General Maintenance Costs? Help a Newbie not get ripped

JrodVW · 12-05-2004, 01:40 PM

Well, I've been lurking around here quite a bit, but I'm still a little lost on what I can expect to pay for some basic maintenance items.

Coming from a VW Jetta that anyone could work on, I'm a bit leery to take my 911 to the local mechanics and WAY leery of getting "ripped off" because it has a Porsche badge.

What should your typical oil change cost? Or valve adjustment? Gearbox oil flush?

I appreciate all your input guys. I want to take care of my baby, but not eat Ramen noodles for doing it!

JrodVW · 12-05-2004, 01:43 PM

Oh, and since I didn't mention, it's for the car in the sig.

SpeedracerIndy · 12-05-2004, 01:52 PM

All of those items you listed are easy do it yourself jobs. Oil change =~10 quarts of oil of your choice and a $5 filter from the Porsche dealer. Valve adjustment = a valve adjust feeler gague available at pelican, plus a gasket kit, don't know the price for these but it's going to be pretty cheap. Gearbox oil change = ~4 quarts of gear oil, synthetic in the case of your G50 tranny. As far as other maintenance, there's not much more to do other than airing up the tires, and taking good care of the car! If you are not willing to try the DIY rout, someone on the board here will be able to suggest a good shop to take it to in your area. I was quoted $250 for a valve adjustment, about $40 for an oil change by a local reputable shop here just as a data point.

JrodVW · 12-05-2004, 01:58 PM

I appreciate the reply. I'd go for the DIY course except I'm not THAT handy, the P-Car is my ONLY car, and I don't have a garage to work in (live in a condo). So scratch that.

$40 for an oil change seems relatively fair. I'm just wondering about the local places ability to perform basic maintenance. Bodymotion has worked on the car when my father had it, and while their work is top quality, they charge top dollar and never ever seem to let the car go without finding other "must" take care of issues.

I'm not high dollar enough to play theres, so I'm just jealous

Neilk · 12-05-2004, 02:12 PM

Nice car, but I think you've already been ripped off. Didn't you know that the previous owner is supposed to get a full tune up, including a valve adjustment, before selling the car?

Welcome to the board.

SpeedracerIndy · 12-05-2004, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JrodVW
I appreciate the reply. I'd go for the DIY course except I'm not THAT handy, the P-Car is my ONLY car, and I don't have a garage to work in (live in a condo). So scratch that.

$40 for an oil change seems relatively fair. I'm just wondering about the local places ability to perform basic maintenance. Bodymotion has worked on the car when my father had it, and while their work is top quality, they charge top dollar and never ever seem to let the car go without finding other "must" take care of issues.

I'm not high dollar enough to play theres, so I'm just jealous

There is a shop like that around here. Euro Motorworks is what it is called. They do really good work, but they always find something that needs to be done when you take it in for routine maintenance. THen, they send you postcards every month telling you how bad you are for not getting your car in and having it fixed. They are sending me postcards right now to get my car in and have the tie rods fixed. It just makes me NOT want to take it there. Ask around the board here and I'm sure there is a reputable shop in the area that does good work. Be very leary though about taking it to any random garage. There are many stories about crushed oil lines, and rounded lug nuts from using an impact wrench. These cars do require a different touch than a typical american car, or econo box.

duke3282 · 12-05-2004, 02:45 PM

Dont shy away from DIY just because you live in a condo. I live in an apartment and I do projects in the parking lot all the time. You just need to find a spot where you are not parked too close to anyone else. And how do you know you arent THAT handy if you dont try. I purchased my 911 2 years ago and had done no more than an oil change on my previous car. Now i have done quite a bit, caliper rebuild, partial dissasembly for paint, headliner install, fuel pump replacement, starter replacement, speaker install. This christmas I am planning on replacing my clutch and rebuilding the transmission. Who knew I was this handy. Just spend some time on this board, anything that will happen to your car has happened to someone else, and if not these guys will help you figure it out.

Hugh R · 12-05-2004, 03:52 PM

My neighbor pays something like $800 for an oil change, valve and clutch adjust, plugs and air/gas and oil filters. They may do a little more, but I doubt it. Even if you only have the 911, you can do all that for a little over $150. Pelican sells tuneup kits with everything except the oil (I imagine they sell that too). You can put a couple bucks into a Rent-a-Wreck for a few days and still be hundreds of $ ahead. If you do the valve adjust for the first time, plan on the car being out of commission the entire weekend, but it will only take you Saturday.

