Car is 2 years old and time for 2 year service. Was quoted $850 by downtown LA dealer. An additional $250 for a brake fluid flush. It appears that the 2 year service includes a bunch of visual inspections plus oil change and pollen filter change. I'm thinking about just getting an oil change ($300) and brake fluid flush ($250) and skipping the visual inspections. It seems silly to pay $500+ for inspections. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

Agree

 

Pollen filters - easy to do yourself. I posted a how to last summer with photos

Brake fluid flush should be about $150

Oil change sb $200

You are getting screwed so at least ask them to take you out to dinner.

 

Call around to the other local dealers and see if their prices are out of line or similar...

If you don't care about taking it to a stealership, I have an indie guy in Culver City who will do all that for about 1/4 the price and actually take you under the car and show you what he is inspecting, etc...

Good luck!

 

I have an almost 2 year old C2S only 3500 miles (I know I know I don't drive it enough). Is this brake flush and inspection necessary for me?

 

I just got a brake fluid flush quote from my dealership in NJ of $163. $250 seems a little high.

 

Yes. You should get the brake fluid flushed every two years regardless of miles. More often if you track the car.

Brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning that it absorbs water out of the atmosphere. This will reduce braking effectiveness and damage the system.

It's a DIY job if you are so inclined.

I would suggest that the "visual inspection" of the car is more geared toward mileage, or actual use of the car. However, stuff gets bad just from sitting (rubber bits, seals, etc.) so why not?

As for the OP - if you are not capable or willing to do any of this stuff yourself (and there's nothing wrong with that) then go ahead and pay someone to do it for you. It's a very expensive car - don't cheap out on us now!

Unless you lease.

 

Be glad it's not a Lambo. My local Porsche indie also does a lot of Lambo work. He advised that often the annual service can get to $15k (apparently the clutch is weak and can need replacing at 10k.

 

Off topic, but wanted to provide feedback on this...


Depends on the year and model. Lamborghinis are actually pretty solid from my experience. My Gallardo spider was a daily - sold before warranty went out after having the Murci out of warranty and a front shock went out.


I wouldn't own any highline without a warranty.


Dave in Dallas

 

I read somewhere a clutch job on a countach is around $30k (tons of labor, engine and tranny come out or something, cant remember exactly) def do not want an old italian supercar thank you

 

Oh dude lol! Sorry can't hold back. That car needs to be driven. Unless you want to get top dollar for it when you sell it/trade it in. In which case I understood the desire to preserve. The next owner is truly the one that benefits though. Enjoy her! At least 3x a week hah.

In regards to this topic, I have yet to deal with ownership/maintenance cost of a Porsche and I will probably end up going to the dealership myself. But the way I see it is that I might as well build a relationship with a dealership and if anything ever goes wrong well I am more confident in their abilities/willingness to make it right (not that independent shops can't be wonderful and much cheaper). As someone else said it is not a cheap car and I have fully prepared and expected higher upkeep costs but proper care will allow me to keep it for a very long time (barring sale to get into the next car hah).

 

a relationship with a good indy is just as likely to get you a 'deal' if something goes wrong and you will be paying less per hour anyway, i doubt either one will do the job for a massive discount though, they arent in the business of doing work for free, regardless of how many oil changes theyve done for you, i would save your money if i were you, i doubt you will ever see any benefit

 

Agreed. I had a great shop down in LA for my older BMWs, saved me tons of money. I guess I figured going to a dealership might help me come time to get my next car but I am new to Porsche and know very little about how customer loyalty affects a dealership relationship (if at all). The BMW 4 year warranty/service plan meant I never had to think about such things lol.

 

i used to go a local dealer all the time then when it came time to trade in my car they low balled the heck out of me, they didnt give a sh*t, went elsewhere and got offered 7 grand more

found myself a good indy after that

 

The inspections are useless.. And I'll draw flack from many here, but I'd never waste a dime flushing brake fluid.. Maybe if I was a hard core tracker I'd consider it.. but as a DD no way...

All you gain by flushing brake fluid is removal of moisture (if it even exists in your brake lines) that could eventually cause some brake line corrosion... in 10+ years and if ever.. So by spending the money on it you help the guy who gets your car when it is long over the hill.. I've never done it on any newly purchased car I have ever owned (and I tend to keep them a long time, up to 10 years).. And usually by the time a car is 10+ years it has gone through enough change of brake pads or related work that a majority of brake fluid has been bled out anyway.

If I were to do it, I'd do it after maybe 4 years.. But at 2 years all you are doing is more useless maintenance that has absolutely no impact on safety or reliability within the service life of the car..