981 servicing schedule - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I’m in the early stages of looking for a 981 as a weekend car and for some road trips. I enquired about a 2014 2.7 manual car which was listed as having part service history. Turns out it’s only had its 2 and 4 year services, and has missed its 6 and 8 year services. Appreciating there are plenty of cars out there with full histories and anything I went for I’d get a pre purchase inspection on, I have a few questions. 1. How much of an issue could those two missing services cause? 2. What work would likely need to be done to rectify the missed services? 3. Any indications of typical costs with an indie to get it done? Know I should be patient, but combo of spec, mileage and potential to get a deal are appealing to me. For the record, plan would be to keep the right car, so resale value not a huge issue and suspect as time passes those two services being missed would have less of an impact on value.

I think the car would need belts, plugs and all the usual major service bits. It would be a hefty bill at an OPC - £1500 to £2000 as a ballpark.

aussieal said: 1. How much of an issue could those two missing services cause? 2. What work would likely need to be done to rectify the missed services? 3. Any indications of typical costs with an indie to get it done? So, thinking of buying a 9 year old sports car that has not had any fluids changed or anything for over 5 years? How many miles has the car done and how many since the last service? Is it a cracking price compared with everything else the same age/spec/mileage?

deutsche.diagnostics said: So, thinking of buying a 9 year old sports car that has not had any fluids changed or anything for over 5 years? How many miles has the car done and how many since the last service? Is it a cracking price compared with everything else the same age/spec/mileage? Exactly the kind of home truths I needed It’s done 30k in total and was on 14k at the 4 year OPC service. Suspect it could be had for probably £5k less than similar age and spec cars with higher miles based on conversations I’ve had.

The scale of the issue depends to a large extent on the mileage since the last service, presumably the 4 year Major service in 2018. If no more than 20K since then and assuming the mileage intervals to the 2 and 4 year services didn't exceed the 20K max mileage interval between services then I wouldn't be too concerned about the car itself. It will need a Major with plugs, filters, belt change and brake fluid change and probably tyre puncture sealant replacement to bring the mileage/time based replacement items back in date. Plus any on-condition wear items such as brakes, as required. My 981S had a Major with plugs and brake fluid change 18 months ago at a reputable indy for £625. I'd guess these plus air filters, drive belt, tyre sealant and inflation would be getting on for £1K from the same indy now and approaching double that from an OPC.

So driven for 5 years and 16k miles, with no servicing, not a great start? I seen no mention of any change of owners in that time? Do the MOTs in that period support the claimed mileage? Given that the plan is to ‘keep the right car’ I would rather start with the right car, the only thing this one seems to have going for it is the initial purchase price.

What state are the brakes and tyres in? I’d presume if the owner hasn’t serviced the car and given the age/mileage that these will need attention. Costs would outweigh fixing the missing servicing, which whilst by no means ideal isn’t necessarily a deal breaker if you intend to keep the car. Has it been kept outside or stored in a garage? Even 981s are starting to suffer from age related issues now like radiators, condensers etc as you might expect on cars up to 10 years old. PPI would be essential I’d have thought. If it’s a shorter term proposition you have to think of how easy it will be to move on. Unless it’s an ideal spec I think I’d look around - plenty of cars for sale over the next few months.

Agreed with the above. If it's a keeper then I wouldn't buy a slightly older sports car where maintenance was an afterthought. Plenty of good examples out there. FWIW, my 981 GTS is having its 8 year service at an OPC and the bill is about £1200. That was after shopping around. Some of them quoted the thick end of £2k.

I would also budget on a set of front brake discs and pads at approx £600.

One thought is if the previous owner(s) have skimped on the services for 4yrs, what else have they looked to save money on? And who has done the work? Main advice is to buy a car on condition. However, with the facts presented it would be worth getting a Pre-Purchase Inspection done by a Porsche specialist at a minimum, and probably getting it on a ramp at one of the Indy's to be thoroughly checked over.

Do the belts need doing at 6 years? Pretty bloody important….

Stating the obvious ......... , if you are asking these questions and unsure on purchase, any future buyer would most likely be asking the same if you are ever selling.

I hope it’s cheap.

Snowy999 said: Do the belts need doing at 6 years? Pretty bloody important…. cam chain engine.

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This wouldn’t happen to be a private sale red manual 2.7, based in Carlisle would it? If it is it’s been up for sale for a few months and the price keeps tumbling down. If it is I was interested myself but yeah needs a bit of cash spent on it to bring it up to speed with maintenance. At the least I’d probably get a pre-purchase inspection before any purchase. I’ve been keeping an eye on decent spec and condition 981 for a while and the going rate for that is around 30k. Edited by JamesA95 on Saturday 15th April 11:03

JamesA95 said: This wouldn’t happen to be a private sale red manual 2.7, based in Carlisle would it? If it is it’s been up for sale for a few months and the price keeps tumbling down. If it is I was interested myself but yeah needs a bit of cash spent on it to bring it up to speed with maintenance. At the least I’d probably get a pre-purchase inspection before any purchase. I’ve been keeping an eye on decent spec and condition 981 for a while and the going rate for that is around 30k. Edited by JamesA95 on Saturday 15th April 11:03 Yeah, that’s the one. Seller was happy enough to answer questions but didn’t seem to appreciate that the price only reflected that it was due a service, and not that it had a chunk of missing history. I’m on the fence at the moment, if it could be had for low enough I think it would be worth it. As you say that mileage and spec is £30k with a FSH.

