rnl

I ordered my 991.1 from a dealer. It was built to requested specifications in 2012. Over the past 9 or so years I have serviced it at Indys and at dealers around the area. I have a good relationship with the service managers - they know me and the car. I have found that certain procedures are best left to the dealer (vario cam servos for example) and that oil changes and spark plug removal and reinstall an indy can easily do. After the rear bumper was repaired on account of a minor scratch I was at the dealer for a tire change over and purchased new insignias while I was there. The service manager noticed and offered to install them gratis. it took only a few minutes using the templates but, it was very much appreciated.

I read about the "porsche tax" often here...well, there are some benefits from that tax.

manifold danger

Personally I just chalk it up to Porsche ownership. To date I haven't been outraged at my local dealer (Porsche Annapolis), and actually would agree that I've been quite pleased by some of the perks as described by the OP. I expect them to cover warranty repairs even if they know I track the car, and I reward them by bringing it (and my wife's Macan) to them almost exclusively for maintenance. They also know me and my car(s); having bought one from them but had them service 4 total to date.

I actually bought the pre-paid maintenance for my current Macan because I enjoyed the convenience of just dropping it off and having the work done with BMWs I've owned in the past. Supposedly it will pay for itself; assuming we drive it often enough to take full advantage before it expires... which may actually not happen due to the pandemic... but I couldn't have necessarily predicted that.

I will say that if I knew of a trusted independent shop in my local area I'd consider going to them for at least some routine maintenance, but that's another issue- I don't.

That said, all dealers are certainly not created equal. I did move on from another local dealer, one I had in fact bought my first Macan from in 2015. The buying experience was great, so I decided to bring it back for service even though they weren't the closest dealer. No complaints for the first couple of visits; so a year or so later I had to drive to Tennessee from Maryland to pick up one of the only manual Boxster GTS's in the country, so I obviously didn't buy it from them. It was a CPO car, and the fan regulator motor went and it needed repair. They gave me grief that their loaners were reserved only for owners that bought cars from them, and that he didn't think he had any available. I had to tell him that I had bought another car from them; then he loosened up and gave me a loaner, but by then I was already pretty pissed.

I gave up on them and went to the actual dealer closest to me, and they've been great. Never once mentioned anything about any of the cars not being purchased at that dealership- so I ordered my next Macan through them, and will continue to go back to them for any new Porsche I buy as long as I live in the vicinity.

ICU991812

Good will goes a long way with getting repeat business, and some dealers realize this but the bad ones don't. For my Lexus, there are several dealerships near me and I've probably gone to every one at one time or another. The one that's furthest from me actually is the best and I've gone there the most. The closest, and newest dealership, I was there once and they thought I was an absolute idiot. Trying to get me to change items that were "bad" on the vehicle when I knew they were either still good or I had change them not too long ago myself. If you like a particular dealership or indy shop, and they treat you right, the long terms relationships could save you some good money down the road.

911-TOUR

A friend of mine this week called around to get quotes on an oil change for is 991.1 GTS:

Closest Dealer (a Sonic Dealership)..................................$890! - but they will replace the windshield wipers free and do a 4 wheel alignment for that price.
Next Closest Dealer (an Indigo Dealership).......................$460 - this is what I paid at my last annual service
Closest Independent (also services Lambo/Ferrari/etc).....$290 - seems pretty fair to me.

The closest dealer has the worst rep across the board. I think a big part of that is the "Sonic" we don't negotiate and we bundle everything so you are required to pay more.

cheers!

ClassJ

That was a very nice gesture. All tax should come with some exchange of services.

I pay property taxes. The town picks up my trash and plow the street.

ICU991812

,"
The dealer prices are, what the dealer prices are. Not everyone is a DIY'r and I would imagine many Porsche owners have the funds to not have to be a DIY'r and even $890 is a drop in the bucket. I'm not that person, I am a DIY'r and these prices are crazy to me, but I understand them. That dealership, the mechanics, the "free loaners," they all don't come cheap. There is overhead to cover and Porsche has a higher overhead than the local Indy. $290 for full synthetic and not having to do it yourself and get all dirty, it's really not too bad. There is a $$$ associated with labor. Even for $460 at an actual Porsche dealership, I think it normal. $890 even with alignment seems a little steep.

Norge911

Sonic dealers are the worst..........

