chamilka

Greetings everyone,
I am seeking your expert opinion on an upcoming service maintenance plan for my 2016 Carrera 4 GTS. The current mileage on my car is 31800, and it has been serviced annually by the previous owner through the Porsche dealership, with all corresponding receipts available. Upon review of the service records, it appears that no major services, such as the 3, 4, and 6-year services, have been conducted. However, annual oil & filter changes have been consistently performed since 2016, as well as a few replacements of cabin and air filters, along with several brake fluid services. Additionally, all service campaigns and recalls have been addressed and resolved.

As per the advice of the Porsche service advisor, the following six services are recommended for the upcoming maintenance:

1. Oil and filter change
2. Replacement of air filter
3. Replacement of pollen filters (interior and luggage area)
4. Replacement of spark plug (40k or 4 years)
5. Replacement of driver belt and drive controller (60k or six years)
6. Brake fluid change (every 2 years)

The estimated cost for these services is approximately $4000. I would greatly appreciate your insight on whether this maintenance plan is reasonable and not excessive.
I have attached the Maintenance checklist provided by the service advisor.

Thank you for your time and expertise.

IXLR8

I guess it depends what you time is worth but $300 for everything but #5. I have to check to see what a "drive controller" is.

$4000...wow! I am in the wrong business.

subshooter

Yes. I would do all of those things. The drive controller is the front differential/clutch oil replacement required at the 6 year/60k point for AWD cars. The spark plugs should have already been replaced at the 4 year point for NA cars even without reaching the 40k mile point. If the dealership was servicing the car, they would have known to do that.

I am doing the same maintenance (+ a battery) on my 991.2 C4 this July via DIY and it will cost me about $800 in parts/fluids and a ton of my time though. A lot of this stuff is really simple to do and there are a ton of youtube videos on how to do all of it. I am lucky that I have a lift in my garage which makes it easier but not necessary.

DC911S

It's better to keep it up on service, as that will help it later if, when you sell it, Documented dealer service means quite a bit on a 911. But you can do the pollen filters yourself. It's not hard and there are videos on how to do it.

IXLR8

Drive controller? A fancy smancy term that is nothing more than a fluids change. And here I was expecting an electronic controller and wondering why.

Thanks for that!

subshooter

Sure thing. Here is a video on how to do it on a 997. It's extremely simple and similar for a 991.1. Almost as easy as the pollen filters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlPXfyQsdKM&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Edit: Looks like you already linked it!

This link shows how to do it on a 991.2. https://rennlist.com/forums/991/1250...oller-oil.html

Levy

i'd get most of it done. mainly because the previous owner did near nothing/only the basic stuff for the first 7 years. that's a long time. would pass on the pollen filters and maybe DIY those instead. the rest needs to be done imho

BUT....i would not let the dealer do the job. have zero doubt a decent indy could do it for well south of $3000. i'm thinking more like $2000-$2500 tops??. bottom line is the dealership is a rip off. unless you have money to burn, i'd avoid getting anything done at a dealership.

side note....is the dealership charging you full pop on labor for each item individually? seems like they are? ($4k wow!) there is alot of overlap regarding labor time spent doing it all at once. if an indy isn't an option for you, make sure you ask the dealer about a "while we're in there anyway" discount for labor. i did that when getting recall work done and the cost of spark plug replacement went from $850 too $400 (about 3 years ago). not dirt cheap but not horrible either. i went ahead and had them do it

Watson

All the items in the quote are required especially the sparkplugs. I paid around 2750USD (I live in Europe) for the major service on my 2016 991.1 Targa 4 GTS 7MT (my 1st service since I own the car, all previous major and minor services were done in time by the previous owner).
I did not have to do the accessory belt change and rear differential oil change as they were done at the previous service but I had them perform additional (elective) work so normally, it should have been around 2200USD.
So yes, your quote is too high in my opinion.

MingusDew

I didn’t even have to check to know: Southern California shop rates!

Yea, I feel you. It’s a lot to swallow in deferred maintenance but it is what it is. Those are all recommended maintenance items that should be done. Depending on your approach you could do certain things together, e.g. air filter and belt you would want to do at the same time, but the spark plugs or brake flush can be done separately. The cost quote you have is comparable with what I was quoted by the shops here in Pasadena. My dealership actually had very competitive pricing to the independents, with one of the independents actually quoting higher. I decided to do it myself, as I love working on all of my previous cars/trucks and want to learn more about this one. I did all the exact same work (brake flush, filters, belt, plugs) on my 991.2, and it was a lot of work. It wasn’t that hard all things considered, just more complicated and this made it a challenge. I would do it again myself, but I also 100% understand that not everyone has the level of mechanical aptitude/comfort, or even the tools or suitable work area to accomplish this kind of undertaking. It seems like a lot to pay, but it’s also a lot of work to do yourself. One last note, as a “while you’re in there” I would suggest replacing the accessory belt tensioner assembly, as that has a damper on it that is a known failure item due to age not just miles. Since you’re already removing the carriage bolt to remove the belt, it’s really only two more bolts to take the tensioner assembly off, so it shouldn’t add much labor to the job cost, mostly just the part cost.

spiderv6

It’s actually not a crazy quote. I just had my 6 year done on my 2016 4S and it needed all of the above except the plugs (they were done previously). My ‘top’ quote was $4,650 from one of the local dealers. I took it to a respected local indie and paid $1,100. Belts etc. are way above my pay grade, so I need a pro to do the work.

barncobob

Indy time!

HardRider

I made $18K since Monday on my Schwab trade. I still wouldn't pay more than $1500 al in for the work you specified. Anything more is nothing more than ridiculous but some pay and that why they charge it. I need to open my own shop......

chamilka

Thank you for your responses. Regarding the possibility of performing the services on my own, I must clarify that it is not a matter of lacking the skills required to do so, as I have previously conducted extensive work on my Porsche vehicles, including engine maintenance. However, the previous owner had list of services performed by Porsche with records, and I prefer to continue to maintain service records rather than DYI for this car. This approach will also enhance the resale value of the vehicle in the future. Additionally, I find that I do not derive the same enjoyment from working on newer 991.x cars as I do on older models up to 997.2.

After bringing all of my previous service records to the dealer, they recommended these specific services. I want to ensure that I am not being taken advantage of, and it is reassuring to know that these services are indeed legitimate for my car. While the cost seems rather steep and there may be some overlap in the required services that need revisiting, I will also consult with my Indy shop for their pricing for the same services. $4000 is a lot for sure. I also want to clarify that good and reputable Indy shops in SoCal are not cheap either.
Thanks all for your input.

chamilka

I agree, for these newer, little bit more expensive cars, most potential buyers would prefer documented dealer services. I honestly like reputable Indy shops over the dealer .

IXLR8

Well I have seen what dealers and indies can do, so no thanks. If you are ultra picky as I am, you do it yourself for a job done right. I have also done extensive work on aircraft. Guess who flew it the next day? Me! Oh and by the way, this was a reputable indy shop as recommended by our local PCA. LOL

Not my car but a friends 993 who took it in for a Bilstein installation and a "factory" short shift kit. I mean, how can you screw that up if you know what you are doing? I guess it wouldn't fit, so you just get out the Sawsall.


What it should look like, my 993.