I'm a fan of wrenching on what you can, especially if you plan to own the car long term. Routine maintenance is often the most profitable for a mechanic because it is very simple work anyone can do. I know lexus quoted a brake job for a customer at $2600. It was about $500 in parts at my cost for OE stuff and takes about 2 hours of labour to do it. IMO anyone who tracks their car should learn how to do brake jobs since they're so frequent and so you have some mechanical knowledge of your car to address random quirks at the track. Most suspension stuff is really easy to do also.

I find my troubleshooting of my own cars is often better than a dealership doing it for most things. I'm more invested in finding the actual problem rather than giving up and throwing parts at it until soemthing sticks. Pull the code, do a bit of research on how it works and then think the problem through. I can't remember the last time I replaced something I didn't need to replace, and often it has ended up being super cheap to fix stuff as I haven't needed to actually replace stuff and could just fix the problem (lots of module problems are just sodder issues or bad capacitors or something very cheap to fix) or get a used module to fix the problem for super cheap.

I'll use the dealer or an independent for stuff I can't figure out, really sucks to do, or stuff I can't do like reprogramming a module.

 

Only extended warranty I value is a manufacturer one that extends the life of the warranty rather than rewriting it to be a new warranty. Aftermarket warranties often do not cover a whole heck of a lot and have all kinds of clauses to weasel out of stuff. They're also a hassle for the service department to deal with sometimes. I say that as someone who worked years at a dealership. If i'm buying a used car I want a CPO warranty from the manufacturer not some random warranty.

 

If one buys an extended Porsche warranty (mandatory before the 4 Yr./50K expires) it basically extends the original warranty out for the term of the warranty (either months or miles) which you buy. The warranty is from Porsche itself and not a 3rd party.

 

slowdown,

Not that you need me or anyone else to approve what decisions you make with your Porsche.
I understand why you do things the way you do for what it's worth.
Below is why I do what I do ...............

(1) Extended Warranties:
Some of my background below so what I say might make better sense.

I worked for multiple new car dealerships for over 16-years before retiring.
In those 16-years ^^^ I held multiple positions which included management in some cases.
Here is what I saw over my years 1st hand ............
New Car or Used-Car-Warranty Companies come and go.
And what they say is covered doesn't always work out that way for a fact.
Also, if you do go with an After-Market warranty you DAMN sure better make sure to talk in person to either the Parts & Service Director or the Service-Manager to make sure they ACCEPT that company.
Lastly ...........
I know for a Fact if you simply are willing to foot the cost of say the Porsche extended-warranty ???
There is and will never be any questions regarding a repair because it's the Porsche Extended Warranty.
Also that Porsche dealer is the Selling dealer and the Extended Warranty is sold by same Porsche dealer.
If the Porsche Service-Department needs any additional assistance Porsche will more than likely help the service-department.
My Porsche Dealer is part of the (Sonic Automotive Group) which IMHO carry additional weight on all matters including Extended Warranty matters.

(2) Porsche repairs in general:
When I purchased my Cayman 718 GT4 I had additional assistance from the G/M that used to be over the Porsche dealership as well as a few other new car dealerships.
That G/M I worked with at one of the new car dealerships I earlier spoke of above.
I actually went to him (Name Not Important) for his help as I didn't know anyone at PON (Porsche of Nashville).
As it turned out my guy actually trained and promoted the now G/M at PON that I dealt with.
I Cannot reveal the Financial side of things but will say it's a good thing I had my contact.
Moving on ................
My salesman with obviously permission from the G/M had everything handled from their end.
That included Multiple outside vendors for some of what I wanted completed before I took delivery.
It was a Very-very long, drawn-out, sort of thing as Covid-19 Greatly-Slowed-Up progress that had nothing to do without side Vendors or PON.
My point here is I didn't have to deal with any of the above as my Porsche dealership handled it from the Beginning to End for me.
Was it more EXPENSIVE I'm sure it was but if anything comes up I'll be going back to my Selling PON Dealer to get things handled as they had it all done not me.
I grant you money to most Middle-Class working people is ALWAYS-always Super Important !!!
And it is to me but I know from doing things with vehicles since the Mid-60's sometimes spending MORE on the Front-End is the Smarter-Decision.

