Servicing recommendations & costs
- Thread starter JM1962
- Start date
Big Dave
New member
Jim.
Not wanting to "rain on Hartechs" parade, but i think youl find this chap a tad nearer to you.
http://www.mbporsche-engineering.co.uk/
Ive had my car there a few times and can recomend him highly....As can a few other "local" 968 folk....
Not wanting to "rain on Hartechs" parade, but i think youl find this chap a tad nearer to you.
http://www.mbporsche-engineering.co.uk/
Ive had my car there a few times and can recomend him highly....As can a few other "local" 968 folk....
Chrishazle
Active member
Belts after 3 1/2 years and 10k miles? AFAIK recommended interval for belts is 6 years/60k miles whichever comes first, although naughty me managed to forget it until 10 1/2 years/24k miles! I'd think you can save yourself a bunch of money by leaving the belts another couple of years and just having a low mileage service - which at my local indie is £200!
Dave, I had my 964 to Mike Bainbridge earlier this year for an oil service, so I have asked him for a quote for the 968. For some reason best known to them, Hartech wouldn't do an oil service on my 964 and wanted to do a major service, something to do with the car not having been to them before.
Chris, thanks for pointing that out, for some reason I thought belts were 36k or 3 years. Sounds like it could be a bit cheaper than I thought.
Chris, thanks for pointing that out, for some reason I thought belts were 36k or 3 years. Sounds like it could be a bit cheaper than I thought.
Big Dave
New member
Personally i wouldnt go past 4 years with the belts , regardless of milage, unless youve done LOTS of miles....
So if youve been to MB,s place youl know how he operates...[
][][]
Hartech , whilst good , do have the policy , if they aint seen the car before need a major service / check over.
I suspect it covers them, as there are "some" cowboys out there.
Anyway, you do get a FULL itemised report, which can be good at sale time.
So if youve been to MB,s place youl know how he operates...[
][][]Hartech , whilst good , do have the policy , if they aint seen the car before need a major service / check over.
I suspect it covers them, as there are "some" cowboys out there.
Anyway, you do get a FULL itemised report, which can be good at sale time.
Chrishazle
Active member
There's been a lot of discussion in the past, here and on Porsche968UK forum, about recommended belt change timing. For 968's, check with Mr968 on here, Stu2000 on Porsche968UK forum (same bloke, he runs Porsche968UK forum) for definitive answer. I think it's 4 years/48k miles for 944's but 6 years/60k miles for 968's. Mind you, there are owners who have the opinion that they'd rather change the belts more frequently - and I guess a premature belt failure would colour your opinion!
FWIW, my 968 (April 1994) had her first belt change at exactly 6 years old (18 months after I bought her), 37926 miles, and had full OPC maintenance history to that time. Second belt change was 10.25 years later, at 61214 miles, with mixed OPC and specialist maintenance in between the 2 changes. Admittedly I do low mileage, the car is not thrashed and has never been tracked.
FWIW, my 968 (April 1994) had her first belt change at exactly 6 years old (18 months after I bought her), 37926 miles, and had full OPC maintenance history to that time. Second belt change was 10.25 years later, at 61214 miles, with mixed OPC and specialist maintenance in between the 2 changes. Admittedly I do low mileage, the car is not thrashed and has never been tracked.
Due to my low mileage maybe I'll split the difference and get the belts done at 5 years. I will see what sort of quote MB comes back with and then decide. I am capable of doing it all myself, but then you don't get the stamp in the book and less at sale time. My 944 has no service history, which is great because I do everything myself without worrying about service record, I just accept that if I sell it I'll get less for it, but then you don't get much for an early lux anyway.
Big Dave
New member
Chris.
I dont think there is a "definative" answer.
If you stick to Porsche recomendations, you could end up with bent valves.
Im sticking with 4 years.
Best be on the safe side....
After all a belt change doesnt cost that much....
I actually think the cam chain replacement is more critical than belts anyway...
I dont think there is a "definative" answer.
If you stick to Porsche recomendations, you could end up with bent valves.
Im sticking with 4 years.
Best be on the safe side....
After all a belt change doesnt cost that much....
I actually think the cam chain replacement is more critical than belts anyway...
