my911cab

I bought #627 912E back in October of last year. The PO was a great guy. He was upfront about the cars transmission, various leaks and other needs.

I stored the car in my garage all winter and put it on the road this spring. On my second time driving the car the transmission refused to go into any gears and I though. Bummer time for a new transmission or at minimum a rebuild.

Enter Bob Fleming of Design Associates in Plymouth. I brought the car to him and he systematically went thru the car. The best news was replacing the broken worn original shifter coupling, shifter bushing, clutch cable and changing out the gearbox fluid for Swepco! TADA! The car shifts like it was new! Fantastic!

Bob then moved onto the suspension. My car had the original shocks/struts. The front struts were leaking and way way beyond their useful life. Bob replaced the front and rears with Bilstein Sports, replaced the completely shot tierod ends with turbo tierod ends, new tires and the car was transformed! Truly as the cliche goes a slot car on the curves.

He worked thru the dreaded dash "brake light" staying on whether the E brake was on of off, changed out all of my gauge lights for good measure, painted any minor surface rust he came across along the way with Wurth rust converter. Paying so much attention to the little details you would swear he was working on his own car!

Bob tuned the car added a Petronix ignition, replaced the battery with a gel battery and built a sweet custom holddown using plastic sheets of boating material (similar to a plastic cutting board) all while still maintaining the factory mounting points.

Next up was brakes, he replaced all of the pads, swapped out the brake fluid for swepco blue and the car stops on a dime.

He cleaned and tuned the webers, adjusted the valves, replaced the valve covers, and performed a complete tune up. The car idles like a champ!

Now to the sunroof. It would open with a chug,chug and would require my hand to push it along to close. Bob replaced the transmission, cables, gearing, rebuild the s/r motor replaced all of the s/r seals and put it all back together. I now have the fastest and quietest sunroof east of the mississippi! NICE!

Onto heat. Bob replaced all of the heater cables, cleaned and painted the heater vents, cleaned and lubed the blower fans and then patched with metal sheets and JBweld the seams of my heat exchangers. The heat works fantastic! I am ready for Fall touring in NE.


To say I am happy with Bob's work would be a total understatement. I have paid the over the top prices over the years by so call "reputable" independent Porsche garages in the Boston area. Bob is honest, logical, conservative (with my money), and a all around great guy. He provided photo documentation of every item he addressed on the car with before and after pictures.

Did I mention his rates are half of what the "bend over and lube up" independents charge?

He is located in Plymouth Ma

Here is is contact information feel free to tell him Andrew suggested I call.

Bob Fleming office 508 747-2314 he goes by 911 tweaks on Pelican

email BobF@Design-Associates.us

whalebird

Good post. I think a good tech is worth holding on to. Also, I will say that a good customer is the other half of this equasion. You had a lot of work done and it was not cheap regardless of labor rate. I'm sure you had to approve this much work and allowing him to run with it pays dividends. Procuring a good tech is a challenge in itself, but listening to (and trusting) what he says is the customers job.

my911cab

I could not be happier with Bob's methodical approach to solving problems. As I mentioned in my original post. He drove the car, contacted me with a detailed email as to the cars immediate needs, documented the ones he could with photographs, gave me the parts prices and choices with detailed explanations of each choice +/- and when a decision was made he followed up with after photos.

For someone who had been badly charred by his previous Porsche Mechanic experiences dealing with Bob was absolute the ideal tech/owner experience.

dshepp806

Great news,.....

Doyle

A4

How long has he been around and is he a one man shop? I never heard of him (no like I should, but have heard of all the others guys) where did he work prior? Does he do engine overhauls?I may need some cam work on my 3.2.

Steve2112

Hmmmm....wonder how much a dealer $230 oil change for a 996 would cost there...

whalebird

8.5 qts. of oil and a $10 filter shouldn't cost that much anywhere. I know that it does though. There was a thread on dealer service costs, and $230 isn't that bad according to some who posted their costs.
A 996/boxter oil service is quite easy and a great DIY project if you are inclined.

macht_schnell

Hi All,

I just wanted to reply and say thanks to my911cab for making it possible for me to find Bob Fleming also. Three years and as many Porsche's later, I must absolutely concur that the guy really is awesome on these cars and very reasonably priced. He has tackled so many issues that I would have thought could only be done at a larger operation. But he is incredibly knowledgeable, skilled and has a super garage set up to tackle any issue on German cars, especially Porsche's which he knows through and through. I hate to give him away but there is enough of him to go around so he can be reached at 508-747-2314 or bobf@design-associates.us

Tschuss...

Kailherd

I'm I wanted to send a quick shout out to Bob Fleming as well! I live in Plymouth, purchased a 2006 997 4S 3 years back and was looking for someone to service my new ride. I was lucky enough to come across a post about Bob Fleming (new website www.da.werks.com). He initially did a post purchase inspection and we put a maintenance plan together for my car. I could not be happier with the way he treats my car. He is not the typical auto mechanic looking to push cars in and out of the garage as fast as possible, he treats every car as if it was his own. If you like to keep on top of your cars maintenance schedule, I would not hesitate to bring your vehicle to Bob. He will not cut corners and will update his progress with pictures and notes as he works on a project. I have seen Porsches of all ages and styles in his shop. I even had Bob install a new stereo system I purchased, not because he regularly installs stereo systems, but because I like the way he treats my car.

If you live in the MA and own a Porsche and are not satisfied with the typical stealer dealer service I would give Bob a call.(774-454-8184). Email bob@da.werks.com.

For complete restoration to PPI inspections to a basic oil change you will not be disappointed with his quality work and attention to detail.

I was so glad I found that original post��

eichst

I took my 2001 996 to Bob a couple of weeks ago to have some major work done after 40K miles. I had purchased the car sight unseen from a dealer in California, shipped to Gardiner, Maine to have Aaron do the IMS work and now after a year of driving it, found Bob through this forum. He did a number of things, all good which will keep my car in pristine shape for many years to come. Brake replacement, coolant tank replacement, horn replacement and more. I can tell you, even though the bill was high, it was not nearly as high if I would have taken to the dealer in Norwell and he handled the car just like it was his own baby....and I know if I have any issue, he will take care of it. Bob Fleming at Da-Werks in Plymouth, Ma is a blessing to have...especially since he is so close. He knows his cars...you should feel very comfortable using him...as I will now always.