The Mechanic

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The Mechanic

When I bought my first Porsche, everyone told me that I had to go to the Porsche dealership for service since they were the only mechanics qualified to work on my car and do it right. Even today, many Porsche owners and enthusiasts believe firmly that you must use the Porsche Dealership for service and that you should always use Genuine Porsche parts.

Complete Horsepucky.

Let me relate just a few experiences with you. These are supported by documentation and if I can ever get a decent scan of the invoices, I will certainly put them online.

1) Took my 924 into the Porsche Dealership for a simple oil change and a tune up. After returning home with the car, I took a close look at the invoice. They charged me for 11 quarts of oil at 1.50 per quart. This wouldn't have been so bad had they not refused to admit anything was wrong with the invoice even after having been presented with it. I sent the invoice to the BBB and the Porsche dealership issued a "goodwill refund". They still wouldn't admit anything was wrong.

2) I took the 924 into the Dealership for an overheating problem. They said the thermostat was bad and charged me to replace it. While it was in the garage I asked for an oil change. This time they managed to put in the correct amount (5 quarts) but the price per quart was now just over 2.00. When I asked about this they said that the price was correct. Hmmmm.. talk about inflation. I guess they wanted that goodwill refund back.

3) The car continued to run hot and I took it back to the Dealership who again diagnosed a faulty thermostat and charged me to replace it. The fact that they had recently replaced it didn't matter. I now notice that the dealership is adding an automatic $40 service charge to their invoice. It is explained to me that this is standard. The car continues to overheat and I take it to another garage. They diagnose a faulty fan switch. Problem solved. When I inform the Porsche Dealership, I get the usual "it's unrelated" crap.

4) The car goes into the Porsche dealership for a really bad front end shimmy. The diagnosis is faulty wheel bearings and they fix it at the usual expensive dealership price. One year later the problem is back. I take it to another garage who gives me the chilling diagnosis that whoever did that last wheel bearing job did it very badly and that it would have to be done again. He was AMAZED that I was able to drive it as long as I did with such a poor job.

5) The car goes into the Porsche dealership for a routine maintenance item and they call and say that I need a complete (and very expensive) brake job. Now I am a Midas fan and it had just recently been in the shop for service so I tell the dealership to hold off on the brakes and they document the service refusal right on the invoice. I take the car into Midas for a brake inspection. The technician comes into the waiting room to report that my brakes are fine and was there some specific complaint about the brakes. When I tell him that the Porsche dealership said that I need a complete brake job he is visably disturbed and says that I must have misunderstood. So, I pull out the dated Porsche invoice and show it to him. The Midas manager now calls the Porsche dealership to ask them to explain what the problem is with the brakes. Here is my favorite part:

The Porsche Dealership tells Midas that they recommended the service "based on mileage" rather than on a physical inspection of the brakes. The Midas folks were rather amused. I was not.

6) At 60,000 mile service the fuel filter was changed and the Porsche mechanic called me with bad news. Your gas tank has rust in it and it will have to be removed and re-sealed. How bad? Well, if I don't fix it right away I will have serious fuel delivery problems How much? Well, more than the car is worth. Looking for other options I take it to another mechanic who informs me that there isn't a damn thing wrong with the fuel tank. Who was right? Well, it has been years and there have been no fuel problems at all.

The list goes on...

The fact is that the Porsche Dealership will charge at least three times as much for labor and the folks aren't any better than a good mechanic at another garage. The mechanic I found built Porsche race cars before opening his own garage.... needless to say, he's pretty good and most importantly understands my desire to keep the car on the road at a reasonable price. His rates are reasonable, he will locate used parts if necessary, and is willing to nstall parts that I provide.

The importance is locating a "good" mechanic ...