Took my new to me 996 to a local independant shop that was recommended to me by a Rennlister. The owner seemed like a good guy, they specialize in Porsches but do work on other foreign cars (although 2 Porsches in the shop when I got there). I asked about the price for an oil change and he said it would be $175 and they could do it then if I wanted to wait. I had time and wanted it done so I waited. I had some other questions about tires and such (mine are dry rotted) and he was helpful.

After a while he came and and said he needed to show me something. He said they always cut open the filter and mine had some shiney particles - not a lot, but enough that I am getting it taken care of NOW.

He said my car really should be fine, we caught it early but it does need attention - I asked him for a price - he said he would work it up and call me later in the afternoon.

I spoke with him this afternoon and the price to install the IMS retrofit kit and the RMS (it appears to be leaking) would come to $2051.44 + tax (plus the cost of the flex plate bolts - he wasn't able to get a price on those from Porsche today). From what I am seeing the price looks fair but not a smoking deal - what do you guys think?

He said they had done "dozens of the IMS retrofits" and he had the special tools from LNE. The shop has a perfect rating from the BBB.

This isn't a crisis. The car has less than 40K mikes and is a 2002. The service records with the car (not many) show that it has only had 3000 miles put on it since 2006. I knew when I bought the car that this seemed to make it a candidate for the IMSB issue and negotaited the price accordingly so not a major crisis but kind of a bummer.

Does the price seem reasonable? Anything else I should be thinking of?

Thanks!

 

First off, tires are dry rotted? Not worth the risk to continue driving on them. PO only put 3000 in over 6 years? I would bet that the oil didn't get changed frequently and the car sat with old oil for long periods.
IMSR, RMS, clutch inspection, and associated items should run in that price range, maybe throw in AOS inspection, R&R, inspect coil packs. , plugs, maybe get some other work done, like intake / or exhaust.
Fuel filter, check coolant lines, oil cooler, water pump, detail under the car,etc. Pay as you go. Good luck Ted.

 

RUF did my IMS, RMS for $1500. If you need a clutch get that done at the same time because the labor is the same for both. I assume you did not get a PPI before buying this car?

 

not sure on prices, but feel one should set aside $ for ims/rms/clutch no mater what.

 

Thanks. It's a TIP so no clutch to worry about.

No PPI, but I did do a pretty thorough inspection before buying. Not sure how a PPI would have caught this, other than the small leak in the RMS area. I knew it was a risk and budgeted for it.

 

What exactly did the metal in the filter look like? Some specs(small) of metal in the filter is OK if not normal.

I'm surprised this guy didn't give you a better price on the oil change, after all he is really making his money on the upsell.

 

If you haven't, do some refresher reading here:

http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html

While it might not be a smoking deal, it is something you took into account when buying the car. The shop isn't in business to give you a "smoking" deal, and I am often more suspect than not of the "smoking deal" someone offers. Not sure what labor rates are near your or if there are other independents near you that could also do the work. Might be worth some price comparisons if that is of concern, no?

 

It's very possible the slight drip/leak from the motor and trans area will totally go away once the car is driven more frequently. I'd drive the car, enjoy it and maybe in 2k-3k miles unscrew the filter housing, remove and cut open the filter. Compare it to what you recently saw. If it's clean with no metal, install a new filter and if the oil's fairly clean looking, leave it in, top it up keep driving for another 2K-3K miles before your next change.

 

The filter wasn't packed with particles, but there were shiney silver particles in there. Not sure I have have the stomach for the stress of just driving it and waiting to see if I am going to lunch the motor. I can afford the IMS fix, can't afford a new motor....

 

I think that price is OK. Same as quoted by my Indy here. His labor rate is $140 / hr. As I understand it the Tip is more time to remove/install so you have more labor that the 6 speed stick.

 

I think my Indy charges $1600 and has done quite a few

 

Winner. Someone is paying attention.

 

Fair price as Others noted. Spot on with what I paid in December. That's an engine out job with the tippy. Have him do the AOS while at it. That's a tough job with the engine and tranny in.

 

Seems fair to me. My indy quoted about a grand on top of the ~$1,600 for the clutch and RMS. I have a 6 speed, not TIP.

 

If you were planning on doing it anyway at some point, since there is an indication of a possible problem why would you not just have it taken care of now?

Second point on cost; do you want the cheapest guy working on your car or someone who knows what they are doing and has done several. I paid the local pcar dealer to do my IMS upgrade so I know I didn't get a smoken deal. What I did get was a great job and no problems and that is worth more than a couple hundred dollars saved.