I am trying to find an independent Porsche garage in my area (zip code 94404). I don’t think that $485 is reasonable. Can anyone help me?
Not sure what you are talking about with the $485. you did not say what it was for.
As far as finding a reliable shop. your best bet is to go online and find a Porsche car club in your area and get InTouch with them. they will probably know the best shops in your area.
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To do what ? That might be a fair charge but I din’t know since you did not even say what it was for . You have a Porsche so it will cost a lot for anything to be done to it. just put Porsche repair in Google for your area then check reviews.
I was in a hurry and left out an important part of my question.
The $485 is for an oil and filter change – my car uses 9 quarts of Mobil 1 – and to reset the “Service Required” warning light.
Ed Weiss
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You should never put your name and phone number on an open forum . Click on the slanted pencil looking thing and you can edit that out .
I presume you mean the shop labor rate is $485 per hour. Yikes! That does seem pretty expensive, even for the San Francisco peninsula. Besides WW’s excellent idea above, if you know anybody owning a Porsche, friends, neighbors, relatives etc, ask them who they use. Be sure to tell the shop owner the name of their customer that recommended the shop to you.
One of my neighbors owned 2 identical 911 styles, purchased new. To address the high hour fees presumably, he set up his garage with a small hydraulic lift and did most of the repairs & maintenance himself. Nearly every time I walked by, he was under one of the Porsches. Another neighbor has a Boxster that doesn’t seem to require nearly the same amount of attention.
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The labor guide shows 1.0 hour labor for oil and filter change on that vehicle. Additional labor may be necessary for other maintenance procedures.
The average cost for a Porsche Panamera Oil Change is between $452 and $482 . Labor costs are estimated between $70 and $88 while parts are priced between $382 and $394.
Sorry to say but you bought a Porsche, if you wanted a cheap vehicle to service I recommend a Corolla…
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What did you expect from a $100,000 + car? $40 oil changes? Wait until it needs brakes or tires!!
Well, you bought a Por$che, you are now facing Por$che price$ for $ervice.
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Friend has a Macan, his routine maintenance costs are HIGH. But go to google/yelp, search for Porsche shops near you, call and find out what they charge for that maintenance interval. It may include other inspections, etc.
Syn oil change? $200? Still too high.
The manufactures recommended oil for my car is Pennzoil ultra platinum 0w40.
it takes 7 quarts. A quart is anywhere from $13-15 a quart. plus, about $15 for a oil filter. so, I can see a dealer charging $200.
I bought 3 cases of oil because I hear sometimes it is hard to find. when I ordered them O’Rielly’s was the only one I could get it from at that time.
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@Nevada_545 says above there’s one hour labor for oil & filter change. Do Porsche mechanics really only charge $80 per hour for labor? If so, that’s a pretty good bargain. I wonder if those numbers have been switched, it is actually $80 for parts, and $400 for the labor? In any event, seems like OP’s P & L fee for an oil change job is about what’s expected.
The oil is the special-grade synthetic, pricey, at $15 a quart x 9 quarts + $15 filter you’re at $150, plus dealer markup, plus labor, plus the inspections likely recommended with each change.
No surprise on the cost, to me.
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It takes me about an hour as well, for either my Ford truck or my Corolla. But I do more than just change the oil and filter. First I idle the engine for a few minutes to warm the oil up, then while the oil drains I check & top off (if necessary) the other fluid levels, lube the hood and door hinges and latches, vacuum accumulated debris from the interior, engine compartment, and the hvac inlet-air screens, and clean windows inside & out. Hopefully the Porsche mechanics do all that for their customers as well. If so, $400-$500 for an oil change seems reasonable.
You can get a quote from Carrera Motors in San Mateo for starters, found a link to a few others. I know a couple great options in my city for Porsche and other German makes but you’d probably want to talk to a couple places to see how they compare.
Porsche Repair Shop in San Mateo, CA | Porsche Specialists (pcarwise.com)
Interestingly, the going rate for a conventional oil change on a typical car is now about $80, and the going rate for a synthetic oil change is now about $100. The days of the $39 or $49 oil change are over…unless of course if you DIY.
And at DIY prices, I can get a 5 qt. bottle of conventional 5W30 oil for about $20, or I can get a 5qt. bottle of Dexos-compliant 5W30 synthetic oil for about $25. A brand-name oil filter, such as Wix or AC Delco or the official Toyota filter is about $12.
You are correct that people frequently buy high-performance or luxury vehicles, especially once they have depreciated, and they fail to plan for the maintenance and repair costs. People often make the mistake of thinking that the maintenance and repair costs on a 10-year old luxury car which costs $12k today will be similar to the maintenance and repair costs on a $12k used Corolla or Camry…even though the luxury car might have cost $80k or more when it was new. Of course, these “baller on a budget” people end up running the car into the ground because they cannot afford to properly maintain it.
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Nice car, I like it a lot. You have two things working against you. First the Panamera is an expensive car. Many years ago I owned a Porsche 914 2L and had maintenance done at the dealership I bought the car from. All work was very expensive, even though it was a bargain Porsche. While in line I talked to the other customers and they all agreed that shop prices were steep. The other thing is location. I’m sure you’ve noticed that your area has a very high cost of living. Mechanics have to live near you and need a living wage. It doesn’t hurt to look, but I doubt that you will find substantially lower costs unless you cross one of the bridges to the East Bay Area and even then it will still be expensive.
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Has the OP joined any of the online forums dedicated to his make and model?
That type of forum would be a good place to seek advice regarding an independent Porsche specialist.
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I signed into Consumer Reports to check something else and came across a repair cost estimator. I plugged in your car and got a cost estimate for an oil and filter change. The prices run from $318 - $359 in your zip code, $114 - $146 for labor and $204 - $124 for materials. They also list they also have a list of 37 nearby shops. The closest ones are Boxer Specialist, Near Gear Bimmer Motors, A+ Japanese Auto Repairs, and Max Motors, all within 5 miles of 94404. CR doesn’t rate these shops or provide individual costs, but I assume that the cost estimates they provide come from some or all of the 37 in the list.
Edit: I looked at the estimates again and CR uses Repair Pal. You can just go to the Repair Pal URL for the same information.
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