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I knew Livermore was horrible just with the experience we had while searching for a car. Fremont is my to go place only if I need to use a dealership, otherwise I use BRRacing in Los Gatos for things I cannot do myself. I do 90% of the work myself and oil changes are super basic.
I ended up driving to LA/Pasadena for all my car buying needs!! Bay Area is a rip off.
Pricing should be the first thing checked before any work is done. Don’t make the mistake a second time..it’s all good.
Make sure to read my update towards the end of the first post. No clips to remove, everything folds out of the way. The whole thing takes a few minutes of actual labor.
I do my own oil changes with kits from FCP euro which include a NEW drain plug and washer. Essentially costs me $28 to ship back my used oil and get my full refund LOL. Takes me an hour from start to finish, would be faster if the oil drained faster. I change my oil every 3-5k miles.
I don't understand paying $28 to ship back used oil when Mobil 1 full synthetic with Porsche Spec on the bottle is $22 for five quarts at Walmart. Even if you save a few bucks on eight quarts it's not worth the hassle.
I don't know how long you're letting the oil drain (some guys do it for hours (!?!) (WTF?) If the engine is hot (as it should be) ten minutes is plenty. Getting out every last drop is OCD in my opinion. Especially if you're changing it frequently.
And what agency will accept used oil for shipment?
I found a DIY place not too far away that rents two-post lifts for $20 an hour. Two hours is more than sufficient to do a routine service and look over the whole car, even for a hobbyist like me. I already started working on my cars, and did a brake fluid change, changed the oil/filter, changed the oil filter housing gaskets, changed the sway bar bushings, all in an easy four hour day on my VW van. The owner puts the car on the lift and he's careful about it. And they get rid of the old fluids. That's worth a few bucks right there.
And I got the special tool for the new plastic drain plugs: is SDMV1 from Snap On, $10. (It's just a special screwdriver bit). The drain plugs themselves are the same as the VW Tiguan.
I’ve been to Livermore, Walnut Creek and Fremont for oil services. Walnut Creek was good, but Fremont wast the best and least expensive at the time, $120.00 when the others were $3-500.00.
livermore is overly full of themselves. Especially the sales team.
btw titan, sweet ride.
+1 on Walnut Creek. I got my car there and they were great to deal with.
I don't understand paying $28 to ship back used oil when Mobil 1 full synthetic with Porsche Spec on the bottle is $22 for five quarts at Walmart. Even if you save a few bucks on eight quarts it's not worth the hassle.
I don't know how long you're letting the oil drain (some guys do it for hours (!?!) (WTF?) If the engine is hot (as it should be) ten minutes is plenty. Getting out every last drop is OCD in my opinion. Especially if you're changing it frequently.
And what agency will accept used oil for shipment?
I found a DIY place not too far away that rents two-post lifts for $20 an hour. Two hours is more than sufficient to do a routine service and look over the whole car, even for a hobbyist like me. I already started working on my cars, and did a brake fluid change, changed the oil/filter, changed the oil filter housing gaskets, changed the sway bar bushings, all in an easy four hour day on my VW van. The owner puts the car on the lift and he's careful about it. And they get rid of the old fluids. That's worth a few bucks right there.
And I got the special tool for the new plastic drain plugs: is SDMV1 from Snap On, $10. (It's just a special screwdriver bit). The drain plugs themselves are the same as the VW Tiguan.
I don't send oil back, but I buy so much stuff from fcp that I send them back 2 or 3 oil filters along with other stuff or just drop it off if I'm in the area.
My first quote for Porsche Carlsbad service, 40,000 mile, $2,200. I am going to do a little dialing before I go there. I am within 100 miles of at least six (6) dealerships. I'd go to an independent, but my car is CPO, I don't want any "wrinkles" down the road. Porsche will report my service to CarFax, that's a good thing.
I don't understand paying $28 to ship back used oil when Mobil 1 full synthetic with Porsche Spec on the bottle is $22 for five quarts at Walmart. Even if you save a few bucks on eight quarts it's not worth the hassle.
I don't know how long you're letting the oil drain (some guys do it for hours (!?!) (WTF?) If the engine is hot (as it should be) ten minutes is plenty. Getting out every last drop is OCD in my opinion. Especially if you're changing it frequently.
I've had nothing but great service and help from both the Sales and Service sides of Livermore Porsche. We got an absolute smoking deal on our TTS last August and were able to obtain a 2 year CPO warranty on 6 year old car as Livermore Porsche had done 100% of the service on the TTS since it was new.
2 weeks ago, coming back from Werks Reunion, I destroyed a tire on Calaveras Rd. Did the usual online shopping and since the tire had to be ordered, gave Livermore Porsche a call to see if they had the tire in stock. Not only did they have it in stock but it was $60 cheaper than anything I found online. Pulled the wheel off the car and dropped off the tire in the morning. Livermore Porsche had the new tire mounted and balanced for me later that day. Mounted it back on the TTS and was ready to go for a Club event that next weekend. Very professional and pleasant experience from multiple members of their staff.
I always ask for an estimate before having major work done so I'm not surprised when I pick up any of our cars from service. Also, I've learned that some shops are better at certain repairs than others.
I think it's the same with any make dealership, you have to have a history and good rapport with the dealership (or indy honestly). I've used both dealerships and indys with my various cars, and I know that through the years going to each, I've gain a sort of rapport and I get better deals and offers than some "fly by night" customer. It's sucks, but it just happens and that's unfortunately how shops work.
Put it this way, its not just with cars. There are certain luxury handbag brands where you can't just go into the store and ask to buy their top-of-the-line bag. You have to have purchased and had a history of buying before they even SHOW you the bag. It's business... not personal.
I think it's the same with any make dealership, you have to have a history and good rapport with the dealership (or indy honestly). I've used both dealerships and indys with my various cars, and I know that through the years going to each, I've gain a sort of rapport and I get better deals and offers than some "fly by night" customer. It's sucks, but it just happens and that's unfortunately how shops work.
Put it this way, its not just with cars. There are certain luxury handbag brands where you can't just go into the store and ask to buy their top-of-the-line bag. You have to have purchased and had a history of buying before they even SHOW you the bag. It's business... not personal.
Not trying to put words in your mouth ICU991812, but my paraphrase of your post is, "if they know you well they won't rip you off". How is that not personal?
Mobil 1 = 10 quarts from Walmart $50
Filter and O-ring = Mahle from Amazon $20
1 hour labor @ $150/hour = $150
Total of $220 cost and that's being very generous on that labor rate, time required, and oil cost (as they buy it in bulk). Charging anyone $609, fly by night customer or not, is highway robbery.
There's a lot of people out there with more money than sense. These dealerships take advantage of these dolts by insinuating that a car that costs four times as much as a Camry should have four times the maintenance costs. Caveat emptor and all that, but it's highly unethical by just about any standard.
09-01-2021, 01:05 AM
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