For several technical reasons mentioned before by me - (covering water pumps reliability, worn belt drive gears, stretched belts and fully extended hydraulic tensioners becoming fully extended prematurely), I think it best to check it all out at lower mileages and periods as the age and mileage increases.
This is partly why we don't accept old cars we have not seen before without the opportunity to check them over fully - but it is not to cover our goes wrong.Ar***s but to make sure we are looking after what we hope will become a long term customer. We are too thorough and conscientious to just change oil in a car we know will probably have faults that may well cause major problems shortly afterwards.
We also have to protect our employees (who road test all cars in for services and repairs before and afterwards) - having often found things like bulging or dangerously rusty brake or fuel pipes, very lose steering joints, tyre bulges, low coolant etc etc.
We feel that we offer a long term relationship in which we back up our workmanship and so it makes sense to start out as we mean to go on and check everything thoroughly. We do discount many jobs that may need doing (as a result of commonality) and of course offer to look after the car on our Lifetime Maintenance Plan for the rest of its life - for a very modest fee (that recently saw on owner with a 944 S2 be on our scheme for 10 years and the total cost being around £700/year for the cover, free servicing, Mot's and parts - and all that time he was covered for free labour if his engine or gearbox failed or needed repairs (which obviously it didn't). This is the most common outcome for customers on the Plan - low cost reliable motoring for many years with the peace of mind that the people looking after the car can only benefit if it never or rarely goes wrong.
I don't think what we offer is so suitable for someone who can do some jobs themselves or likes to shop around for free offers or the cheapest at the time (without being able to measure the quality or long term costs).
We obviously lose some business as a result of this policy - but make up for it with long term relationships with the other customers who appreciate what we provide and that is what they were looking for.
Baz
This is partly why we don't accept old cars we have not seen before without the opportunity to check them over fully - but it is not to cover our goes wrong.Ar***s but to make sure we are looking after what we hope will become a long term customer. We are too thorough and conscientious to just change oil in a car we know will probably have faults that may well cause major problems shortly afterwards.
We also have to protect our employees (who road test all cars in for services and repairs before and afterwards) - having often found things like bulging or dangerously rusty brake or fuel pipes, very lose steering joints, tyre bulges, low coolant etc etc.
We feel that we offer a long term relationship in which we back up our workmanship and so it makes sense to start out as we mean to go on and check everything thoroughly. We do discount many jobs that may need doing (as a result of commonality) and of course offer to look after the car on our Lifetime Maintenance Plan for the rest of its life - for a very modest fee (that recently saw on owner with a 944 S2 be on our scheme for 10 years and the total cost being around £700/year for the cover, free servicing, Mot's and parts - and all that time he was covered for free labour if his engine or gearbox failed or needed repairs (which obviously it didn't). This is the most common outcome for customers on the Plan - low cost reliable motoring for many years with the peace of mind that the people looking after the car can only benefit if it never or rarely goes wrong.
I don't think what we offer is so suitable for someone who can do some jobs themselves or likes to shop around for free offers or the cheapest at the time (without being able to measure the quality or long term costs).
We obviously lose some business as a result of this policy - but make up for it with long term relationships with the other customers who appreciate what we provide and that is what they were looking for.
Baz
Chrishazle
Active member
Dave, I think I first got the 6 year thing from OPC Tonbridge (where I bought my 968). Second time it went for annual service, after 18 months ownership, I'm pretty sure they told me the belts and rollers should be done at 6 years/60k miles whichever comes first.
I guess a lot of it is down to how you use the car. I'm pretty gentle with mine most of the time (SWMBO in passenger seat, need I say more??!!), but I know others use the cars more enthusiastically.
As for the cost - my first low mileage service at OPC Tonbridge, after 6 months ownership and about 4k miles, was under £200. 12 months and 7k miles later, 12k mile service, belts etc - close to £1k! Having the belts done recently by a local indie, with 24k service, £950 - of which the 24k service was 260+VAT, so the belts are not cheap to replace!
I guess a lot of it is down to how you use the car. I'm pretty gentle with mine most of the time (SWMBO in passenger seat, need I say more??!!), but I know others use the cars more enthusiastically.