This was a really interesting thread for me as I was also interested in the car in question, and had arranged to view it today, which I did. It looks really nice visually. Prior to viewing I spoke to my local respected indy and explained the service history issues. He said if it had a full service now it should be fine. My plan was a PPI to make sure nothing hugely expensive needed doing, then if all good, buy it and then get a full service. A service now should mitigate the one missed last year a little. There is documentation from the time of purchase- 2020, deep into covid time, and this shows a multipoint check prior to sale, but the selling dealer didnt appear to carry out a service. The advert missed out that the car has heated seats and sports mode. Anyway, im not buying it as my last car was a 997.2 and I think that has spoilt me, so its back to a 911 I think. No reflection on the Caymans condition though. Probably a good cheap 981 Manual for someone !

Bustlepuncher said: This was a really interesting thread for me as I was also interested in the car in question, and had arranged to view it today, which I did. It looks really nice visually. Prior to viewing I spoke to my local respected indy and explained the service history issues. He said if it had a full service now it should be fine. My plan was a PPI to make sure nothing hugely expensive needed doing, then if all good, buy it and then get a full service. A service now should mitigate the one missed last year a little. There is documentation from the time of purchase- 2020, deep into covid time, and this shows a multipoint check prior to sale, but the selling dealer didnt appear to carry out a service. The advert missed out that the car has heated seats and sports mode. Anyway, im not buying it as my last car was a 997.2 and I think that has spoilt me, so its back to a 911 I think. No reflection on the Caymans condition though. Probably a good cheap 981 Manual for someone ! Interesting that you viewed it and had that thought, looks like a few of us think there could be a decent deal to be had! It appears to be a good car, condition, spec etc.. but the servicing lets it down. The advert now says it has a sports exhaust, is this the switchable exhaust or just the sports tips? Cheers Ross

I have quite a low mileage 2016 GTS. It will supposedly need its 8 year sevice next year. Its had a full OPC service history to date with an Porsche warranty until 2024. I can't really justfy in my head spending over £1000 for the major service. Having run rce and rally cars all my life it goes against the grain to pay for the oil change (already done one at 5,000 miles after purchaseing and its last service) changed brake fluid after the supplying OPC replaced my 2 rear calipers due to seized inner nipples (after 3 months after alleged fluid change carried out by them), spark plugs an hours work and a cost of circa £40 for 6 plugs, etc. Should I pay to have it (allegedly) done or diy and take a bit of a hit when selling? If I DIY at least I know its been done - the last 2 Porsches had fully stamped books, but clearly older parts were still in place, for example date stamped filters same as age of car....

andygo said: I have quite a low mileage 2016 GTS. It will supposedly need its 8 year sevice next year. Its had a full OPC service history to date with an Porsche warranty until 2024. I can't really justfy in my head spending over £1000 for the major service. Having run rce and rally cars all my life it goes against the grain to pay for the oil change (already done one at 5,000 miles after purchaseing and its last service) changed brake fluid after the supplying OPC replaced my 2 rear calipers due to seized inner nipples (after 3 months after alleged fluid change carried out by them), spark plugs an hours work and a cost of circa £40 for 6 plugs, etc. Should I pay to have it (allegedly) done or diy and take a bit of a hit when selling? If I DIY at least I know its been done - the last 2 Porsches had fully stamped books, but clearly older parts were still in place, for example date stamped filters same as age of car.... If you’re not extending the warranty, then I’d say save your money.

TTmonkey said: If you’re not extending the warranty, then I’d say save your money. If you aren’t extending the warranty + don’t plan to sell that car in the next few years. The warranty and full history makes a car more valuable and way easier to sell.

For the sake of residuals, I wouldn’t DIY it, but use a reputable independent specialist. That’ll have no impact on the residual value and will cost a great deal less.

Will you be extending the warranty further? I think (?) this now states servicing must be OPC.

TTmonkey said: If you’re not extending the warranty, then I’d say save your money. If the car is good condition and is otherwise well maintained with premium tyres, then I agree. Get a major service done after and keep the service schedule up going forward. It’s not as if the car has done ballistic miles or been used as a taxi.

Hol said: If the car is good condition and is otherwise well maintained with premium tyres, then I agree. Get a major service done after and keep the service schedule up going forward. It’s not as if the car has done ballistic miles or been used as a taxi. The car is pretty pristine all round, had brand new N rated PS4's fitted when I bought it from the OPC last June. I've fitted new pads and discs all round, had the geo set up by RPM Technik etc. Suspect I'll get them to do the major service in the end. It's fristrating though. It's like having a decorator in to paint your skirting boards when you know you could knock it off yourself in a morning!

