its depreciation and I know it would put potential buyer off when/if the time comes but my car is maintained better than it would be if looked at by an OPC. I have saved five figure sums on doing my own work. You would lose out at resale time but if you keep it long enough that hit would be reversed.

What I do is buy my oil/filter, brake fluid, etc and when changing I will note on the dated invoice for the particular parts I have fitted, the mileage and date done, I also make a note of this in the service book as I still want proof that it was done before it was due and this would prove the car has been maintained well and on/before time.
 
Zingari said:
How are you going to reset the service interval schedules on the OBC. Or is there a workaround someone has found holding various buttons in etc :dont know:

Durametric (and some other cheaper scanners) will do it.

But every car I have had has a button press workaround inc newish audis and Land Rovers, so I'd be surprised if there wasn't a way, e.g. there is a way with the 997 too involving the odometer reset button.
 
Pressing the odometer has no effect for me. There's an alternative to the Durametric - the iCarsoft Por II diagnostic tool for a £150. That does diagnostic codes as well as resets

I did think of building my own reset tool - but it seems that Porsche aren't too forthcoming with the protocols and I might end up 'bricking' the engine. These things seem to be more computer than internal combustion engine these days. Still, if I get the Por II, I'll snoop the protocol and see if I can build a cheaper reset only tool.
 
:floor: This is the UK, where people run a mile away from 100k + mile cars and where 99% would never do their own servicing. If I was you I would stick to porsche servicing or at the least go to an indie. :thumb:
 

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