Mike Murphy

I just bought my 1988 Carrera 3.2 and want to make sure that I put only the best possible parts in it. How do I know that a service shop is using good parts? How does Pelican stack up to Porsche OEM? How does Vertex stack up? For heater valves, for example, my service shop quoted me about $150, but the same part at Pelican is $130, while Vertex has it for $109.

scottb

My vote goes to Pelican. I'll always call them first, as they will most likely match any other vendor's pricing if you ask. And, since they sponsor a great forum, I try to be loyal to them.

84_Carrera

My personal experience so far is that Pelican's selling oem parts at a discounted rate. I don't know what Vertex is doing, honestly.

I have had VERY few issues with Pelican, a couple of minor delays at worst from memory.

911Mojo

I have ordered plenty of parts from both Pelican and Vertex. Pelican's catalog is a bit more complete and easy to use and PP usually has the harder to find stuff, but you can consistently expect a 10-20% premium for the part from Pelican. Pelican used to take longer to pack and ship, but they're about the same these days.

bourgeois911

I have had no problems with either and I use them both regularly.

seanoj

I am a huge fan of both Pelican and Vertex. Vertex seems to have better pricing on many items but the tech articles and forum at Pelican ensures they win all ties with me... Vertex guys on the phone are very knowledgeable (in my experience).

-Sean

JackOlsen

When you're talking about replacement parts, neither Pelican, Vertex or (for the most part) Porsche are actually manufacturers. They're just resellers. The difference in quality is going to have to do with the original manufacturer's standards, as well as what the reseller considers good enough to sell. Porsche should have the highest standards for its parts, but it's also probably fair to say that the company is not paying a huge amount of attention to its suppliers of parts for 25-year-old models.

In the case of the heater boxes, you're probably looking at the same part in all three instances. Your mechanic is going to put a markup on parts prices as part of his profit. Pelican sometimes costs more than Vertex, but you'll get value from Pelican (in terms of customer service, for starters) that Vertex will have a hard time matching.

One other factor on your mechanic's prices, though, is that he'll stand behind his parts and installation in a way that probably won't be the case if you bring your own parts to him.

Naitove

Have to disagree. I called Pelican re their heater box price and asked if they could match Vertex. Glen said he couldn't but did a search and got me Dansk heater boxes for $91/ each. They weren't even in Pelican's catalogue. I've installed them and couldn't be happier. BTW This was only a few weeks ago.