sandwedge

That's what I was quoted by the dealership when I brought the car in for new front rotors and pads and annoying TPMS beeps on and off for either TPMS partially operative or TPMS inoperative. I don't enjoy crawling under my lowered car doing oil changes so I included that as well. I got an email from them with quotes for each item which I had to approve before any work began.

Last time I had the dealer do an oil change it was just over $200 as I recall it so I called the service advisor to confirm that the oil change quote was correct. He said it was and I told him to skip that. Too late he said admitting that the tech had jumped the gun and already drained the old oil without my approval. I told the service advisor that I had already ordered the filter kit from Suncoast for I think $43 and I had bought a six pack of Mobil One from BJ's Wholesale Club for $35. So about $80 for parts since I already had two quarts of oil left over from a previous change. So the dealership somehow justifies close to $350 in labor for an oil change.

My guess is that actual labor time is around 20 minutes if that. Remove the drain plug and the old filter and let the drain begin. Then reinstall the drain plug and the new filter and pour in the new oil. Done. We all know that the most time consuming part of a 997 oil change is the drain which takes 30-40 minutes. But we also know that the tech won't just stand there for 30-40 minutes and watch for the last drop to drain. He'll go on to another car during the drain.

Here's why it pays off to maintain a good relationship with your dealership. I've been with them since my first 997 C4S back in 2007. The service advisor said right away....."our bad, the oil change is complimentary on us". I told him that was very much appreciated and I would give them the filter kit and the oil I had bought which he said was a nice gesture which he appreciated as well. Small change for them but I guess somehow it mattered.

da Vinci Dan

Rotors and pads are similarly marked up and silly expensive given the ease and time to do the job. When I wrenched, these were "gravy." The lucky tech who got the job, made lots of money as it never took near the billed hours to do the work.

Bxstr

Glad your dealer stood up and did what was right. For those looking to get into a new Porsche at some point, having that relationship with your dealers service department (a profit center) may help you too.

My local dealer is a little over $400 for an oil change on my 997 GT3. That is 9.5 quarts (maybe liters, I forget) of oil, filter, 2 crush washers, a couple of orings (one of them being expensive at $10). Most independent shops around here are 25% cheaper. Whether someone chooses to save the $100 or not is a personal choice. I also get either a loaner or a ride to/from my house to grab my car which saves me asking a friend/family to take me when everyone is so busy already. That is my main motivation for using the dealer is the ease/convenience of it. Also, if something does go wrong (scratch something), I can go after a larger entity.

Regarding the labor cost, my dealer is $200/hour for labor. They typically charge me 1 hour of labor. The filter is I think $50. Oil is probably $90. Add tax. I'm missing some $s here, but I think I'm close. In the case of our local dealer, each tech has their own designated service bay. I don't typically see them going from one bay to another. Typically during that 20 mins they're doing a general look over on the car.

workhurts

Well, you didn’t approve the service. What else were they going to do, good relationship or not?

What’s always amazed me is the discrepancy between body work / paint rates and dealership or mechanical rates. It’s like 1:4.

Anyway this topic is beat to death

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 202K miles

I can't imagine what I would have spent, in total, if I took my car to a dealership.... heck even a good indy ain't all that cheap either. I DIY. I was chatting with a friend the other day, and he made some sort of comment like "... but the dealer has the tools." I told him that you can buy all the tools you need for any DIY job and still save money.

I do get using a dealer... one of the things I worked for was to have less cht in my life, but Porsche's re-positioning its product into an ultra luxury brand is ... well... let's say very profitable for them.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Ironman88

A 6-pack of oil might run you a little short...

You can pick up a pair of these and it will make getting under the rear of your car much easier.

https://www.raceramps.com/ramps/race/p/rr-56/

TurboTime997

I'd rather the combo I currently have of doing my own work and using an Indy. I even have a Porsche dealer a mile from my house!

Hootsama

Glad they didn't bust ***** to make it right. Hate to think what they charge for pads and rotors.

yelcab

You know, I never take my cars to a dealer for anything but I do understand that they are a business to generate profit and not a non-profit organization at the convenience of their customers. That means they operate on some business principles, such as:

1. Marking up a profit on parts they supply.
2. Minimum labor charge, sometimes 1/2 minimum, sometimes 1 hour minimum.
3. Very expensive labor rates to pay for mechanics, benefits, overheads, training, insurance, utilities, property taxes, tools, and the espresso machine in the nice waiting room.

So if you take your Porsche to a dealer for an oil change, you really should not expect them to charge $70 for the oil, $15 for the filter, and only 20 minutes of labor. If you don't want to pay the high prices, there is always the option of rolling up your sleeves and get under the car.

Ironman88

I recently took my Porsche (Cayenne, not 997) to the local Porsche dealer for an oil change. (Nothing else, just an oil change.) I provided the oil (10 liters of Motul - which cost me about $104 - 8 liters used, with 2 left over.)

The Porsche dealer charged me a total of $190.84 {This included an oil filter element ($37.04, and a seal ring $3.80), and $150 labor.}

Regarding the labor charge - in addition to the oil change, they did an overall under-body check, brake pad / rotors, suspension, tire wear and condition, etc, and topped off all of the fluids. And reset the oil change interval notification in the electronics.

This work was done by a senior Porsche technician, not lower-wage oil change only personnel. So the inspection work was done with an experienced set of eyes.

I didn't have to crawl under the vehicle; fool around with removing the various components in order to get to the oil filter; purchase the various other fluids for the fluid top offs; or fool around with the disposal of the used oil.

The dealer provided me with a 2024 Cayenne loaner vehicle for the day - free of charge.

Plus, this particular dealer does consistently outstanding / careful work and their fair pricing for routine maintenance helps instill a sense of value.

When it comes time to buy the next Porsche, I will not hesitate to go to them.

hexagone

This.

Unless $500 an hour is your opportunity cost of you not billing someone while you do an oil change, there's virtually zero reason to take a 10-15 year old Porsche to the dealer where the majority of their volume/work is warranty repairs ($$) and routine maintenance on soccer mom Macans.

I'm quite surprised a dealer would even let you bring your own supplies, because that just sounds like a pita for them to deal with. So to get the occasional "good will" for a goofup when everything else is at least 2x an Indie is not really sound logic.

That's why indies on the other hand specialize in these older cars day in and day out and can charge $175/hour rather than the $350 a dealer has to cover its overhead of nice coffee machines and attractive 20 something year olds at the front desk to greet you.

hexagone

Also it bears noting:

The 997 has the easiest oil change of any car I've ever owned. It doesn't even require a jack, and is what, $80 in supplies?

I've timed it, and at 35 minutes from beginning to finish I can't even drive to the nearest Porsche dealer.

voiceprint1

also worth noting, despite the oil change being pretty easy there are several tools you need to do the job, like a tool for re-setting the service light, specialized size socket for the filter, a torque wrench for that ft pound range, a jack or lift if you want to use that, and an oil disposal method, and a set of torx bits if you want to change the air filter.

cgfen

I have all these tools and prefer to DIY.
Others are happy to go to the dealer = cool.
Fools go to Jiffy Lube or similar IMO.

yelcab

Oh, my, I don't think they want to work on a 997, period.