You bought the car with full OPC servicing and an extended warranty, I assume you valued that at the time of purchase? Would you still have bought the car if it had no extended warranty and a few scraps of paper saying the servicing was done? Different if an Indy has done the work though, sure. I'd personally think very carefully about breaking the history unless you're sure the car is a long term keeper. It could limit your resale options, the average person will want to see a full Porsche history. As for the cost, it's only £500 per year as it's a two year service interval unlike other marques.

Twinfan said: You bought the car with full OPC servicing and an extended warranty, I assume you valued that at the time of purchase? Would you still have bought the car if it had no extended warranty and a few scraps of paper saying the servicing was done? Different if an Indy has done the work though, sure. I'd personally think very carefully about breaking the history unless you're sure the car is a long term keeper. It could limit your resale options, the average person will want to see a full Porsche history. As for the cost, it's only £500 per year as it's a two year service interval unlike other marques. Good point about the annual cost...

No worries. It's something that gets overlooked and I don't think it's unreasonable for a premium marque. It's also the reason why I'd keep up the OPC history unless you have a good reason not to.

Twinfan said: No worries. It's something that gets overlooked and I don't think it's unreasonable for a premium marque. It's also the reason why I'd keep up the OPC history unless you have a good reason not to. Still a stitch up though!

andygo said: Still a stitch up though! Depends how you look at it. OPCs are NOT cheap to run - all the Centre decor, latest technical gear, courtesy cars, parts storage, staff etc cost money!

Twinfan said: Depends how you look at it. OPCs are NOT cheap to run - all the Centre decor, latest technical gear, courtesy cars, parts storage, staff etc cost money! Please can you stop coming on here and being reasonable!

andygo said: Please can you stop coming on here and being reasonable! Apologies if I'm coming across as on my soapbox a little bit. I always think OPCs get a rough deal on here, and while I'm sure some aren't great others certainly are and provide a really good service. Obviously an OPC will cost more for work than a DIY mechanic or one man band so I'm always suprised when people seem to expect an OPC to be cheaper than they are. The demands the mothership put on OPCs with regards to mandated equipment, training and Centre facilities etc for example can be quite eye watering and this clearly affects the hourly labour rate. I also think people don't look into the cost of servicing before they buy the car so end up with a bit of a surprise when booking it in for the first time!

aussieal said: I’m in the early stages of looking for a 981 as a weekend car and for some road trips. I enquired about a 2014 2.7 manual car which was listed as having part service history. Turns out it’s only had its 2 and 4 year services, and has missed its 6 and 8 year services. Appreciating there are plenty of cars out there with full histories and anything I went for I’d get a pre purchase inspection on, I have a few questions. 1. How much of an issue could those two missing services cause? 2. What work would likely need to be done to rectify the missed services? 3. Any indications of typical costs with an indie to get it done? Know I should be patient, but combo of spec, mileage and potential to get a deal are appealing to me. For the record, plan would be to keep the right car, so resale value not a huge issue and suspect as time passes those two services being missed would have less of an impact on value. Avoid unless the asking price is vastly reduced and/or your budget suits the risk. If you can stretch to an OPC purchase then its the shrewd move. Come resale time and it will come at some point, you'll be hindered with the chequered history.

Twinfan said: Apologies if I'm coming across as on my soapbox a little bit. I always think OPCs get a rough deal on here, and while I'm sure some aren't great others certainly are and provide a really good service. Obviously an OPC will cost more for work than a DIY mechanic or one man band so I'm always suprised when people seem to expect an OPC to be cheaper than they are. The demands the mothership put on OPCs with regards to mandated equipment, training and Centre facilities etc for example can be quite eye watering and this clearly affects the hourly labour rate. I also think people don't look into the cost of servicing before they buy the car so end up with a bit of a surprise when booking it in for the first time! (I had a pretty good idea of the OPC costs - it's my 4th porker- but doesn't mean i'm happy with that facet of ownership, particularly when I have the evidence of them skimping...

I'm always amazed at the variation in quotes from different OPCs for the same service. The Porsche owned ones in particular are comical.

Twinfan said: Apologies if I'm coming across as on my soapbox a little bit. I always think OPCs get a rough deal on here, and while I'm sure some aren't great others certainly are and provide a really good service. Obviously an OPC will cost more for work than a DIY mechanic or one man band so I'm always suprised when people seem to expect an OPC to be cheaper than they are. The demands the mothership put on OPCs with regards to mandated equipment, training and Centre facilities etc for example can be quite eye watering and this clearly affects the hourly labour rate. I also think people don't look into the cost of servicing before they buy the car so end up with a bit of a surprise when booking it in for the first time! (I had a pretty good idea of the OPC costs - it's my 4th porker- but doesn't mean i'm happy with that facet of ownership, particularly when I have the evidence of them skimping...

Illya Kuryakin said: Avoid unless the asking price is vastly reduced and/or your budget suits the risk. If you can stretch to an OPC purchase then its the shrewd move. Come resale time and it will come at some point, you'll be hindered with the chequered history. This was the conclusion I came to. Whilst the seller has reduced it further, I don’t think he’s be willing to do a deal at a level that would price in the risk for me.