Five years in a 981
Discussion
When I bought my 981 five years ago Pistonheads was full of talk of "chocolate engines" and "you'll definitely need to extend the warranty".
My car has been 100% trouble free including pass of it's 5-year MOT today. Maintenance costs to date? £1,390 - and that should see me through to the full service this time next year. Mileage is fairly low with other cars in the household.
£278 a year to look after one of these "unreliable Porsches" looks pretty darned good to me. It's a fantastic car.
My car has been 100% trouble free including pass of it's 5-year MOT today. Maintenance costs to date? £1,390 - and that should see me through to the full service this time next year. Mileage is fairly low with other cars in the household.
£278 a year to look after one of these "unreliable Porsches" looks pretty darned good to me. It's a fantastic car.
Have you done 10k or 1yr oil changes?
Just wondered, as my local indy reckons Porsche leave it until 20k/2yrs as they don't want the engines to last too long.
Mines 3 1/4 yrs old, 35k miles. I've taken the "safe" route of extending the warranty to 5 years but appreciate I'm now (mostly) in the clutches of my OPC for servicing. Still, that adds to the future value as well as peace of mind
I may use an indy for an interim oil change. Quoted £240.
Possibly brakes too, as the front discs look a little worn.
Just wondered, as my local indy reckons Porsche leave it until 20k/2yrs as they don't want the engines to last too long.
Mines 3 1/4 yrs old, 35k miles. I've taken the "safe" route of extending the warranty to 5 years but appreciate I'm now (mostly) in the clutches of my OPC for servicing. Still, that adds to the future value as well as peace of mind
I may use an indy for an interim oil change. Quoted £240.
Possibly brakes too, as the front discs look a little worn.
Koln-RS said:
What has your 'indy' been smoking?
Do agree that the 981 is probably the 'sweet spot' in the whole Porsche range, in terms of value, capability and practicality.
My OPC DP today brushed away my request for a 10k oil change quote, saying simply that it's not recommended.
A sceptic could say a new car sale is more profitable than a few extra oils changes, hence the turning away of "unnecessary" work in favour of more wear using old stinky black Mobil 1, and thus more sales of new cars to replace those with knackered engines?
With modern oils, modern engines and low mileage I think a one year oil change is a waste of money. Porsche now offer their extended warranty for up to 15 years and only expect 2 year service intervals to have been followed.
I'm keeping my money in my pocket and following the recommended interval.
I'm keeping my money in my pocket and following the recommended interval.
I'am not denying Porsche has made some big mistakes with engine design most recently with the GT3's overall though I kind of think they know what they're doing when it comes to making top of the line sports cars so if they say a two year service interval is OK you would like to think it's good to run for that amount of time.
Out of curiosity after a major service I sent a sample of my car's oil to be analyzed and was pleased to see everything was within Mobil 1 specs, one of the tests they carry out can be described as the goodness of the oil and there was still plenty left in the sample I sent.
By all means if a yearly oil change gives you peace of mind go for it, but if it's under warranty you're wasting your money.
Out of curiosity after a major service I sent a sample of my car's oil to be analyzed and was pleased to see everything was within Mobil 1 specs, one of the tests they carry out can be described as the goodness of the oil and there was still plenty left in the sample I sent.
By all means if a yearly oil change gives you peace of mind go for it, but if it's under warranty you're wasting your money.
Well, believing all that Porsche tells you of course is a risk in itself considering the history of cars from the 90s era.
But at least the 981 appears to be hanging in there with the mechanicals.
To ignore Hartech of course would be criminal concerning the advice that has been worked on with the Porsche engine rebuilds.
It still seems that some have not even considered the annual oil change as relevant to their cars, as Porsche still consider this an unnecessary step to protect their engines from damage.
People like me, with a 981 will use 5.40 oil, and complete a annual oil change as advised by Hartech because the lack of trust is just not there with a company that let to many people down in the past.
I for one, will not go near a car that has not had annual oil changes, because I trust Hartech that they have demonstrated so far with their rebuilds that what they suggest appears to be the right thing to do.
Why, for the sake of £60-70 a year would you not make the effort to protect your car a bit more.
There seems to be a plethora of people on here with no history of their previous car ownership advocating not to bother to even look to the Hartech website.
Of course, the 981 may just not need it, but can you take the risk....
With a £600 a year warrenty I suppose your not bothered.
Good luck to us all.
Gadgit
But at least the 981 appears to be hanging in there with the mechanicals.
To ignore Hartech of course would be criminal concerning the advice that has been worked on with the Porsche engine rebuilds.
It still seems that some have not even considered the annual oil change as relevant to their cars, as Porsche still consider this an unnecessary step to protect their engines from damage.
