Changed my air filters today

[Bill in Bama]

This is not the worst job ever but still pretty involved for just replacing air filters. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing how, and I performed the feat on my 981 a few years back. Interestingly the RH panel was missing all the rubber "trim panel grommets" that sometimes go missing. I surmise when the dealer replaced my engine they were lost and no replacements were readily available so the tech just didn't bother. The grommet has been superceded by a different part anyway, but I don't have any so I'll just install the panel as is. I had some silicone grease laying around from my Scuba days that worked fine to seal the beads. Car has about 7000 miles, 1 1//2 years old. Not terribly dirty but I wasn't going to put the old ones back after all the trouble it is to R&R.

[xcursion]

Amazed how the dealer missed to put the grommets back...good thing you did this change and caught it. Looks like changing anything off this car is now way more complicated due to this engine location.

[Tom]

Amazed how the dealer missed to put the grommets back...good thing you did this change and caught it. Looks like changing anything off this car is now way more complicated due to this engine location.

Our local Subaru dealer wanted $450 to change the serpentine belt in my wife's Outback. This dealer has done 100% of the servicing on this car since it was new, but I just couldn't swallow $450 for a fan belt. I picked up the belt at the parts counter ($40) and changed it myself in --at most-- 10 minutes. Bad enough that the dealer was trying to charge us like $2,500 and hour, effectively, but I discovered in the process that half the plastic rivets holding the engine covers in place were long gone.

[Bill in Bama]

That sort of thing goes on all the time, techs know the fasteners are usually overkill and many are pushed for time so the little things don't get done, and most of the time nothing bad happens. I'll try to pick up some replacement grommets next time I'm at the dealership and push them to give them to me. I started an order with Atlanta Perimeter Porsche but balked at the $15 shipping charge on a $7 order. A dozen grommets can't weigh even an ounce, but what do you do? The algorithm doesn't account fot that.