987 Major service

The 987 goes in for its major service tomorrow and tbh I can’t wait. I have nothing wrong with my 54,000 Cayman S , but I do like it when it goes for a service. Anyone else look forward to the car getting some service changes??

Sure - it reinforces the car/human connection with you doing something you think is nice for the car. Not weird at all, maybe a bit crazy, but harmless so..

You can't beat a bit of crazy

I look forward to spending money 😫

I prefer to do everything possible myself. Not just for savings but also because the professionalism of dealer wrenches has gone off a cliff. I don't even trust them to not put a door ding it let alone their repair efficacy. I am focused, fastidious and complete work in a way only a personal mechanic can. There isn't a shop on Earth that is going to take a few days on brakes. Painting the rotor hats black (in my case) with Por15, rotors on the bench, prep washing them before assembly and cleaning the fender wells on each corner. I'm getting PDK fluid this year and I'm not even looking forward to that, I'm hoping I can wait for it and keep an eye on my car.

I use to do everything from motor swaps to cages to basically everything… now , unless it’s a new mod part which I’ll install, no more repairs for me… not even interested anymore… oil changes? No way!

It’s worth it on these cars 🔥

I would love to do it all myself, but I don’t have a place to work on it or the tools.

I've only paid parts for oil changes on both vehicles for 11 years.

Nope

Whether one does it themselves or has it done for them, there is something special about having a well maintained car. And that goes double once the car has higher mileage. The benefits of proper maintenance with quality products become apparent. 🏎😀

I recently took 2.5 days to replace my (4) rotors and pads - along with some associated hardware. Even then - when making a final inspection, I found a few mistakes. Thank god I used a tray to hold all the misc parts because I found a left-over cotter pin and a small 10mm bolt. Since the wheels were still off, it was pretty easy to find where they went. Whereas a knuckle-dragging hourly wrencher would probably just toss the leftovers and go on to the next job.

In fairness, The hourly technician has a shop manager with a lion cage whip and a wristwatch. I asked a Porsche tech to show me the wire to interrupt on my 944 to make the antenna switched. I added a Porsche switch where a blank was so I could keep the mast down when I was enjoying tapes (wow that was a long time ago) Blaupunkt was a nice one too. Anyhow, I tipped him generously for the information. There I was still in my suit from work, bill freshly paid, and the woman service manager tore me a second sphincter for tying up her mechanic. Here's a twist fellas. I was once engaged, go to meet the parents, mom is the service manager!! I didn't reprise what she had done to me and she didn't remember.

As has been expressed earlier, I'm uncomfortable turning over a vehicle for maintenance to someone I don't know. And of course, "insurance regulations" prevent us from witnessing the event we're paying for. Can you see the insurance policy? Of course not. I've got a family member who is quite capable of maintaining his own vehicles, but is just too busy to do so. I the last few years, a mechanic has failed to install the oil filter housing on his pickup properly, resulting in most of the oil going onto the road, and a Mercedes dealer failed to refill the differential during an oil change. Personal comfort and satisfaction are why I enjoy maintaining my own vehicles. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a hobby for me, and adds to the fun of owning a Porsche.

TBH I would love to do it all myself, but I don’t have the space or the tools. If I did have the space, I would definitely have the tools👌🏻

For me doing things myself is not because I don’t have a good professional option. I have an indie who works on my cars whom I’ve used for close to 20 years. He’s very good. In his 50’s now and has worked at the same shop since 16. It’s hard to find folks like this. I feel very fortunate. But there is a certain satisfaction in doing things yourself whether it’s a car or something around the house. I have two cars with over 250k miles. They both still run great and have both been serviced by a combination of myself and the indie. I even feel fortunate with a nearby Porsche dealer. I’ve had two visits which have been great. But they are an unusual dealer. They support MotorSports and are even a dealer for Ohlins and Akrapovic. Furthermore, they have some of their own cool cars on display. Collection | Autohaus Lancaster, Inc. | Central PA's German Car Headquarters Your dream car is waiting! View our inventory of new Porsches, Audis, and VWs or talk with our knowledgeable sales staff. www.autohaus.com

I still like putting on mods and bits..I’ll still do that, but oil changes and general maintenance nahh…I’m just burnt out..

So, I usually have a laundry list of 5 or 6 items for Cantrell to do to my car. The last over night was a month ago, as I had just purchased a Sprint Booster and could not get the clip behind the throttle off. Very small wires are involved here and I did not want to break any of those. So that was on my list, trans axle fluid change for my transmission/Wavetrac LSD, change the alignment to reduce front camber slightly reduce caster, change toe out in front and reduce toe in in the rear. All this to save inside shoulder tire wear for my new RE71RS. Then to look at the shifting connectors on the transmission between the Numeric and the new shifter mechanisms for my next visit. Sort of starting another list as I use my shifter linkage a lot for engine braking.

Did you get a mortgage??

Nope. Half the time my car comes back in worse shape than when it was brought in. Techs making mistakes, grease/oil on seats, dash, steering wheel, etc., missed items on service check lists….. Taking your car in for service is the same as getting surgery. Less is better.

Our two indy shops here in MN are great… always top shelf

What "major" service is being done?

depends on the shop / service center. a good one which understands customer service and repeat versus gouging will inspire your confidence and cause you to enjoy taking your car in. If I had a newer Porsche, I would use a dealer's service center for unusual service, even if the warranty is expired. but these engines aren't exotic, they're just engines. even in a GT4 it's just a flat six with a higher compression ratio, some light parts for weight, but it still has an oil drain plug... but for a 987? The first time I took the rear wheels off to do the brakes last year, I jumped off my creeper seat and shouted holy ****! EVERYTHING is right there! suspension, exhaust manifolds, coils, injectors, plugs, brakes... so accessible compared to most other cars I've worked on. I'll admit though, the first few times jacking up the car were an experience... I had to buy two Race Ramps wheel cribs for the front wheels and it has been very easy since. If you jack up just the rear, there's too much of a slant, and that's dangerous on jack stands. when I get the car up, I tend to leave it up for a few days to take my time on a job. like others have said here.