Macster

Brake warning light came on today funny enough at a stop light just a hundred feet or so from the Porsche dealer. I stopped in at the dealer to get a back of the envelop quote on brakes. The parts are $1771.21 without my discount applied and the tech tells me the labor is a couple of hours.

Going to drive the car a while though before I have the brakes done. And I may -- if I can ever find the time -- decide to do them myself.

Have to wait cause my Boxster is still in the shop awaiting the other driver's insurance to accept responsibility for the accident and the damage to my Boxster. Nothing serious thank goodness. So far it looks like all that is needed is a repaint of the rear bumper cover. But the accident occurred 7:44pm May 5th and the insurance company is as today in the "last stages" of assessing the car's damage, so the body shop tells me.

rmc1148

Sorry to hear about you Boxster I didn't see where you mentioned accident. If you can find time change the brakes yourself= its easy to do and big savings.

jumper5836

rotors shouldn't need to be replaced.

judd944

and don't buy the parts from the dealer to save more money

Kevinmacd

U sure it just goes not need pads???

Warehouse33.net

Macster, When you're ready to do your brakes let me know as I can help save you a little money on pads and rotors. I have supplier warehouses in CA so shipping will be quick and no sales tax for you.


-Jason

Porque

Did mine myself. Surprised how easy it was. UTubed it for instructions. Harbor Freight for tools, low profile jack, jack stands, and a sack of hockey pucks. Even with purchasing tools, etc I still came out ahead and discovered that DIY can be enjoyable. Next up will be the voltage regulator. Water plump when needed.

Good luck with the Boxster. The other guys insurance is always a pain.

Porque
03 996tt
68,000 miles

Carlo_Carrera

Porsche factory service requires rotors be changed when pads are replaced.

You really only need pads. You can buy exact Textar OEM replacements at an several online parts dealers for about $200 all around.

jumper5836

I also have a hunch his price also includes new sensors, calliper bolts, retainer pins, vibration dampers, retainer springs, rotors and pads, fluid flush including abs reservoir. The whole chibang. lol

Macster

While I haven't measured the rotors yet by feel the lip is more than 1mm which means the wear is 2mm which means the rotors are if not worn under size are close enough that in a short time they'd be undersized.

Might mention the brakes are original and have as of today over 121K miles.

Even if the rotors have to be replaced I'm not sad. I think I've gotten my money out of the brakes.

Macster

Didn't mention it here. Not a major accident. No injuries. I was stopped at a light and when light changed the car behind mine started up and ran into the back of my Boxster before I could get my car moving. The other driver was I'm sure on his phone, texting. I see signs of this al the time.

Anyhow, just the paint is damaged.

I've had the car checked out by the dealer service department techs and they see no other signs of any damage. A body shop owner stopped in and checked the car and agrees. All that is required is the rear bumper cover be refinished and repainted. Lapis blue is an easy color to match so no other body panels will need any repainting. The car remains at the dealer while the bumper cover gets repainted.

The insurance company called today with an offer of a check that covers the repairs to the Boxster, but we are in disagreement about the loss of use of the vehicle. This is $50/day and I'm seeking 16 or so days worth as the car has been tied up at the dealer awaiting the other driver's insurance company to get around to settling.

I really have no spare time to do the brakes. I've even had to stop doing oil/filter changes. Family responsibilities take all my spare time and sometimes time that is not so spare.

rmc1148

You would think all things considered the insurance company would be happy to settle as the costs could have easily been higher. I can see your point about time I'm busy myself hope all gets fixed and back to good as new.

jumper5836

your on the same original rotors & pads for 121k? I would expect that from street driven rotors but not pads.

kalyan

Had the exact incident happen to my Boxster 3 years ago. Stopped at light, light for left turn (left arrow) turns green, guy behind me in Ford F250 bumps into me. $1400 later, it was good as new. Glad it was minor and you are safe!

cheers,
-k

Macster

The brakes -- like the rest of the car -- were like new when I bought the car in '09 with just 10K miles on it. The only thing I noticed about the brakes were the holes in the rotors were filled with rust/dust and one of the first things I did was clean each hole to remove this build up.

Can't explain it other than as I have mentioned before I try to be a bit more aggressive in my braking technique than most. By this I mean instead of using the brakes to gradually bring the car to a stop by applying them early and leaving them applied lightly instead I delay braking a bit and when I do apply the brakes do so harder.

When possible as the car gets close to the intended stopping point I then release the brakes and coast to the intended stopping point.

'course, I still give myself plenty of room between my car and the vehicle ahead and avoid any untoward behavior that might upset other drivers.

Also, since I have a manual transmission equipped car I use engine braking whenever possible, but I do *not* downshift but instead just let the engine slow the car down in whatever gear the transmission is in. Around town on all but the major boulevards I drive in 2nd or 3rd gear since the speed limit is no more than 35mph and often 30mph or even 25mph. Thus engine braking is pretty strong and I need only use the brakes to remove the last bit of speed before the stop.

Last but not least I might point out the brakes are huge while the car is fairly light. Furthermore, the brakes are well ventilated and I know from my time in the car in high ambient temperature situations the car's aerodynamics are superb which I suspect means the brakes receive superior cooling as an intended byproduct of the car's aerodynamics. This helps to prolong the life of the brakes.