Boxster 981 - First Service - Costs??

[kitchens]

Sadly you will never know what they did unless you stood and watched them and that is not going to happen . I doubt a technician (mechanic ) would want a customer hanging over them in a workshop whilst they worked, and health and safety issues would arise .
I agree when it comes to high end makes they do take pricing to the extreme thinking if you can afford the vehicle you can afford our costs .

 

[Glyn]

I did watch this process and saw that only a few bleeds per calliper was done before they moved onto the next calliper, master cylinder was topped up after each calliper was done, The plastic container that held the old fluid didn't appear to have a great deal of fluid in it after the entire bleed and although I didn't get close up or have the opportunity to really see just how much fluid had been changed I do know that 4 top ups of the master cylinder wouldn't have purged the entire system so I guess I have no proof, H&S prevents non employees being in the workshop.

Im not saying that a partial change of fluid is a serious issue because if that amount of fluid was changed every two years then at least I am confident the moisture absorption in the old fluid would be microscopic (as the entire fluid would have been changed completely after 4 years and two fluid changes), Im just saying that £150 for a ten minute £10 worth of new fluid is highway robbery, very poor value and is just opportunistic profit generation based on putting the fear of brake failure into customers.

It is after all just a recommendation, but delivered in such a way as to have you believe you are taking a chance and risking your life by not heeding their recommendation.

 

[martin lyne]

I had always understood that an important reason for changing the brake fluid every two years was that any moisture in the fluid could damage the ABS unit which is very expensive to replace. Cost of £150 every two years looks good in comparison.

Having said that, I remember that at one time my local Land Rover garage used to do an analysis on the brake fluid in my Range Rover and only changed it if the moisture content justified it. Not sure that they still do this.

 

[kitchens]

The problem with the above is if you refuse to get the BF changed at the service interval and you want to extend the warranty as I plan to do on the Spyder it will be refused this amounts to blackmail IMO

 

[Glyn]

Martin, you've hit the nail on the head, and re-enforced the fear factor the dealers use to persuade you to obey there
recommendations, the ABS unit could be damaged, but that's on the assumption that there is a high enough level of
moisture in the fluid to cause damage - which there wouldn't be after just two years - or even 4 years, so, Its good
value to spend £150 now rather than fork out 2K for a new ABS pump unit.
The reason they don't test fluid anymore is because on results they wouldn't be able to justify a fluid change at two years.

 

[koevoet]

The alternative would be to ask a friendly local garage to do the brake fluid change, as long as it's carried out using the same fluids and any Porsche parts then there should be no warranty issues. But as I intend to get the service done (as much to have the stamps as anything) I am probably as well having all done at once. As I mentioned earlier the OPC in question has granted a PCGB discount, so it goes some way to mitigate the costs.

 

[uknick]

ORIGINAL: Glyn

I did watch this process and saw that only a few bleeds per calliper was done before they moved onto the next calliper, master cylinder was topped up after each calliper was done, The plastic container that held the old fluid didn't appear to have a great deal of fluid in it after the entire bleed and although I didn't get close up or have the opportunity to really see just how much fluid had been changed I do know that 4 top ups of the master cylinder wouldn't have purged the entire system so I guess I have no proof, H&S prevents non employees being in the workshop.

Im not saying that a partial change of fluid is a serious issue because if that amount of fluid was changed every two years then at least I am confident the moisture absorption in the old fluid would be microscopic (as the entire fluid would have been changed completely after 4 years and two fluid changes), Im just saying that £150 for a ten minute £10 worth of new fluid is highway robbery, very poor value and is just opportunistic profit generation based on putting the fear of brake failure into customers.

It is after all just a recommendation, but delivered in such a way as to have you believe you are taking a chance and risking your life by not heeding their recommendation.

Thanks for your answer Glyn.

I think the next time it is due to be done I'll use this information to negotiate a much lower labour rate. I don't mind paying a 30 minute rate for a 10 minute job, but 1 hour for a 10 minute job is taking the proverbial Michael.

Maybe they have a guilty conscience over this and that's why they cleaned my radiators for free this week when it was in for some minor warranty work and a winter check.

Or maybe not. []