Howdy all,

I bought my '8 back in January (2005), and am just now passing 7k miles on the odo. I figured now is a good time to do the 7500 mile service, so I have an appointment set up with the dealer on Thursday. I've changed the oil twice and replaced the tranny and differential oil with RedLine synthetic, but haven't done anything else maintenance-wise so far. Besides whatever is done with the 7500 mile service, I'm going to get the rear brake rotors painted (they have some ugly rust on them), and I'm gonna ask them to check the ECU flash version. I'm fortunate in that I've had no problems with my beloved '8 so far, save for one CEL that I cleared myself (and it hasn't reoccurred). Any other recommendations while I have it in the shop?

Thanks in advance,
Bill

Sounds like you got it covered, to me... I'm a fanatic about changing my oil (every 3500 - 4000 miles - sticking w/ mineral oil for now...) Did do the Red Line tranny and diff thing at 7k - worth it, IMO. The only other thing I've done so far is the aldehyde cabin air filter - lucky I did b/c there must've been a mouse in there at some point - the cheezy (no pun intended) stock filter had a hole chewed in it and also some of the foam from the damper door had been gnawed on too... Even if you're not changing the filter, it might be worth taking a peek in there...

Sounds like you got it covered, to me... I'm a fanatic about changing my oil (every 3500 - 4000 miles - sticking w/ mineral oil for now...) Did do the Red Line tranny and diff thing at 7k - worth it, IMO. The only other thing I've done so far is the aldehyde cabin air filter - lucky I did b/c there must've been a mouse in there at some point - the cheezy (no pun intended) stock filter had a hole chewed in it and also some of the foam from the damper door had been gnawed on too... Even if you're not changing the filter, it might be worth taking a peek in there...
Thanks, Keith. Just got a call from the dealer to tell me my '8 was done. Changed oil, rotated tires, did the gas tank recall, flashed the ECU, and adjusted the cruise control linkage (was getting some surging at 70-80 MPH). The only thing they didn't do was paint the rear brake rotors. The tech stated that the rust was "normal," and he'd be happy to show me how all the used '8s on the lot had rusted rotors too. Guess that somehow makes it OK? Asswipes. This is the first time I've been to this dealer for service, and unfortunately they are the only one around here. Oh well. I'll paint the rotors myself. I have the paint here to do the calipers anyway, so this will just make me get to it and get it done.

Bill

PS: I changed the cabin filter several months ago -- got the aldehyde filter like you.