996 with low mileage (garage in the Northeast area)

[The Hoth]

My 2003 996 C2 has relatively low mileage (25K). It is a summer car, always garaged, never raced or even autocross.

Every 5000 miles, we give it an oil change and that's about it. RMS was replaced under warranty.

So far so good.

I saw it somewhere, every 4 years the car needs a major service and every 6 years spark plugs needed to be replaced. Every two years, I suppose to flush the brake fuild.

I know, the car is 6 years old now, but the mileage is so low. Can I get away without doing all these?

My friend and I started flushing the brake fuild but discoverd the fuild was so clear and clean (bright yellow) and stopped half way through it and top it off.

I always check my message screen. I have no "bad" messages, can I assume, the car is in good shape?

Edited June 26, 2009 by The Hoth

[larez2]

Those items are just preventative maintenance; some people may try to sell you on them, but it's not a required IMO. As long as you inspect those items regularly you should be ok. If you see any contamination in the brake fluid, flush it right away and make sure the brake system is all good. With that in mind, I baby my 911 and all the preventative stuff gets done on schedule no matter what. Sure the brake fluid coming out looks brand new when I bleed it, but I do it anyways. The plugs are pretty easy to change except 1 of them. The last time I did it they were in such good shape I hung on to a few as spares just in case... again just preventative maint. and my car defintely could have gone longer without changing them.

But just to prove a point on the other end of the spectrum, I picked up a beat to heck 944 for LeMons that sat for 9 years in a salvage yard. Got it started and drove it, and have autocrossed it a bunch of times too. The brake system has been working great on 9 years+ old brake fluid and spark plugs are fine too; though I am going to flush the brake system one of these days.

[BruceP]

Brake fluid changes aren't mileage sensitive, they're time sensitive. Contamination is less of an issue than moisture is. Brake fluid is hydrophilic and can accumulate water over time even just sitting there. In my experience, even people who think their brakes are "fine" after years with the same fluid can be surprised at the improvement with a flush and fill. And in the meantime, you're keeping H2O and the potential for corrosion out of the braking system. Me, I change it every two years, regardless of use.

I agree with larez2. Lots of preventative maintenance is the way to make these cars last, even with low mileage. IMHO, that includes oil changes. You have to bear in mind that Porsche's intervals represent the least frequent oil changes they can get away with. The reason is that German car manufacturers pay an environmental tax per car based partly on its petroleum consumption over its full expected service life. The less often oil 'must' be changed, the less they have to pay. The fact is that even at your low mileage, changing oil twice a year is going to improve the performance and durability of that engine - including the dreaded IMS bits - dramatically.

[The Hoth]

Thanks guys!

I think my brake fuild is ok for at leaset another year. I will definitely change the oil before putting it away for the winter.

Spark plugs are mileage sensitive, right? I think mine are still good til like 60k miles then.

I may replace the cabin filter though.

Oh, is it anything I need to grease it up? I'd imagine whatever grease they put on the car 6 years ago is all dry up now.