JrodVW · 12-05-2004, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Neilk
Nice car, but I think you've already been ripped off. Didn't you know that the previous owner is supposed to get a full tune up, including a valve adjustment, before selling the car?

Welcome to the board.

The car was owned by my father for 7 years. I know he took really good care of it, but then again I've racked up 5000 miles in 3 months

Who says you can't daily drive a P-Car. 23 mpg, excellent seats, never a boring commute.

Jim Smolka · 12-05-2004, 04:00 PM

IHMO, the 2.0 to 3.2 911 oil filters from the Dealerships are not what they used to be. The only filters to uses are the Mahle filters available from our host. I am not sure what was changed, but the difference in weight is substanial btwn the 2 fitlers. Just my $0.015 worth.

A good plan of attack is to check out your local PCA. There usually is a person or two that works on their own car and who would be willing to help you.

john70t · 12-05-2004, 04:47 PM

People from the PCA or locals on Pelican should be able to give resource advice.
Get used to the fact these cars have quirks to them unlike some others(calipers have hard lines, SC clutch helper springs, oil leaks are common, lifting points can be disasterous, turn stalks will burn up with brighter bulbs,etc...) but remember that even if you have to do a job twice you're still saving money.
Like a supermodel girlfriend, don't ignore her for too long....

JrodVW · 12-05-2004, 04:59 PM

While I certainly appreciate all the replies so far, and will certainly use my PCA chapter as a resource (though I'm a member of North Jersey, and many of the events are quite far, but I've done a few), but the basic fact is that due to my job I don't have an entire weekend for downtime, I don't think my neighbors would be kind to me strewing p-car parts in the lot, it's bitter cold out, and I lack many of the necessary tools.

I know I may not be as hardcore as some, and believe me, I'd love to have a nice workshop with thousands worth of tools. Heck, I'd take a carport and the $300 sears special tool kit.

I've got the repair manuals and I understand the basics of the maintenance, but I'm not ready to jump into it myself. I don't mind having to take the car to someone to have work done on it. But I also KNOW I'm going to pay through the nose because of the P-Car badge. I just want to avoid that and know that if a reputable shop tells me a simple job like a gearbox flush and fill costs XYZ it really costs XYZ and I'm not just filling up someones tank on their sportfisherman, or putting their kid through college.

I'm all about maintaining this car and taking good care of it, pro-actively, before problems develop (though I'm sure some random ones WILL pop up).

Just for giggles, how bad of a hammering will the typical P-Car dealer rail for maintenance vs the independant shops.

With my old cars anyone could do an oil change, anywhere, and it would cost $18-$25, and I realise the 911 will require a different tact. That's all. Continue with the words of encouragement towards DIY, and I will get there someday, but now isn't the time.

I hope I didn't offend any with this post; that is not my purpose, merely to steer this to the answers I need.

-Jared

Zeke · 12-05-2004, 05:07 PM

Jared, I'm convinced. You would like to drive the car and let someone else maintain it. I can see your point even if the others can't.

Let me start the fair pricing list for those that would rather not fool with thier cars.

Oil, filter and valve adjust, nothing more: A little north of $200.

rickdm · 12-05-2004, 06:38 PM

I just had a 15k service done to the 87 Carrera I just bought as part of the pre-purchase agreement. At a good independent shop in Dallas it was about $950, and they did a very good job. In the future I hope to do most of this myself, but it was nice to start with all the service up to date.

rickdm

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Milt, I think you're optimistic. For tune/valve adjust (once a year or every 12K plus or minus) figure on $600 plus or minus a couple hundred depending on labor rates in your area. I do my own oil changes (a Mahle filter from Pelican along with two washers, and a case of oil), but figure on about $80 from a shop (half hour of labor plus filter/oil).

Zeke · 12-05-2004, 07:32 PM

You're right, except I said, "Oil, filter and valve adjust, nothing more."

No tune. But, I get the point, when is there nothing more?

This was just my attempt to start a list of expected maintanence pricing for those that have not been to the shop yet. What do I know? I've been doing my own wrenching for a long time.