People like me, with a 981 will use 5.40 oil, and complete a annual oil change as advised by Hartech because the lack of trust is just not there with a company that let to many people down in the past.
I for one, will not go near a car that has not had annual oil changes, because I trust Hartech that they have demonstrated so far with their rebuilds that what they suggest appears to be the right thing to do.
Why, for the sake of £60-70 a year would you not make the effort to protect your car a bit more.
There seems to be a plethora of people on here with no history of their previous car ownership advocating not to bother to even look to the Hartech website.
Of course, the 981 may just not need it, but can you take the risk....
With a £600 a year warrenty I suppose your not bothered.
Good luck to us all.
Gadgit
DJMC said:
He thinks they want the engines to wear out so as to sell more new cars.
My OPC DP today brushed away my request for a 10k oil change quote, saying simply that it's not recommended.
A sceptic could say a new car sale is more profitable than a few extra oils changes, hence the turning away of "unnecessary" work in favour of more wear using old stinky black Mobil 1, and thus more sales of new cars to replace those with knackered engines?
You're joking, right!?My OPC DP today brushed away my request for a 10k oil change quote, saying simply that it's not recommended.
A sceptic could say a new car sale is more profitable than a few extra oils changes, hence the turning away of "unnecessary" work in favour of more wear using old stinky black Mobil 1, and thus more sales of new cars to replace those with knackered engines?
Very much dependent on usage.
A car that does a 3 mile urban crawl to work and back every day, would definitely benefit from an annual oil change, whereas a car such as the 150k mile Gen 1 997 GT3 that recently came on the market, that was doing circa 25k miles per year on French autoroutes, wouldn't.
Any car that sees regular track days would also benefit from more frequent oil changes.
Porsche's servicing regime is a broad brush that will suit most, but one size definitely doesn't fit all.
As Twinfan said, modern oils have massively improved and their tolerance to contamination, high engine temps etc, allows car manufacturers to quote longer service intervals without concerns.
But as another poster said, given the choice between two indentical cars, one that had had annual oil changes, and one that hadn't, I'd take the former EVERY time, merely because it indicates an increased level of mechanical sympathy/concern.
A car that does a 3 mile urban crawl to work and back every day, would definitely benefit from an annual oil change, whereas a car such as the 150k mile Gen 1 997 GT3 that recently came on the market, that was doing circa 25k miles per year on French autoroutes, wouldn't.
Any car that sees regular track days would also benefit from more frequent oil changes.
Porsche's servicing regime is a broad brush that will suit most, but one size definitely doesn't fit all.
As Twinfan said, modern oils have massively improved and their tolerance to contamination, high engine temps etc, allows car manufacturers to quote longer service intervals without concerns.
But as another poster said, given the choice between two indentical cars, one that had had annual oil changes, and one that hadn't, I'd take the former EVERY time, merely because it indicates an increased level of mechanical sympathy/concern.
ras62 said:
Interesting then that BMW have reduced their service intervals for 2014 and later cars from 2 years 15000miles to 1 year 10000 miles. I think before that the service indicator on many cars suggested over 20k miles between services so they have basically been cut in half.
I alluded to other issues BMW were starting to experience in the "Macan DPF" thread. My '63 plate 330D M Sport needed a walnut shell "decoke" at 35k miles (I bought it at 2 years old with less than 8k miles. My guess is it had been used for a short run to work every day, and more than likely run on cheap fuel too) The inlet ports were 50% obstructed, and the swirl flaps inoperative due to the high build up of gummy carbon deposits in the inlet manifold 
The only way to solve the issue was a new inlet manifold and 6 hours worth of walnut blasting .......
I'm wondering if BMW have changed the oil spec and reduced the service intervals to avoid future problems. What's clear is, once the deposits have formed, no amount of "spirited" driving will shift them, as my car was used hard from 8k miles to 35k miles and the problem only got worse. The bottom line is, far too many individuals buy modern diesels thinking they're a performance/economy panacea, when they're not because their motoring needs aren't suited to the modern diesels modus operandi.
Modern BMW service intervals are dictated by their 'Condition Based Servicing' system (mines just been reset at 20k miles/ 2 years).
Short runs will cause DPF issues. Not sure my BMW garage doing their normal servicing on a more frequent basis would help that? I mainly use my 330d for short runs, but I do make sure they are interspersed with longer high speed runs to burn as much muck as possible.
I only do 3k miles per year in my 981 (and I don't use it for short journeys) so an oil change every 2 years is perfectly fine in my book.
