Photogirl

1 minute ago, ½cwt said:

If that is the professional view on the MOT tester, appeal to VOSA and request a retest (done by one of their expert testers at your cost and risk of failure on other items) I got a tester struck off and his employer lost their MOT station status using this method.

Interesting - thank you. The indi which now has Bambi said they would probably have failed her on the brake pipes, but not the other items. 

1 minute ago, greenman986s said:

ignore some of my comments then...but why does the ARB itself need replacing? Is it broken (ie an MoT issue)?

 

No, it's not a failure at present. They did not say it had to be replaced. I asked for the quote because it's got some corrosion and has been an advisory for a few years. I thought it would be convenient to get as much done as possible in one workshop visit.

1 minute ago, ½cwt said:

Includes the ARB and drop links from the way I read it.

Yes, it does. 

The quote was a shock - this is a popular and well thought of workshop. I'll be seeing them tomorrow to discuss (the Cayman is going there tomorrow for a major service which is no more expensive than any other indi, so I didn't expect such high prices for Bambi). That said, it was near enough the same at the other indi I asked (£1100 just to do the front to rear brake pipes). 

The MOT tester was my local garage who I've always gone to (mechanic is Porsche experienced). This indi said the tester had been nothing short of sadistic in failing me on the things noted. I am out of time for a retest so some of those jobs have to be done either way. I think most of the suspension points don't have to be done right now, though I will try to negotiate the parts as @½cwt advised.

I think most of the suspension things I could leave off the list for now, but I have to get all the brake pipes done and the PAS lines, as she failed the MOT on those and I can't drive her away. 

2 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

I'm guessing those are all using genuine Porsche parts...

Ask them to quote with the following OE quality (or actual supplier) Bilstein shocks (half Porsche price), TRW drop links (less than £30 each), Meyle or Spyder Performance coffin arms (a third Porsche's price), Sachs top mounts just for starters.  To give you an idea doing ALL my suspension including shocks (I went for Koni Special Active rather than Bilstein B4) and steering arms cost under £1400 in parts with my own labour, but an indy should do that much labour for around £1000.

6 BERU (OE supplier) coils are about £150, even with plugs that is expensive, on a ramp with the engine in place it would be 30-45 mins at most.so what's his labour rate???

And over a grand to do front to rear brake pipes that is insane.  I'd be interested what they are doing from some of the brake lines as either one or two of the genuine Porsche ones are no longer available, the one over the top of the gearbox to the right rear is one.

Water pump should cost much the same engine in or out as it is accessed through the rear bulkhead and/or from below so would not need the top removing.

Leave the IMSB alone!

Thank you so much for that.

Their quote for the front to rear brake pipes is in line with the quote I got from another local indie last year - I must admit I was shocked by it. 

This workshop automatically uses genuine Porsche parts wherever possible. Their focus is very much on maintaining original build, I would say a very traditional indi. I believe their labour rate is about £80 an hour. I will speak to them about using the parts you've mentioned. 

Out of interest would you mind expanding on why you would recommend leaving the IMS alone?

3 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

IMS irrelevant on a 1998 2.5.

Yes, I was thinking she likely has the dual row bearing, so low risk of failure. But there is all the talk of putting the LN bearing in pre-emptively when the clutch is done, just in case. So I'm not sure where to go on this one, it seems to create some arguments. I have heard of one or two 2.5 models suffering IMS failure. 

2 minutes ago, greenman986s said:

Anti roll bar bushes are c£40 per pair - see Buy Porsche Boxster 986/987/981 (1997-2016) Boxster S 986 3.2L 2003-04 Anti Roll Bar Bushes | Design 911

No way should be it £900 labour for those...

They quoted £336 to replace the front anti roll bar links. Also quoted £659 to replace rear anti roll bar, bushes and links.

Had a couple of coffin arms done on the Cayman last year at a different indi, which cost around £600 as I recall.

Yes, this is a lot of money. I should say that in all the years I've owned Bambi, I've had no bills at all save for tyres, a MAF, a fairly cheap purge valve, and a battery. If I'd done these bits gradually this list might not seem so painful.

I've got to go ahead with the break pipes and PAS lines as she failed the MOT on those, so I can't take her elsewhere. It's engine out for the rear break pipes. I'm thinking I may as well just get everything done given the engine has to come out anyway so at least that would claw back some money vs having those bits done separately later on.

There is also labour time built in to some of the quote for removal and refit of the Zeintop. Another reason to try and get as much done in one go  😆

If I did get the clutch done whilst they've got the engine out, my next thought is whether to do the IMS at the same time as well. 

I had a separate quote from another local indi to just do the front to rear brake pipes (does not need engine removal, I think) which was £1156 ex VAT.

