For every vehicle I've owned (not just P-cars) while still under warranty... (and note I am otherwise very, very capable in a garage...)

The things I did NOT have the dealer do: brakes (pads and rotors), air filters, wiper blades, brake fluid flushes. IMO this is standard maintenance ANY car should do, it's not rocket science, and IMO not connected to anything "expensive".

Things I typically DID have the dealer do: oil changes, transmission/PDK fluids, diff and transfer case fluids, etc. This stuff is connected to very expensive things if you have to fix/replace without warranty (engine, trans, diffs, etc.) and if you DO have some kind of failure with those components, the first place they're going to look is your service history to see if you had the oil changed, fluids flushed, etc.

One time, out of sheer convenience, I had the dealer install fresh wiper blades. I knew I needed them and kept spacing out on just going to the store to grab a set... and the dealer offered. I didn't ask any details, just said "yeah, sure." Little did I know until I got the bill they charged be $80 PER BLADE lol.

I *did* change the oil in my Spyder myself this last time - and that.... might have me use the dealer going forward. Felt like it took forever just to pull all the damned panels off underneath. I'd rather part with a couple hundred bucks to the dealer and get my afternoon back lol.

 

After you are quoted $1,200, be sure to ask your P Dealer is they include a dimly lit room equipped with a cot and a pack of cigarettes while you wait.

 

Yeah, all the panels are discouraging home oil changes, but having the recorded service history is definitely a plus if you plan on selling. Mine...I have already picked out a spyder-sized plot for me and my beloved.

Wait, 3500 miles in two years? Mine has 5800 in 10 months! And those are all "pleasure" miles. Eeep!

 

That roof is ALREADY a pain to open... Good luck doing it DOWN THERE!

 

Ha! True, but then I'll literally have eternity to work at it. (Oh wait...or are you saying you have insight into my eventual "destination"? Down there, eh? Putting the top down in a pool of magma? If there is one...yep...I'll be going.)

 

Amateurs. I'm over 24k miles and I took delivery 7/5/21... and this was all "fun" driving, I had a daily driver for the routine stuff!

 

First, my bottom line: When I buy a Porsche I know the car is expensive to service at the dealer but I take that as a known up front. I don't want to deal with warranty or quality of work questions so I just have the dealer do everything while the car is under warranty. That was a built-in cost taken into account when I purchased it.

A problem some people have is that they get a third party to do their service but they don't have a PIWIs to reset the service intervals on the computer so they keep driving around with service warnings on. The dealership will turn down requests to clear these service warnings since they legitimately have no way of knowing if the third party did the service correctly. Porsche Corporate doesn't allow the dealers to clear service intervals unless the dealer does the work. If something goes bad you better have good documentation from a very reputable shop.

One thought I've had about non-Porsche centric third parties is that some shops don't have any idea how to properly protect PCCB discs when installing/removing wheels. Just crack one of those at over $7k a pop and there's a world of difficulty getting that fixed.

And a final data point: My local dealer's rates have been at $325/hr for at least a year now, so you're already at $1300 in labor without parts & consumables for a 4 hour job. On the flip side, my dealer does oil and coolant top-offs for free and gives free hand car-washes any time you ask (although I do my own washes since I'm paranoid that way!)

 

StormRune,

My Porsche dealer's hourly labor rate is $212.00 dollars an hour.
I live in Franklin, TN. NOT a Huge City so I'm sure that's why the labor rate is what it is.

My opinion is to only use my Certified Porsche Dealer for everything I have had done.
I set the cost aside so that my Porsche dealership has records of everything done.

I will continue to do that under the original factory Warranty and before the 4-years is up I intend on doing the Porsche Extended Warranty.
I will always use my Porsche dealership for everything possible.

Terry

 

You answered your question with your title - "Porsche dealer service - gouging or typical"; the answer is typical Porsche dealer gouging! For anyone remotely mechanically inclined, service on our cars is easy and a trip to the dealer unneeded. Maybe if you have an electrical gremlin or something weird but by in large, you can do 90% of the maintenance yourself. But I guess many do not want to get their hands dirty and for those, they have to open their wallet! $325 an hour labor rate is insane - this is not rocket surgery!

 

It appears that many who would be capable of doing their own services are hung up on the reset of the maintenance intervals per the job performed.
Interval resetting can be done as a DYI, with an at home tool for sub $100.00, and if you can change your own cabin filters/oil (at the very least), you can easily perform this on your own.

Take the leap and buy one off Amazon, and if you cant figure out where/how to plug into the OBD port (), just return it.

Other ways to save; become a PCA member and take the 10% discount on your services, talk to your SA to get the costs cut - these prices are not set in stone, and there is always plenty of wiggle room. Also, lie and tell them the dealer 20 miles away is going to charge 1/2 the price - but be willing to walk if they don't match, or come down in price significantly to retain your business.

 

Anyone who intends to keep their Porsche “forever” should generate the wherewithal to do all of the scheduled maintenance activities. Or, at least the items that don’t require a lot of disassembly. And in particular fluids.

It doesn’t require a huge investment in tools. And the ROI is quick.

Why? DIY Routine Maintenance (DIYRM) is a way to save $1000 or more, on average, per year. Fluid maintenance is often overlooked or ignored and one of the most important items with respect to longevity. DIYRM provides a yearly opportunity to inspect nooks and crannies for damage, leaks, or deterioration the repair of which can then be scheduled, planned, or researched for the next maintenance. Routine maintenance is where a lot of damage occurs (e.g. rags left on engine, over-torqued, left-out, broken fasteners, etc.) due to inexperienced or thoughtless technicians (dealer or otherwise.)

If you intend to keep your Porsche “forever” the older it gets the more important it is for you to catch things before they break and the vast majority of shops aren’t equipped to provide that type of service. Dealer techs tend to see new or under-warranty Porsches and thus don’t become familiar with common ‘old-age’ issues and tend not to develop the skills required for ‘old’ cars. Independents that specialize in sub-models sometimes develop the skills required. But, in my experience, that type of shop is very rare.

 

Which is the $100 tool people keep referencing to reset the service lights? I bought the icarsoft 3.0 which was more like $200.

 

iCarsoft POR V2.0 was $110 when I purchased it from Amazon in December 2022. A bit higher now but price fluctuates.

2.0 is sufficient to reset service interval, battery reset, ABS, and more.

https://a.co/d/hqq5Lfv

 

Will the iCarsoft 2.0 clear a Inspection Now light on startup?
The light either came on because I hooked up battery tender cables to the battery or my car just hit 2 years old I am thinking..

 

1. Why would you go with the Porsche extended warranty? I strongly recommend seeking quotes from third party providers like fidelity; imo it is the way to go on extended warranties following the end of the OEM warranty. There are entire threads dedicated to this topic on Rennlist.
2. My current dealership has fair pricing as well due to my region. But there are items I will go to an indy for instead of the dealership - like installing my OAP and VC. When I was in the tristate NY region, I rarely went to the dealership other than the first service and warranty items. I always went to my trusted indy. I remember my dealership wanted $5k+ for new rotors and pads - thousands more than my indy for installing the same parts ordered from the same dealership. No thanks. I don't have money to burn. I'd rather spend that money on my family who put up with my car addiction.

As for records, it's not as if records from my indy is lacking either. I keep meticulous records of all work done to my cars (even tire purchases/changes at Costco, etc.). It's not as if we're taking these cars to jiffy lube when we go to a Porsche specialist indy.
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