Note*
I have continued to work with PON service department this past year to have numerous After-Market (Performance) items installed.
Luckily for me the ONLY Tech that's worked on my GT4 from the PDI to include Everything else is the (Shop Foreman) Nick with over 20-Plus years of Experience.
He is Beyond **** and takes his time to make sure Everything is done to Perfection.
Once again, Yes-yes it was Expensive but to me Nick was worth far more than the initial cost of his Hourly-Labor-Rate of $212.00 US Dollars

BTW, I also know that 3rd party vendors are usually a Hell of a lot more Careful when dealing with a High-End dealerships like a Porsche dealer.
And they (3rd-Party Vendors) will correct anything that needs to be corrected ASAP if they wish to continue doing business with Porsche or any other High-End dealer.

Okay that's why I have done things the way I have and my GT4 is now over 1-year old and has plus 7,000 miles with No-Issues.
I'm glad I gave (Everything) additional thought and went with PON even as it certainly cost more it was easily worth the added expense.

Terry

 

The Porsche dealer down my way is wanting $1,330 for the 2 year service program, and that doesn’t include cabin filters,

 

And you really should consider doing the air filters at the same time. Mine with ~6500 miles and 2 years.




Peter

 

Regarding the pricing, sounds very typical when you ask for the 2 year or 4 year service package. As mentioned, I typically tell them specifically what to do and they do a complimentary inspection on the rest of the car. Pretty much anything they recommend, I do as I trust the tech that works on my car. Around here, dealer oil change is $350-400. Brake flush is near $200. Local popular independent is around $250-300 for an oil change and $150 for a brake flush. Another independent, which is smaller can be closer to $200 for an oil change. What you have to weigh is the time involved. The larger, popular independent is nearly an hour away from me. They get my business on very large jobs or repairs as it can be worth the cost savings. For yearly maintenance, the difference in cost often leads me to using the dealer. The other big dealer pro is a loaner. If you have a spouse or friend to take you to and from the independent and it's close, then that is an easy decision and if this was the case, I'd probably exclusively use the independent. But in my case, I really dislike having to ask friends to take me to and from places and inconvenience them. Of course there is Uber, but by the time you're done Ubering to and from, it's going to eat up some of the cost.

Why don't I DIY? I'm a bit freaked out getting under a car that isn't on a lift. Even on a solid set of jackstands, I think the most I'd want to do is a brake flush. Putting my body fully under a car that isn't on a lift just freaks me out. YMMV.

 

I wish it was like the UK (not a phrase I use often) where every dealer for a given brand has the same set price for each service. It’s ridiculous to have to shop around dealerships in order to avoid getting your pants pulled down.

 

My '20 GT4 is still under warranty but I'm not going to pay that much to have someone else do the work, especially for maintenance tasks. For an oil change, the above posts are right about needing a lift or some fancy jack/stands to reach all the screws/bolts/nuts to remove 3 underbody panels. I recently picked up a QuickJack lift, it wasn't perfect because some of the frames block the underbody trays - it's still worth it for me to learn. I also picked up the iCarsoft POR V2.0 device and it reset my oil and service light.

The lift was $1200 - so my first oil change was the same price as a Porsche dealer oil change - but now I have a lift and can do the work myself.

 

Just got an quote from my local dealer for 2 year service here in Irvine, CA.
Oil Change, replace air filter, replace brake fluid, replace cabinet filters, replace wiper, replace remote key fob battery, 4 wheel alignment, reset maintenance interval = $2990 + tax. !!

Now I'm taking it to indy shop for service. Anyone had good experience with Vision Motorsports or Pacific German in Laguna Hills?

 

That's what you get from AutoNation. Only thing they don't do is use a weapon.

 

2 Year service on my Spyder last month including air cleaner, allergen filter, brake fluid was $983. Everywhere else quoted around $1,300.

 

So no lube is used when they bend you over the barrel?

 

Vision is solid.They have a very good reputation in the OC.

 

Go to Tony at True Performance in Lake Forest, he services all my Porsches.