Not sure these quotes would be much cheaper elsewhere?

Do you think it's worth doing the clutch and water pump given it will be a bit cheaper as the engine is already out? She's on the original clutch and pump.

Just had a quote from my local (well regarded) indi for some age related work on Bambi (1998 2.5). I thought the figures might be of interest, feel free to comment. They have the car as a service is being done and MOT points (brake pipes and PAS line), the other bits were advisories but some do need doing:

6 minutes ago, Nobbie said:

I suspect a lot depends on how you drive your car. I thrash mine at high revs a lot, so suspect this shortens the life. 

In that case my water pump will probably last forever  😂

11 minutes ago, bally4563 said:

Meyle HD if you can’t get a Pierburg at the right price, either or I fitted water pumps to all in my ownership, regardless of mileage, just preventative maintenance, because they tend to go with little warning.

Thanks - what do you think the life expectancy might be? 

@TROOPER88 is there a particular reason why you favour the Meyle kit over the Pierberg pump?

It's the Pierberg one I was thinking of getting, and the standard thermostat. The major service and the other bits on my list will come to quite a lot so I might wait for a few months and do the water pump separately.

I've always assumed a garage won't want customers buying their own parts, so it's nice that you can do that with the garage you mentioned. Eastbourne is probably a bit far, but good to know about HPC nonetheless. 

I seem to remember an indie mentioning it would be at least £500 to do the water pump, hence thinking I might stave it off as long as possible! 

Thank you for the replies, that's very helpful. I'm due a major service and I'm looking into a few extras which probably need doing (such as the auxilliary belt, spark plugs, a/o separator) and I saw the water pump being recommended for change after 8 years (I think). However there don't appear to be any noises or leaks so I'm considering leaving it until it's necessary. Good to know I won't have to lift my Zeintop to get it done - whenever a workshop re-fits it they often end up leaving me with some expensive damage.

I'd like to ask the OP if he's changing his water pump because it's become faulty, or if this is something which is done pre-emptively every 8 years or so?

I've owned my 986 for 15 years with no issues on that front, but I don't have any detailed records from the previous owner and I'm guessing I'm on my original pump. I'm thinking if it's not problematic to leave it alone, but would appreciate an opinion on that.

Can this all be done from under the car or is top access also required (always a painful question from a Zeintop owner).

I hadn't even considered removal of the top - yikes.

The indi which quoted have never seen the car so they don't know about the top.  Luckily it's not madly urgent, but might fail the MOT next year on the corrosion.

Edit: I wonder if they're quoting for original Porsche pipes, hence them mentioning the gearbox removal. If Porsche pipes are prone to corroding then I definitely don't want them!

Just had the quote through from a local Porsche indi (considered to be one of the affordable ones):

"The prices for brake pipe replacement are:

• Front to rear, and both rear body brake pipes - £200.57+VAT
• 1 litre of brake fluid £19+VAT
• Labour to remove gearbox, and replace rear body and front to rear brake pipes, and bleed braking system with fresh fluid - £760+VAT
• Total including VAT - £1175.48

Please be aware there may be some additional parts required, exhaust clamps and parts like that."

Following my MOT this morning (and a repeated advisory on the brake pipes) my local garage quoted £550+VAT to do the rear, and front to back.  This is not a Porsche indi, but a good local garage I know well where both owners have Porsches and have done lots of them. They are expensive though. I'm in the process of getting a quote from a Porsche indi to compare.

It's interesting to see how favour is returning to the original lights, and rightly so.

When I got Bambi all those years ago, no matter which headlight bulbs I tried it was like holding a candle in front of me in the dark. I knew I'd have to fit an HID kit. I didn't want to spoil my original lights (even though I'd only be attacking the innards making a cut-out) so I bought whole new (plain) lights for the HIDs, and the originals I've kept in perfect condition and have stowed them safely. I swap them in and out each year.

If I could find headlight bulbs which I could actually see with and hence not be so reliant on my full HID setup, I'd put the original lights back in more often. 

Once you've fixed your aircon I'd recommend you fit some grilles (I got mine from Zunsport). They work really well in protecting you from damage, and they don't noticeably impede air flow. I have them on both my cars and wouldn't be without them.

37 minutes ago, jonogt6 said:

took it for a 50 mile high rev blast.😀

A few years ago my emissions were close to the mark and my mechanic said it was my fault for not driving the car much, which is fair enough. Before each test I now take her for a lively 20 mile drive and I get very clean emission readings. 

Ah - didn't know about the key rings, they look nice. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what people do with their badges - might be fun to call in and ask Porsche next time we're passing.