Had a similar engine rebuild experience at a "friend's" shop on my 951. Took them a year. i didn't threaten legal action, but when they did finally focus on getting my car put back together it was rushed. The rebuild only lasted 4500 miles before things started falling qpart due to improper torque. AND when it blew a head gasket running the stock boost they accused me of cranking the boost up to high and suddenly didn't have any time to work on it.

I sold the car as is and the next owner found all kinds of problems due to the rushed build. Bolts missing and or broken off AND the pistons weren't sized correctly, too small for the bore, scratching the cylinder walls enough to scrap the block. Also found they did not install the turbo I provided instead put a larger one on that was too large for the displacement making the turbo non-existent until over 4500 rpm then it would hit so hard you couldn't keep the tires hooked up.

That experience is why I am now driving a normally aspirated 928 GTS...

Yowza Flyrade! You are pulling out all the stops on this one!!

Well, yes, that's the way to go. Really. you have only two options... A) pretend that Eric is still your best buddy in the whole world until you get your car back, or B) go all guns a' blazin. Looks like you finally got fed up enough to choose Option B.

Please keep us posted on this saga!

Yes, it sounds like you are going the Nuclear option. Keeping the pressure on is one thing but I would sure leave the 911 out of it. Not only is it a bad idea but also someone may need the system that day that has much more important needs.

Drastic measures for sure. Definitely leave 911 out of it. As mentioned above, there are more important needs for 911. And, someone has to pay for it; you could likely get a bill. If you feel compelled to initiate an arrest, call the county sheriff. That is their job.

As far as your car, we haven’t heard his side of the story so I can’t voice an accurate opinion. But, I would venture to guess that:

1. He is unaware of your perceived urgency (and this thread) due to lack of communication.
2. He truly is busy and tending to “cash flow” jobs first. (Relates to item 1)
3. He is in over his head and is procrastinating.
4. He is a crook and doesn’t care after getting insurance payment for wiring repairs.
5. He messed up and bent valves and doesn’t want to deal with the big $$$$ mistake.

If you do proceed as outlined above, I would first find a shop that is willing to work on the car because no matter the reasons for his delay in finishing it, your intended actions will without doubt insure that your car will not be satisfactorily completed by his shop. If it is returned to running, it will be quick shoddy work just to pacify the current situation.

What a horrible situation in which to be entangled.

Good luck with the outcome and surely you’ll keep us informed.

Again, just get it out of there. You are just escalating it. They won't arrest him, it's a civil matter. Do you think he is going to do his best work with TV crews etc. there?
No matter what, it probably will have to be redone by another shop. Why add the expense of an attorney? If you proceed with an attorney, his hourly rate will probably be double what it would cost to have a good shop fix it correctly. The winner will be the attorney, not you. Threats and pressure probably aren't going to work. Be practical, it's just a bad deal. Get it over with.
Sorry it happened to you.

Show up with a tow truck. Pay for what HAS been done, right then and there. Take the car home. Have a QUALIFIED shop inspect the motor for damage/ finish work. If it doe have damage, take him to civil court.


But GET IT OUT OF THERE!!!!!!!

This isn't a criminal thing unless you try to make it one. I don't see much upside in the conversion deal. He's not holding a gun to your head, you can get your car anytime you want. Pay his bill, get your car - no conversion. Now, if he were to start selling parts off the car, or try to sell the car without the mech lien process to take title, that would be a conversion.

The attys have said let him finish(if ever), then try to recover in small claims. This is a fools errand for three reasons. You put yourself at his mercy to finish the car, and do it right(fat chance). You pay whatever demands he makes, cause now you've pissed him off, and everything he does, and everything he charges is going to be whatever inflated rate he feels he can get away with. We call this the "F_U" pricing model when we want a customer to feel pain. Last, you are out the money, but have the car back, and now your future is in the hands of a judge or magistrate or whatever, and here you are, a Porsche owner in front of the judge whining about your bill from an honest, hard working class slave - servant of the people with grease under his nails. Who do you think the judge is going to side with? You can afford it, you've got a damn Porsche! How DARE you come to court and complain about a repair bill, be lucky the guy doesn't counter sue for even more money, you rich, Porsche driving bastard. All bad.