Bud Taylor

You have so much money you just don't care. Having spent 20 minutes helping my indy change the oil makes $500 seems like price gouging. If someone has limited not limitless resources you have to make choices. My choices mean I can have 5 vehicles instead of 2. I agree I would only let a dealer align those letters as done wrong it looks terrible. When I have to go to a dealer I look at it like taxes or surgery. It is no fun and hurts but your stuck. Hold your nose and hope Karma works its magic. As a worker bee who has been pretty successful in other areas I think even if I hit the next income level dealer prices would still be offensive.

Porsche_nuts

Why are you helping your indy change the oil? Isn't that what you are paying him to do?

NF4710

The dealers make a killing off of service - probably more than off of new car sales. Since there are few dealers many take the opportunity to extort customers, knowing that the Porsche clientele are well-heeled. Some dealers (like the one I had in VA) are expensive but offer commensurate service. Others, such as the one near me now, offer absolutely atrocious service and charge exorbitant prices.

Bottom line you have to judge each dealer on a case-by-case basis. Just because people can afford something doesn’t make it right to overcharge them or do unnecessary services. Local dealer charged me $15 for a key fob battery remote - I had replaced mine the week before and never asked for it to be done. My personal favorite was that they replaced my wipers (2 months old) for over $100.

Porsche as a company seems to have abandoned customer service and written off customer loyalty. I hope that comes back to haunt them.

NF.

Porsche_nuts

I think they charged me something like $8 for a missing grommet one time. Guessing grommet was 50 cents and labor was $7.50, or maybe the grommet was $8 and they did me a favor and threw in the labor for free!

Keadog

I have 4 dealers within 90 minutes of me but the closest is 75 or so. I was at the place I ordered this current car getting some minor warranty work done (cupholder) and asked the service manager (nice guy) how much it would be to do the oil while it was in. "$500". Uh, no thanks. I found a coupon online for $285 and asked the closest (and the ones who installed my Soul cat back exhaust and Numeric shifter/cables for $100 less (with a free Macan loaner) than a highly recommended speed shop quoted me without a loaner) if they would match it. "Sure".
So, if if you aren't making $3000 or more per hour, it's often worth looking around.
Of course, that assumes you live within reasonable driving distance of more than one dealer.
One thing about the pricing is that for me, with this site and the internet in general, I have begun to do more things myself. I have a lot of space, but no lift. I do have a quick jack. I'll be changing the brake fluid soon and plan on doing my own oil changes from now on. The filters from Suncoast are under $30 and 8 quarts of oil is well under $100.
I did cabin filters around New Years and that saved some money as well. And, beyond the money, it feels good to be able to do even simple things on one's own. Growing up, I didn't learn any of this stuff. No role models, as my father was rarely home, hated cars and always paid someone else to do things like this.
I've also learned I like buying tools...

Bxstr

I received a quote last year from my local dealer on pinning the coolant lines on my 997 GT3, something pretty common but involves dropping the engine. They quoted me over $4k, my local independent was a little over $2k. So we can basically say it was double at the dealer. The independent also included an oil change in that price.

Now there are certain jobs where the dealer is only slightly more and it makes sense. However, my main reason for going to the dealer is due to the loaner cars. It's so convenient to drop my car off, pick up another Porsche and return. I don't have to think about if I am going to Uber home, ask a friend, like when I take my car to an independent. But, my dealer seems to not like giving out loaners. So if I go in there for an oil change, they say it should only take an hour, well that somehow always turns into 2+ hours by the time they take it back, put it up on the lift, drain the oil, etc. I'd rather grab a loaner in the morning, pick my car up in the evening. Then, I took my car in once for an issue I was having and they knew up front it would probably be there for 2-3 weeks. Well they told me they didn't want to give out a loaner then either because they said they didn't want to be without it that long. The only time they want to give out a loaner is if you're going to be having something like brakes and an oil change done where it's going to be gone for a day or two and they're making an insane markup on that service. So pretty much, the one reason I'd go to the dealer is eliminated. This dealer used to be better, but they have went through an organizational change under the prior owner (who was great but after the organizational change it was not as good) and then an ownership change. Things have not been as good once the new owner took over.

I do like going to an independent shop, simply because it feels slightly more enthusiast based. They seem more knowledgable and passionate about the service they're providing. However, like I said, the no loaner in most cases is a huge negative.

vanlieremead

I’m under CPO for the next 5 years. I plan to also bring my 991.2 to the dealer for all service. I could do the oil and maybe the plugs as well. But I think the dealer is a better option as all the maintenance data is stored to car fax. I think that may add to the value. I also imagine (at least my wife tells me so) that I’ll be getting another Porsche in a few years. Dealers love the repeats and are anxious to build a relationship. That’s also how I would do business.

Bud Taylor

He will let me hold something so it up's my man card points.