What would it cost.....
 

To have a dealer/shop do a full service on an SC? That is, replace the following parts:

new dist. cap/rotor
new spark plugs
new air filter
new oil filter
new fuel filter
oil change w/synthetic oil
valve adjustment

I just did the above work on my '80 SC this weekend and would like to point out to the wife how much $$$ I saved by doing the work myself!

Good luck finding a dealer that would TOUCH an SC.

Out here in LALA Land, it's a DIY or an Independent shop.

$238.00 parts and labor. Including a walkaround inspection while on the lift. Excluding the valve adj.

So how much did you save??

In San Jose, CA, that was generally a $400 to $500 trip to the shop.
On these older cars, there will often be other items needed at that time as well.
Here in TX, that semi-annual work is about $350 or so, including parts & Mobil One.

About $500 for a decent shop.

I say $500-800 parts and labor

new dist. cap/rotor
new spark plugs
new air filter
new oil filter
new fuel filter
oil change w/synthetic oil - all together easily $150 in parts plus markup equals 200-250 plus 1 hour labor
valve adjustment - $250 in a friendly Porsche shop

total: $500 -$600

As a comparison: I always take pride in pricing myself for the jobs I have done. When rebuilding my Targa I spent $8k in parts plus $2,5k for the transmission rebuild. Having such amount of work done by a hired hand would have exceeded any reasonable budget plus I don' trust anyone anyway. :)
Example: brake jobs or upgrading the tie rods is not rocket science but takes $$$time. Plus you can be sure it's done right! I apply this to all our cars and have yet to see a shop from the inside.

I figure around $600 with parts at retail and $75/hour labor.

labor here in the Bay Area is $160 at the Porsche dealership and $120 for a reputable independant shop...

here in So TX the hour labor it's around $150

Is that hourly or total labor. There are several great shops in houston at less than half that per hour.

In Austin, most of the good indy P-Car shops are $75 to $125 tops. IMHO, there is an inverse rule of labor rates too...:)

And the savings are.....
 

The parts cost about $175 including 12 qts of synthetic 15w50 oil. So it sounds like my Saturday work saved about $450 - $500! That's not too bad for 4-5 hrs worth of playing mechanic!

Thanks for all the replies!

not only the savings - look at all the gains!

Adjusting the valves is a quite rewarding job. Each time you open these valve covers you can check on the studs and other details - and you are ultimately responsible how much you tighten the (always new including washers) valve nuts!
:)

Do it yourself.....
 

"not only the savings - look at all the gains!"

True, and you don't have to worry that the hired wrench was having a bad day, wanted to get off early, etc. ! I might not work very quickly sometimes, but when I put up the tools I am sure that the job has been done correctly and all the parts are accounted for with nothing left over. Of course, the downside is trying to get all the dirt, grease and oil off various body surfaces.

Good point Fred...it doesn't bother me a bit to spend hours doing what would take a skilled technician minutes to do...I've got the time. (edit)...but you damned betcha that when it gets past routine chores such as those you describe, I often opt for hiring a pro. It's up to each to determine his or her abilities here. With P-cars owned before my current one I quickly learned that mistakes I make can cost much more than if I'd gone to a good pro in the first place. The trick is to find a good pro you can trust...

Paul is right on, thank you.

Even shops/Dealers rely on outside vendors. The best have most in house.

The art of DYI is to use all the resources available. That includes Porsche, independents, after market suppliers (like our host), and all on this Forum available to you.

Fred, you don’t think that Porsche mechanics take pride in their work? Every one I trained did. They are now the backbone of Porsche independent service in Colorado and more. These are the skilled professionals. We have many shops and each is devoted to Porsche. I’m proud of my long past influence. These are good guys.

Best,
Grady

$34.95:

http://www.101projects.com

-Wayne

Oh, and here are the parts you need:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/SubCat/911M-Basic-Maintenance.htm

-Wayne

These are good guys....
 

I've no doubt that they are "good guys". And there are indeed many very talented mechanics "out there" plying their trade keeping a lot of old Pcars on the road. However......there are some folks in the business that probably should not be and I don't want to be the one that finds them! So, when a mechanical issue comes up on my car that I don't fully understand, I hit the books, research and search this BB and others until I know what to do and how to do it. It's funny, but I will take my other cars (American made) to the dealer for repairs, but the SC is my "baby" and I am willing to scrape knuckles, have a sore back and get greasy fingernails for it. Besides, I would rather spend $100.00 on tools than pay someone else that same $100.00 to do a job for me. At least when I get done I have a more complete set of tools to work with!