As for the cost - my first low mileage service at OPC Tonbridge, after 6 months ownership and about 4k miles, was under £200. 12 months and 7k miles later, 12k mile service, belts etc - close to £1k! Having the belts done recently by a local indie, with 24k service, £950 - of which the 24k service was 260+VAT, so the belts are not cheap to replace!
just to respond to that last post by way of comparison - during our major service we remove and replace belts anyway so the additional cost is only the basic cost of the belts (if needed) and any other parts required. This is how and why our methods usually actually save the customer money in the longer term and improve reliability.
Baz
Baz
Big Dave
New member
Hi Barry
Hows things.?
Like ive always said, ive nothing but praise for you chaps.
You chaps are THE 968 guru,s...
After all ive had a "few" of my cars over to you in the past.
In recent years ive learnt a whole lot about the ins and outs of these cars + now do most of my own servicing.So thats poss why you have had my most recent car,,s.
Im guessing you see more of the later cars nowadays , 996,s boxsters etc etc
But youl always have the depth of knowledge around the 944/968 series of cars...
Keep up the good work. And keep taking the tablets....[][][][]
PS , done any more about the Boxster "racing" idea.??
Hows things.?
Like ive always said, ive nothing but praise for you chaps.
You chaps are THE 968 guru,s...
After all ive had a "few" of my cars over to you in the past.
In recent years ive learnt a whole lot about the ins and outs of these cars + now do most of my own servicing.So thats poss why you have had my most recent car,,s.
Im guessing you see more of the later cars nowadays , 996,s boxsters etc etc
But youl always have the depth of knowledge around the 944/968 series of cars...
Keep up the good work. And keep taking the tablets....[
][][][]PS , done any more about the Boxster "racing" idea.??
Hi Dave, nice to hear from you again.
We have been involved in the Boxster racing series this year in a small way and are planning something bigger next year - but how far we go depends on suitable drivers etc.
We have made a proper sump extension (the other one on the market doesn't do what I wanted it to do) and would probably like to provide an engine although a whole car is not out of the question.
Having been involved in motorcycle racing at GP level - I don't want to just take part and would need some very capable driver availability to go the whole hog and also we don't have enough experience yet to run a race team - only as support.
Our 3 litre turbo has just had a strip and rebuild and everything was OK - but fitted a second oil cooler (so it could be tracked safely) and head sealing rings (in case anyone wanted to raise the boost above std).
However the next engine is being built soon aiming for 500 bhp minimum - special pistons are at work now etc - so that will also be on the card for next year.
I think we have become the M96/97 engine experts now - rebuilding at any one time about 10 (1st one engine coming out, next one stripped cleaned and inspected, third and 4th probably awaiting customer decisions, 6th and 7th being prepared for rebuild (machined etc)
8th and 9th going back in and 10th being road tested - finishing about 4/week although some are just engines from other specialists.
We have a newer 3 axis digital read out mill and are manufacturing several parts to assist in this project and importing special parts being made outside as well.
There are 11 of us now so its all pretty hectic - but at least not boring.
It would be nice to run a race team from here when I have completely retired (65 this year).
Take care and see you soon.
Baz
We have been involved in the Boxster racing series this year in a small way and are planning something bigger next year - but how far we go depends on suitable drivers etc.
We have made a proper sump extension (the other one on the market doesn't do what I wanted it to do) and would probably like to provide an engine although a whole car is not out of the question.
Having been involved in motorcycle racing at GP level - I don't want to just take part and would need some very capable driver availability to go the whole hog and also we don't have enough experience yet to run a race team - only as support.
Our 3 litre turbo has just had a strip and rebuild and everything was OK - but fitted a second oil cooler (so it could be tracked safely) and head sealing rings (in case anyone wanted to raise the boost above std).
However the next engine is being built soon aiming for 500 bhp minimum - special pistons are at work now etc - so that will also be on the card for next year.
I think we have become the M96/97 engine experts now - rebuilding at any one time about 10 (1st one engine coming out, next one stripped cleaned and inspected, third and 4th probably awaiting customer decisions, 6th and 7th being prepared for rebuild (machined etc)
8th and 9th going back in and 10th being road tested - finishing about 4/week although some are just engines from other specialists.
We have a newer 3 axis digital read out mill and are manufacturing several parts to assist in this project and importing special parts being made outside as well.
There are 11 of us now so its all pretty hectic - but at least not boring.
It would be nice to run a race team from here when I have completely retired (65 this year).
Take care and see you soon.
Baz
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