Here's a thread to opine on how much we could have saved if we'd DIO (Done It Ourself). Hope to see ore share their collective experiences which serve to underscore the benefit of this forum.

So, as much as I pride myself in being a DIY guy, I found myself with a 2 business trips back to back and an emergent CEL just before my tag renewal. Plugged in my Durametric and ran the codes only to discover it was indicating a stuck open T-Stat. Quick search on here indicated a 'deep dive' and a recommendation to replace the water pump and a few other items WYAIT. Great - I figure at least 6 hours. No time to do this, and the truck was due for an oil change - and I NEED the damn tag, so it's 'Dealer to the rescue'.

Dropped off the truck with a brief explanation of what I know, take business trip, get the call with the diagnosis that matches mine. Get 'er done.

Come back into town, it's all done - to the tune of $2,200 out the door with a nice wash and vacuum.

Get online to my favorite parts provider and scope out the difference. In addition to the $1100 in labor, would have saved $350 in parts had I ordered them from my parts place, had the time and did the job myself.

Yeah. $1,400 would have gone a long way toward my other projects.

How much would you have saved on your latest repair/maintenance if you'd done the work yourself? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Money aside, to me its the peace of mind that I know if I did the job myself, it will be done right.

 

I could see that. Not an option for me, don't have the skills but blessed to have a great mechanic. My answer though to OP is it wouldn't save anything. My time is worth more than I pay my mechanic and I don't have any spare time at all even if I had the skills. It's all I can do to keep up with family and harry homeowner stuff. And car shows...

 

Xenon ballast went out on my 957 due to condensation in the headlight. Started poking around, turns out it would have cost me about 4 grand to bring it in ($2,357.79 for a new headlight to fix condensation, $1240 for pair of new ballasts because mine were earlier revision that's NLA, $400 for 2hr labor). My butthole said no way it's going to bend over that much for a burnt out light. Scored a used matching ballast on fleaBay for $130, a $10 tube of sealant took care of the condensation issues, and $200 at the dealer got the ballast reprogrammed. So yea, $3700 left over for beer money.

 

I could tell you how much I saved but then I would have to tell you how much I've spent. Both would be impressive in more ways than 1. I paid $2600 for my PIWIS 1 and it paid for itself very quickly, not on my car, in cash, doing others cars ,keys, etc.

 

Skills are learned, of course. So you could gain the skills if you chose. But, yeah, you can make more money but you can't make more time. I have an awesome mechanic, but I don't make money at the same rate he goes through it! Plus, I like doing the work myself; it's a key part of the hobby for me. If I call myself a 'car guy', then I need to back that up in the garage.

I do so much of the work on my Cayenne that a better thread would be "How much did I save" or "What did you DIY on your Cayenne today?"

Most recently I did my own fuel pumps. The quote from my indy was a $200 pump and 2.5 hours, totaling around $500. I did it myself in 4 hours for $180.

Next up: I need to replace the chime in the dash. I have no idea what it would cost to have it done (probably at least $150), but it looks like a $30 part and about an hour of my time.

 

Just on oil changes alone!

Replaced left rear window regulator recently- paid my private mechanic $275 with a wash and vacuum. Right rear from dealer was $495 without wash or vacuum (or loaner since they had it done in 1 day)
Replaced AOS - parts alone saved hundreds
Replaced rear tow hook cap- even with buying paint, still ahead
Jimifix- a cool thousand easy
Swapped turbo cluster in and activated auto lamps - bookoos of dollars (big thanks to a fellow RLer with PIWIS and VCDS)
Replaced the washer fluid pump- $$$$$$

Next up is the vacuum pump and torque arm.

I did take it in for the AC compressor to be replaced, but that was covered under service contract. So I paid $225 of which $100 was deductible and $125 was to replace the drive belt while they were in there, and the contract paid $2000/

These cars are only economical if you do some of the work yourself, especialyl given the markup.

 

I'd have to check the invoice again but the last major issue my Cayenne had ended up being the PCV. The car had been under it's extended warranty at the time so I took it to the shop and keep it until it was fixed.

After keeping the car for more than a month, they were finally able to diagnose the issue... Unfortunately the extended warranty naturally decided not to pay out. In the end, I was able to source a new part from Porsche for free and they billed me an extra hour of labor to install it (on top of the 8+ hours diagnosing the issue I guess?).

$1500 for a part that I could have probably changed myself for $0 and a few minutes?

Asides from that, oil changes at the dealership are $500+? I bought bulk quantities of Mobil1 0W40 from Walmart during a huge sale they had on it recently. Oil filter from Rockauto for dirt cheap and I think my oil changes came in around $50? I've still paid for oil changes at the dealership a few times.. Again because of the belief that my car was under warranty so I should blindly let them fully service it.

I'm sure there's others but I am increasingly learning that I can't trust other people to work on my cars (Porsche techs or independent mechanics that claim to specialize in European and Exotic vehicles and charge $190/hour) and warranties aren't a get out of jail free card, they still end up costing you a lot. Especially after market warranties but even Porsche's anti-corrosion warranty.

 

Shopped around the local dealers for oil change pricing. $280 was pretty much the number. I bought 2 5QT jugs off ebay and an OEM filter for $70. Had a mechanic I couldn't trust more do it and a once over, and topped off a quart of coolant for $44. So less than half the dealer rate and I am sure that the oil change guys at the dealership are minimally skilled.

 

Here in Perth an oil change service (not filter) starts at $650 Aussie at the dealer......

On my old S I had a quote for the coolant pipes of $3,200 for the genuine parts only.....I got equivalent delivered from international within a week for less than $600 and spent the 12 hours doing the job myself.

The first service on my 2009 GTS cost the p.o. $2,400 Aussie......Mobil 1 was $320.

 

BTW - looking for info on fender service covers.

TIA-

 

For me its a good excuse to buy tools I don't already own. Learning something new and saving $$ is a side benefit.

 

lol this is what my wife said

 

Cars are in a constant state of decay and the sooner you see an issue and step in to correct, the more problems you can avoid.
I get confidence that all is working ok, and I can take small steps to prevent big ones later.

So add that on as a side benefit to any job you do.

Not sure how to put a value on that

 

I picked up a NOS one off Ebay for $50.00. There is a different guy selling them there currently but they're quite a bit more expensive than I paid.