Do modern dealerships still fix 944's?
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Just curious, I have done all of my own maitenance so far and hope to keep it that way, but will a porsche dealership work on 80's cars anymore?
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My local Porsche dealership is quite happy to work on older cars. Whilst mine has not been there yet I know of another 1990 944 that is serviced there and I have seen older 944s, 928s and 911s there as well.
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The main problem is that their 944 "expert" (if one exists at the dealership) doesn't see enough of these cars anymore to have a clue about the typical problems that come with the age of the car.
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I've never gotten any attitude at all bringing a 944 to a dealership and frankly I'd tell them to shove any such snooty attitude right up their ***** if I did. There are a lot of people out there that ended up getting "indoctrinated" into the world of P-cars because of the 944 that later went on to spend thousands on 911s or other "higher end" vehicles. The 944 saved Porsche during a time when it was floundering. . . Any $10-an-hour tech grunt that ever tried giving me attitude about it would find him/her self getting an embarassing on-the-spot history lesson and probably in front of their manager as well. . .
I agree with the "do your own maintenance" thing though. You'd be surprised how often a stealership will "take in" the car for maintenance, charge a premium for it, and then simply outsource it to a local specialist/garage that does the work for them. I know for a fact the dealership near me does this. A few hours after you leave, your car gets put on a flatbed and shipped to a local guy that knows 944s - it simply isn't practical to keep the techs trained to support every model ever produced and all the associated special tools & equipment on-hand.
I'm fairly certain my local dealership even outsources ALL carbureted cars, including 911s, simply because their techs can't tune carbs properly.
I agree with the "do your own maintenance" thing though. You'd be surprised how often a stealership will "take in" the car for maintenance, charge a premium for it, and then simply outsource it to a local specialist/garage that does the work for them. I know for a fact the dealership near me does this. A few hours after you leave, your car gets put on a flatbed and shipped to a local guy that knows 944s - it simply isn't practical to keep the techs trained to support every model ever produced and all the associated special tools & equipment on-hand.
I'm fairly certain my local dealership even outsources ALL carbureted cars, including 911s, simply because their techs can't tune carbs properly.
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The one in my area (Tom Wood) will take them, but that doesn't mean they should. I'm convinced that their techs (at least the peon techs) have barely seen a 944, much less ever really wrenched on one.
I'd say you'd best ask how many 944s the shop in question deals with. If it's a small number, keep looking.
I'd say you'd best ask how many 944s the shop in question deals with. If it's a small number, keep looking.
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"Any $10-an-hour tech grunt that ever tried giving me attitude about it would find him/her self getting an embarassing on-the-spot history lesson and probably in front of their manager as well. . . "
Umm, it may surprise you to learn this but those "tech grunts" makes way more than $10 an hour. Service technicians area a nicely compensated group. BTW, aren't you displaying a snooty attitude yourself with your not so kind words about automobile technicians?
Umm, it may surprise you to learn this but those "tech grunts" makes way more than $10 an hour. Service technicians area a nicely compensated group. BTW, aren't you displaying a snooty attitude yourself with your not so kind words about automobile technicians?
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Originally Posted by orbix
The one in my area (Tom Wood) will take them, but that doesn't mean they should. I'm convinced that their techs (at least the peon techs) have barely seen a 944, much less ever really wrenched on one.
I'd say you'd best ask how many 944s the shop in question deals with. If it's a small number, keep looking.
I'd say you'd best ask how many 944s the shop in question deals with. If it's a small number, keep looking.
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Originally Posted by beab951
Tom Wood is the only parts dept that would work with me on getting shims and other small ticket items for my car. Never did any service work with them, but my hats off to the parts dept.
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They'll help you find what you need, but the rest of the process isn't so amazing.
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My car had it's last belt/waterpump service at a dealer in Burlington Vermont a couple of years ago. A friend of mine had the clutch hydraulics in his 924S changed at a dealer in Wisconsin and they kept the car 4 months! So it seams to vary from dealer to dealer.
#15
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You can call and ask. My guess it it will depend on the dealer and if they have an older tech that is familiar with the 944. Do remember that the 944 is not that old. Sure ans 83 is 23 years old, but the last "944" was a 95 968. Those are 10 years out of production, but will have been to the dealers and probably a number still get looked at.
Now it does not mean the dealer is the best place to get work done on 944. Ask aroud locally and you can probably find shops that do more 944 work more often and for less money.
Now it does not mean the dealer is the best place to get work done on 944. Ask aroud locally and you can probably find shops that do more 944 work more often and for less money.