Strange Oil-Change Refusal citing Porsche 'Facts'

I live in the Seattle, WA area and took my car the other day to a local oil-change place (Oil Can Henry's) but was advised that they "did not do Porsche because Porsche requires that the engine is cranked a few times to expunge the last of the oil during a change", and that was "not something they did". I've never heard of such a practice and was wondering if anyone has any info on this? I was thinking of going to Jiffy Lube. but wondered if they may have the same policy? Can changing the oil really be such a PIA? I would do it myself but I am recovering from a broken arm.... Sean

Honestly, I would not trust the Porsche to a local quick change place. I doubt they do very many or any Porsche. I had my smog test done at a place that is attached/owned by one of the quick change places. They could not locate the engine and never could get the OBDI connection hooked up. After they started dragging a metal chain across the door threshold to get the connection hooked up...I was out of there. An oil change is not a hard thing but do you really want them learning on your car? Not sure if your car is under warranty but I thought you had to use oil that is approved by Porsche to keep coverage (i may be wrong). Those quick change places use the cheapest oil they can buy in bulk. I would look for either a dealer or a shop that specializes in imports. Average price for an oil change is $300 on a Porsche in my experience. Keep in mind, this thing holds a lot of oil. The mobil 1 and filter would run around $100...even if you DIY.

I agree with coal. Too nice a car to let someone learn on. Akers in downtown Seattle might be worth a look. I took mine to Barrier in Bellevue for just an oil change, and it was about $219 with tax, and they checked for software updates and any factory directives. You get the right oil, check known isssues, etc..... Going cheap is often the most expensive route.

Thanks for the replies.... I get that trying to go cheap can spell disaster, but I fundamentally object to the wallet-gouging that goes on at the Porsche dealerships. An oil change is a very simple thing to have done, and to charge customers their insane hourly rates is nothing short of highway robbery. I think Barrier's hourly rate is not far from $200.00, and the last time I went there my car was fixed by "Pedro". If "Pedro" was getting close to that hourly rate I would think things were fair, but the bottom line is that Porsche gouges.... I know, I know.....it's the price of ownership. But intelligent minds should come to the same conclusion that it's basically a massive rip-off. I'll wait till the arm heals and do it myself I think....I am smart enough to perform an oil change I think

Ahh geez, don't make me defend a dealership. It would pain me to do so...but a lot of the money a dealership runs on is from the service dept. If "Pedro" (as you put it) was making 150 an hour it would not be enough to cover the lease, advertising, customer events, support staff/admin staff (that do not directly bring in money but are needed for a business), etc. A small indy shop will usually have lower rates because it cost less to run the shop than it cost to run a dealership. My company charges an amount that is several times above my hourly rate. The difference is used to pay for site leases, expansion, support staff, training, wooing clients, advertising, benefits, legal, customer service, and on and on and on. I do not feel that it is unfair and understand it is what it takes to run a business. We even have a little left over for profit and to make shareholders happy Even if you don't like the dealership it is nice to be on good terms when it comes to warranty work. They can make it easy or hard when it comes to warranty work. In a perfect world it would not be a question...but that is not the world I live in.

My car is relatively new, an 09, had oil and filter done at 3K miles...my personal choice since I intended to keep the car for long time....cost me about $200 at dealer...which at first blush I thought was high....but I watched them do it....it look nearly 25 minutes for all the oil to drain out of the cayman ...guy was very careful....looked around...cleaned and and all drips and made sure all the codes were checked....so I was pleased...it also makes me more of a "preferred" customer for their handling other problems versus someone who only comes by for freebie warranty work...they seem to take the time do respond to all of my questions, concerns and issues...like they rebalanced the front tires, at no cost, at 5K miles....finally its dead smooth

Is this true? That scares me. Did he crank the engine to get the last of the oil out?

He didn't crank the engine to get the oil out...the car was up in the air the entire time...but incase my memory is faulty I will check with my service guy

I have never heard of cranking the engine to get all the oil out - maybe that was a practice on the old air-cooled engines? I agree with Interpol, if you don't want to pay the dealer rates (about $230 at my local dealer for an oil change/basic inspection service - similar to Jiffy Lube-type service), then I would look for independent shop that works on Porsches, where you might save a little $. I would be surprised if most "quick lube" places even stock the appropriate oil filters or oil (i.e. 0W-40) for our cars.

Do NOT ever allow anyone to "crank" the engine to get the last few drops of oil out!!! Your bearings will be starved when the engine is re-started for about 3-4 seconds which can do significant damage to a Porsche engine. Whomever recommended this must work on Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engines for a living...

the other problem with alot of folks was not leting the car drain long enough....I was amazed how long it took for all the oil to get out of the car...and also the process of carefully checking how much oil is in the car....remember no dip stick....and every time you check oil level takes about 45 sec

Globespy....dude......run from these places as fast as you can. They are completely clueless when it comes to our cars. Why would anyone risk the results of their incompetence for $100 or even $200. If you are dealer adverse then find an good independent Porsche mechanic who can take care of business. There are a lot of them out there and many are very good. I'm sure even someone on this site can give you some names and your local PCA group will certainly be able to help. In my immediate area for example, there are 3-4 Porsche/German car service businesses that all come with the best reputations. Good luck.

I guess just a build on what others have said..........1 hour of labor, plus Mobil 1 and my dealer charges me less per quart than the cost at Wal*Mart so parts are around $80 bucks. I change it about every 4,000 miles..........I drove 12,000 miles in the first year with a total cost of $779.00 for two oil changes and the 12,000 mile service. And, at least for me the peace of mind if anything were to go wrong I have good recourse. I am not afraid to do the work as i have done an EVOMS, AP short shifter.......just rather have the service done by the dealership.

Agree with the others. Let gravity do the work. The longer it drains, the more will come out. I know a local independent that insists it sit overnight to drain. No way that Porsche recommends to turn the engine to get the oil out.

Thanks for the input. I ended up changing the oil myself......first time is a pain in the tail but I found so many great articles on here. I also decided to do a full flush of brake/clutch fluid while the car was on jack stands. I was concerned that the oil that came out was black after 8,000 miles (it was Mobil 1) and am seriously considering going with Amsoil for my next change.... I recently put Amsoil in our H3 and after 10,000 miles the oil color is very good - I keep reading positive things about Amsoil - it just seems to be a better oil, and I know it's not endorsed by Porsche, but that doesn't mean that it's not the best oil. I did find a good independent Porsche joint for servicing that works on these cars (in addition to Bentley) and charge way less than Porsche. Unless the problem is something highly technical (electronics/engine internals) I don't see why I get any benefit from going directly to Porsche......sorry if my earlier posts seemed frustrated....an oil change is essentially monkey work and that's why I had a problem with Porsche charging their ridiculous rate for easy, straight forward work. This forum rocks!

Globespy, What do you mean by the color of the oil was very good after 10,000 miles? I always thought that dirty oil was good in that it has cleaned the internal engine parts it comes into contact with.

I do not think there is much to be judged by the color of the oil. If you want to know what's going on in the engine (and the oil), you need to have the oil tested when it's changed.