mwike

Hello. I'm a new poster but have viewed the forum for several years. At one time I had a 964 that I tracked a few times.

Anyway, I'm going to get a convertible as a third car. Only plan in riding it maybe 1k or 2k a year due to the nature of my job & time constraints. I have a good deal of out of town travel.

Since I'm already pretty time crunched (aren't we all), I don't have a lot of free time to sit at a dealership. There isn't a dealer or independent closer than 30 miles from my house so taking a car to be serviced would take some time.

Is the 997 a car that can sit in my garage, be driven occasionally and only visit the dealer ever 3 or 4 years?

Thanks.

semicycler

The maintenance schedule is time or miles based. Your driving habits would be time based. A quick look at the 997.1 schedules show time based maintenance every two years (see below). Oil should probably be changed more frequently than that though. And keep an eye on the age of the tires. Old tires with plenty of tread should be replaced anyway.

edit: I'd buy a trickle charger for the battery while sitting in the garage too. Nothing worse than finally getting some free time for a ride and not being able to start the car due to a dead battery.

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ltcjmramos

Whatever else, oil, annually!!

Linnm

Oil is too cheap not to change it annually My '09 uses about a quart a month and I still change it annually

Wayne Smith

+1 on frequent oil changes.

0-40W Mobil Oil at Walmart at $25 per 5 qt jug times 1.5 jugs and a filter kit after PCA discount using a friendly attitude toward your parts counter will let you do your own change for $60. Hands on time is 15 minutes. Yeah, drain time is longer, but you can have dinner while you wait.

Even if you don't have tools a quick trip to Harbor Freight will set you up and pay for the investment in the first change.

997v2cabrio

Linnm how much do you drive to burn a quart every month?

JAGMAN1

I do a lot of DIY for time savings reasons. Simple stuff like oil changes, tire rotations, etc are a lot less time consuming than a trip to the dealer. Even if things go well and you get a loaner car, the trip out of your way and then the inevitable waiting take 2-3 hours minimum to complete the task.

I also like that I can do the work on my schedule. Dealer won't do 10pm or 6am oil changes.

The book says oil changes every two years btw. So it's conceivable to drop the car off at the dealer every two years and have the oil, brake fluid changed, and any other maintenance and be on your way.

mwike

Thanks for the advice/info. The DIY route may end up being the best for me, as Jagman suggested. For me, it's more about the time vs the cost of paying for an oil change.

I'm also thinking of a Vette. I'm thinking it may end up being better for my intended use. I think the big V8 probably requires a little less maintenance, but it's not a 911.

JAGMAN1

Order your parts online, have them delivered to the door and it's even easier. Lot's of great online vendors to choose from. My preference is to shoot an email to one of the dealers that frequents these message boards and tell them the job I'm doing. They'll typically assemble everything required and ship it to my house. I let their expertise supply the little pieces I often might overlook, it also saves me time by not having to research the project to the Nth degree. For example when doing brakes, they'll do the research and include the pads, hardware, and sensors which saves me from having to spend time researching what's needed.

I've had some really great experiences with a dealer in Oregon. I was living in RI and was doing control arm bushings on my Cayenne. It was a Friday afternoon and during the installation of the final bushing I damaged it. I called the local dealer 35 minutes away, and was told they didn't have the part in stock but could have it in 4 days. I emailed the dealer in OR and told them what I needed, it was shipped overnight and was at my door in RI by Saturday morning at 0900 (16 hours after I ordered it from the opposite coast). They get my business now.

I can't imagine a big difference between a Vette and a 911 in maintenance. Modern engines/cars are all fairly similar in maintenance requirements.