First service, dealer or DIY?
 

My Macan is at 8800 miles, so I'm pondering the first service. I believe the only substantive task is an oil change, which I will be able to do in the luxury of my new garage (in progress, with choice of a two- or four-post lift). But the dealer might offer some special things, like installing any software update or acting upon secret (?) messages from Germany. A friend just told me our dealer charged him $700 for a routine service on his 911 - a big increase. It would take a really good loaner to induce me to pay that. Will check.

Thoughts? Are there any known software updates or service bulletins for a car delivered last June? Base model.

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$700 for routine service??? Seriously??? The vehicle is under warranty. They have to do the up-dates at no charge and at your convenience. Do the oil and filter change yourself and revel in the fact that you just saved yourself more than $600.

na just take it to jiffy-lube that should fit the budget

I relate to the OP. It's not so much about saving the money as it is the fact that a) we have the ability to do the job, b) we enjoy doing the job, c) we have the space and the equipment to do the job and d) we hate getting ripped off.

Depends on whether you can take a week off to tidy the workshop first!

First Macan service was oil change and inflection. $310 at the dealer. The packed it up and dropped it off.

Some people think $2oo is Ok for a cabin filter change.
Personally, I change my own seasonal tire over. Really? It takes 20 minutes, plus 40 in cleaning and polishing. So an hour of OCD.
Taking the car to the dealer, is 90 minutes office / dealer / home , one way, so twice in one day, or three hours. times two cars, and twice a year.
People do it? I can see the value of a garage and your equipment Curt. If you were closer, we could be friends.
I don't mind someone getting chubby off my business, I just don't like them getting fat.

I used to have more friends, a situation where I'd have to keep it a secret that I own a pickup, and lifts. Now, as a curmudgeon living in the wilderness, I don't have to worry. On the other hand, I don't seem to have enough friends to help install the lifts.

I do have a friend in Saratoga. He's looking at a used Panamera for his wife this afternoon, at the dealer. I'm invited as if I know something about their health. Maybe the dealer manager will offer to wash my thoroughly salted car.

Looks as if the workshop will be great, i'm certainly envious.

Probably don't need to tell you but just in case make sure you have a good quality floor slab under the two post, much higher potential loading on the rag / anchor bolts.

I'm a retired metallurgist. I look at a lift made out of thick steel plate - very strong, very robust. I look at the welds - good welds, lots of them, though I'm familiar with the uncertainties they introduce. Then I look at the concrete the whole system relies upon, and the rather small bearing surfaces of the anchor bolts. Concrete is a brittle material that is not intended to be used in tension. There is certainly tension present, somewhere, given the loads. I can imagine the conical fracture surface of an anchor bolt overload failure. Brittle materials do not have a well-defined tensile strength - it depends on the size, orientation, position and characteristic of the worst defect a sample contains. It's statistical; luck is a factor! They are not robust.

I did alloy development. A minimum amount of ductility was an absolute requirement.

Bend Pak requires just a 4-inch/3000psi slab. They supply only 4-inch anchor bolts. They have decades of experience to justify this, and their insurance company would squawk if this were not adequate. On the other hand, I will be drilling the holes and driving in the bolts myself.

I specified a 6-inch slab and 4000 psi concrete. It's been curing since early September. I have no reason to be nervous, but....

Edit: I forgot to mention that my dealer charges $359 for the 10,000 mile service. The service manager thought there might be a PCM update; he'll check. Of course, they should do that for nothing. I was there to help check out a 2011 Panamera. It drove like a Macan, but lower. The controls were similar. My friend bought it, for his wife.

I have a lift and a pressure washer and all my motor head friends seem to want to visit me this time of year. But then buddies hanging around cars is always a good day.