Short runs will cause DPF issues. Not sure my BMW garage doing their normal servicing on a more frequent basis would help that? I mainly use my 330d for short runs, but I do make sure they are interspersed with longer high speed runs to burn as much muck as possible.
I only do 3k miles per year in my 981 (and I don't use it for short journeys) so an oil change every 2 years is perfectly fine in my book.
gadgit said:
Well, believing all that Porsche tells you of course is a risk in itself considering the history of cars from the 90s era.
But at least the 981 appears to be hanging in there with the mechanicals.
To ignore Hartech of course would be criminal concerning the advice that has been worked on with the Porsche engine rebuilds.
It still seems that some have not even considered the annual oil change as relevant to their cars, as Porsche still consider this an unnecessary step to protect their engines from damage.
People like me, with a 981 will use 5.40 oil, and complete a annual oil change as advised by Hartech because the lack of trust is just not there with a company that let to many people down in the past.
I for one, will not go near a car that has not had annual oil changes, because I trust Hartech that they have demonstrated so far with their rebuilds that what they suggest appears to be the right thing to do.
Why, for the sake of £60-70 a year would you not make the effort to protect your car a bit more.
There seems to be a plethora of people on here with no history of their previous car ownership advocating not to bother to even look to the Hartech website.
Of course, the 981 may just not need it, but can you take the risk....
With a £600 a year warrenty I suppose your not bothered.
Good luck to us all.
Gadgit
10k oil change - £300 OPC quote today. £240 Indy quote last week.But at least the 981 appears to be hanging in there with the mechanicals.
To ignore Hartech of course would be criminal concerning the advice that has been worked on with the Porsche engine rebuilds.
It still seems that some have not even considered the annual oil change as relevant to their cars, as Porsche still consider this an unnecessary step to protect their engines from damage.
People like me, with a 981 will use 5.40 oil, and complete a annual oil change as advised by Hartech because the lack of trust is just not there with a company that let to many people down in the past.
I for one, will not go near a car that has not had annual oil changes, because I trust Hartech that they have demonstrated so far with their rebuilds that what they suggest appears to be the right thing to do.
Why, for the sake of £60-70 a year would you not make the effort to protect your car a bit more.
There seems to be a plethora of people on here with no history of their previous car ownership advocating not to bother to even look to the Hartech website.
Of course, the 981 may just not need it, but can you take the risk....
With a £600 a year warrenty I suppose your not bothered.
Good luck to us all.
Gadgit
I could do it myself, but I'm getting old and crawling under the car brandishing allen key and torque wrench no longer appeals.
Could you do mine too please?
A month ago my wife's 2016 BMW X1 2.0d threw an error message "reduced drivetrain power" and started stuttering.
BMW emergency services were here in 30 mins. Took the EGR valve out and cleaned it (replaced by dealer a week later for good measure). The mature technician, 17 years with BMW and prior with Porsche, Lamborghini, and Rolls Royce, asked "have you been using supermarket fuel?" "Yes." "Well, that's your problem."
Advised only use Shell, Texaco, BP, as they double refine their fuels whereas others add sulphur to boost the octane rating and this contributes to the carbon build up. Does that make any sense?
Anyhow, I believed him 100% and my wife has avoided the supermarkets ever since. I've always put Shell V-Power in my 981.
BMW emergency services were here in 30 mins. Took the EGR valve out and cleaned it (replaced by dealer a week later for good measure). The mature technician, 17 years with BMW and prior with Porsche, Lamborghini, and Rolls Royce, asked "have you been using supermarket fuel?" "Yes." "Well, that's your problem."
Advised only use Shell, Texaco, BP, as they double refine their fuels whereas others add sulphur to boost the octane rating and this contributes to the carbon build up. Does that make any sense?
Anyhow, I believed him 100% and my wife has avoided the supermarkets ever since. I've always put Shell V-Power in my 981.
A reasonable figure is the answer to that.
I have just had a rear right shock replaced on my car.
The job was around 2 hours and the labour was £125.
Porsche specialist in Peterborough TWG.
That was very reasonable....great value for the labour.
Great bunch of lads, so I am guessing an oil change would be about 30 mins.
Work that out for yourself plus the cost of the oil.......
DJMC....... Check out the website..... They serve Leicestershire, just give them a ring!
Not to far from you.
Gadgit.
I have just had a rear right shock replaced on my car.
The job was around 2 hours and the labour was £125.
Porsche specialist in Peterborough TWG.
That was very reasonable....great value for the labour.
Great bunch of lads, so I am guessing an oil change would be about 30 mins.
Work that out for yourself plus the cost of the oil.......
DJMC....... Check out the website..... They serve Leicestershire, just give them a ring!
Not to far from you.
Gadgit.
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