People who have done actual business(not paper shuffling) have explained what to do, but you seem to want to escalate and turn this into a day-time drama. You aren't going to 'win' here. There is no upside anywhere. Even if you get your car back, will it be right? Will you have gotten a reasonable price? Will you be happy with the whole deal?

Stop the bleeding. It's been explained so I'm done here. Best of luck, if you don't want the car let us know where it is so we can go get it from the mech after the lien.

Very well put docmirror. ^^^^^

^^Ditto.

Bring your checkbook, hire a rollback, make it good, give the shop guy a clean easy way out.
Absolve him of "responsibility". Whatever it takes at this point, no "small claims later" unless there is some sort of hoodwink/sell off parts/etc weird situation that arises, which I doubt. Give the guy a way out that is lasting and binding.

Any mechanic that accepts 928 into the shop, but doesn't specialize in them --- can't possibly make money on them. Black hole. Smart shops reject the 928 unless they specialize in them or can call-in a real hobbyist to support. Can't possibly fix them without tens of hours of hell learning how. I'm taking master tech level german mechanics, audi, benz, etc. Can't do it and make money.

If you don't get that, on your way home, sell the car/basket. Because that fact aint gonna change.

A non-(odd complicated historic supercar) mechanic stupidly accepted the oddball vehicle (its not a "car"). You stupidly brought it there.

All high drama, and useless.

Show up, write check, tow it.

No drama, just business.

BTDT.

I'm going to chime in only because I have been in this situation. I hired a shop who belonged to one of my "friends" to install a roll cage in one of my race cars. 3 months later the car was incomplete and what had been done was so bad that it had to be cut out and redone. I explained the dilemma to the shop owner and he agreed that he was in over his head. I paid him a couple hundred dollars to legally settle the account. I towed the car out of there and ended up paying 2.5x what the cage should have cost between settling with the first shop and paying another shop to correct the problem. The reason I am offering this story is IT WAS THE BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE WITH THE CAR.

I paid quite a bit of $ but I got the result that I wanted. (As stated before and by many) I don't think you will ever get the result you want out of the current shop.

This is going to hurt no matter what you do. I would strongly advise you negotiate what you have to get the car with a paid invoice and get in out of there. Then pay what you must to get the car back on the road with another shop. The other coarse of action you have planned will do nothing but create a difficult, frustrating, and time consuming process which really inst going to bring you any closer to the desired result (your car back on the road).

Here's my similar story of woe. I had my plane based at a local airport, and I hired the guy who I rented from to do my annual insp. He agreed that I could do an owner-assist where I take off the insp panels, clean, simple stuff and he would do the legal insp and fix what was needed. I got a base price for the inspection of $650 which was reasonable. So, he gets started on it, and everything he looked at had some defect. I mean everything. He squawked the radio tray for having the wrong screw in it holding the nav radio. Absolutely ridiculous stuff. Sure, he was trying to run up the bill. So, on the last day the plane was 'airworthy', June 30th I said I was going to wash it in the back. I pulled the plane back there, washed it, put the inspection panels on and flew it away. Sent him a check for $650 because he did in fact do an inspection and got another mechanic to finish the job at another airport. Lucky I never gave him the logbooks, or I'd be screwed.

This situation will only get worse the longer it stays there. The mechanic can easily sabotage the repair just to get you out of his misery. You must mitigate the situation yourself. You can easily pay the bill take it to a 928 specialist then sue the bastard for all he did wrong. This have to be documented by the 928 specialist or 928 expert. Now you have grounds for getting your money back.

Great news – almost.
Today was the day to get my car back so I went to see Eric earlier today. All the engine and wiring work is complete, and he has completed a test drive. However, nothing can go that easily. In his final check he has found the clutch slave cylinder is leaking, and a part in the stick shift needs to be replaced. Naturally he has to order these parts so it will be a couple of days or so at least until the car can be driven home.
I am leaving tomorrow to visit my son and his family in San Francisco, and I will not be home for the next 10 days. I told Eric when the car is ready I will have a friend come to pick it up and pay my bill with my Visa card. He said that would be fine.
I imagine since there is so little work to be done that he will do it quickly so he will get paid. At least I hope so.
Again I would like to thank all of you for your concern and your advice. I will be so glad to get home and have the car in my driveway and this whole mess behind me.

glad it is working out to your satisfaction