I have a 99 Cabriolet. It's had all the required services as per the manual including new belts. It has not had the 60K service. Pads and rotors as well as an oil/ filter change was performed last month. I had a dead battery and was locked out of the trunk recently. Towed it to the local German Haus repair shop (which has a great rep). Was told I needed this service. Parts and labor , worse case scenario was estimated at $3300. Seems very high but he said it includes replacing all the wires, filters, transmission fluid, ignition components, et al.
Opinions please!

 

That seems high considering what was already done, all that is really left is plugs and filters. I find a lot of the 60K is about "checking" this and "checkin" that...they might be assuming some replacement parts. Have they indicated what parts they plan to replace ?

 

This is the scheduled maintenance from a workshop manual. Look at page 13 for the 60K maintenance. The price you were quoted seems a bit excessive.

 

Plugs should be <<500 at indie - I would not do coils unless they are cracked. Air filter you can do yourself for $20 in 5 mins. Cabin filter is similar. If you already did oil - not much left other than inspection. Brake flush should be around 100 if not done in last two years.

Other preventative could be water pump, t-stat and coolant at this age - ok so that could be around $1k ...

If get a detailed list from them

 

Every other service was done and the belts were replaced at 45K. The quote was parts and labor , worst case scenario. He said it could come in as low at $2500. Including all wires, plugs, distributors/coils rebuilt/replaced using all Bosch parts. Transmission fluid change and the filters already mentioned. The coolant was replaced when I replaced a stuck the thermostat. Should all the wires be replaced regardless of condition?
The shop owner says this service is the one that will get your car past the 200K mileage mark (along with regular oil changes, brakes and tires). I agree about the filters ; like the oil/filter change, I can handle that.

 

Guy is out of line IMHO, parts you don't need and his labor rate must be insane. I did an oil change, serpentine belt, air filter, ATF with filter, and flushed the brake fluid in a day, in my garage and I'm a T6 paraplegic. Kinda getting tired of shops equating Porsche with lots of money to burn.

 

If i had more room and could get the car up on Jack stands, I might consider the DIY route.
I'm going to get the filters myself.

Think I'm going to ask for a quote: 1. Change the plugs, 2. Replace all spark plug wires, 3. change the transmission fluid, and check/replace coil & distributor. That should be around $1200 or so I'm thinking.

OR, if anyone in the Tampa Bay Area has the garage space and the expertise, I'll buy the beer and dinner at a restaurant of your choosing! Just have to allow me to 'help'!

 

I had mine done for $600, plugs/oil change/filters/belt.

 

I had the dealership I bought my car from last year quote me $1600 for the 60k, which the car needed and became a point of negotiation. My indy charged me $1220 out the door which included replacing an ignition coil that was bad for an extra $85.

So $3300, as others have said, is craaaazy.

 

Why are you replacing coils?

Spark plugs are a maintenance item. Coils are not, you replace them if they're broken/cracked. Cracks are obvious and there's nothing to even check if you're not getting misfires.

All you need is the sept belt changed and new plugs, $500, not more. Do the air/cabin filters yourself in 20 minutes for $30. And add ~$150 if you haven't changed that battery yet.

For $3,300 I'll fly down from Boston and do it all for you!

 

I laughed at distributor and wires replacement for a 996.

Coils go bad and I would replace it at the same time as plugs. All German coils are know to go bad over time.

 

I think the mechanic thinks he is working on one of these.....you have look long and hard to find a distributor on a pcar these days.

 

This^

And This^

 

Thanks for the input. The labor for changing the plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, transmission fluid should be what, 8 hours? If I have a DME code indicating one coil is bad shouldn't I just replace them all and be done with it? A set is $360 on Suncoast . What's the labor for that effort ? I have nearly $1000 of parts and I'm guessing the labor will be another $1000 minimally.

 

Having done this by DIY the plugs and coil packs should take 2 hours tops. Tranny fluid another hour....and while the tranny drains change the fuel filter and the polyrib belt. The plug cables don't need to be replaced. If you can you really need to try to do this yourself but if you don't have the time or tools I get that.

Realistically this could all be done in 4 hours.