997TT Large Service how many man hours?

[Oz83]

Morning!

I recently had a service done on my 997.1TT manual at an indy. First time I've used an indy.
It was a standard large service, all fluids including gearbox and diff oils, drivebelt change and fuel filter. Didn't need spark plugs this time.

I dropped the car off at 7:45, borrowed their courtesy car and went into town, then they called at 12:00 to say the car was ready. Does 4 hours labour sound about right for this amount of work?

When I got home I went to wash the car and noticed that the wheels hadn't been removed (no fingerprints or smudges in old dust). Ok so they can bleed the brakes through the wheels, but then similarly there were no marks on the callipers. The bleed nipple caps were super hard to remove and dry as a bone inside, not a trace of fluid. Surely that's not right?

It starts to put doubts in your head. Do the brakes feel any different? Does the gearbox feel any different with new oil? etc.

What would you do in my situation?

Thanks

[Orangecurry]

What would I do? Service the car myself. Then you know everything has been done properly.

But you may be worried about the 'value' of the car, and need stamps in a book? More info required

Also did you agree with the Indy that the service includes brake fluid flush?

[BERGS2]

How much £££ was it out of interest?

(I only ask as i picked up my 997 TT yesterday

[Fnumber1user]

What does your invoice from them state? Was it check additional fluids or change? Nothing wrong with giving them a call and asking for details/reassurance. 4 hours could be 1 person on the job or 2 people on the job etc, no real way of quantifying it without asking, but doesn't sound an unreasonable book time.

[ATM]

I thought brake fluid change was an additional menu item. Therefore if you dont ask for it then it is not done. I dont think a service includes brake fluid change.

[Oz83]

Thanks for the replies.

The previous owner didn't do many miles and it hadn't been serviced in 2 years, so I wanted to make sure everything was in good order and build a regular service history from here on out. There's a stamp in the book but safety and peace of mind are my main concerns. I don't have a ramp at home, I'm busy and I'd rather trust an expert to do the work. The indy is very reputable.

Brake fluid change/flush was requested (pretty sure it's a 2 year interval) and they confirmed they did it. It's on the invoice as an individual item 'standard brake fluid change'. It's just strange to me that there was no evidence of it, or any excess fluid in the bleed nipples/caps. I even poked a cocktail stick down the nipple and it came out totally dry.

I'm in Sweden so prices won't be relevant, but it was around £1100.

Edited by Oz83 on Thursday 15th June 10:39

Edited by Oz83 on Thursday 15th June 10:40

[Orangecurry]

Oz83 said:

It starts to put doubts in your head. Do the brakes feel any different? Does the gearbox feel any different with new oil? etc.

What would you do in my situation?

As suggested above, in your situation I'd ring them and talk to them.

Otherwise statement A does not match statement B...

Oz83 said:

......I'd rather trust an expert to do the work. The indy is very reputable.

[Oz83]

Orangecurry said:

That's a fair comment.

They are reputable but it's the first time I have used them.
I'll call them today and see what they say.

Cheers

[IMI A]

At that price I’d expect spark plugs should have been changed? A similar service at indies here in UK like Porsche Torque or 9e about the same price when you include taxes. Quite a bit to do on a major service. I’m surprised it’s taken so little time.

Spark Plug change every 4 years or 40000 miles

• Fault code analysis

• Replacement of pollen filter

• Replacement of oil filter and engine oil

• Inspection of: vehicle underside and engine compartment, coolant hoses, coolant (level and antifreeze check), radiator, air intake, brake system, brake hoses and lines, drive shafts, tyres, locks and latches, electrical equipment, horn, windscreen wiper washing system, power steering and fluid level check and lighting system (including headlights and indicators)

• Replacement of air cleaner element

• Check condition, and adjust if required: fuel system, parking brake, clutch, steering gear, tie rod ends, axle joints, running gear, exhaust system, suspension, seat belts, throttle actuation and Polyrib belt

• Final test drive to check all major safety, comfort and mechanical systems for effective operation followed by final post-drive fluid level check

[LennyM1984]

IMI A said:

I’m surprised it’s taken so little time.

In fairness to them, I think I could do all of the above in 4 hours on my driveway. The oil and filter is a 10 minute job on a ramp (you are literally unscrewing and screwing back on 2 things) and whilst the oil is draining they can do the plugs, pollen filter etc. The pollen filter (air cleaner element) is less than 5 minutes, plugs are a bit tricky to access and so maybe an hour or so (it would take me about 1.5-2 hours doing it on my back on the drive lifting one side at a time). Bleeding the brakes/replacing the fluid would probably take me ~45 minutes using a pressure bleeder and doing both nipples per caliper.

The bit which I find hard to believe is that they have changed the brake fluid without any signs of the fluid being changed. Even if you clean up after yourself, you can always see a bit of dampness or a spill from where the nipples have been released. I occasionally do my race car brakes with the wheels on and even then, there will be finger prints/smudges on the wheels from when I have been faffing around with a spanner and a piece of tube.

[Orangecurry]

One of the (many) reasons why I do my own servicing is that there are many (wrong) ways to shorten the time taken.

So for example the two bleed nipples - rumour was that the OPC technician is always under time pressure and would only bleed from one nipple per caliper.

OP if you checked the outer bleed nipple through the wheel on your driveway, if the brakes were bled, perhaps they only did the inner ones if easier to access if the car was in the air on the ramp?

But this is all conjecture and assumption.... and at the end of the day as you said, it all comes down to trust. And that's not even just the Indy; it's the actual mechanic who did the work.

[GTRene]

Orangecurry said:

What would I do? Service the car myself. Then you know everything has been done properly.

But you may be worried about the 'value' of the car, and need stamps in a book? More info required

Also did you agree with the Indy that the service includes brake fluid flush?

This.

A lot of garages can not be fully trusted sadly.

if its not broken or difficult to check, they can get away with a lot.