FRporscheman

I wouldn't recommend Ken's Sportech. A friend had a major repair done there and they botched it. They insisted on charging more money to fix it, and when they did, the car came back with some parts not installed correctly which my friend and I fixed on our own.

+1 for Heyer Performance.

ried

Unfortunately, Tony doesn't want to work on the car if you're supplying parts from the dealer (Sunset, etc). He wants you to buy the parts from him, otherwise he considers it "working for free" and it isn't worth his time.

Oh well.

FRporscheman

I used to work at a shop, so I understand his point.

URG8RB8

I called Tony for some AC work and he lost my business do to this policy. Some people just don't know how to properly run a business. I would have gladly paid him more money for his labor, but why force me to to buy parts that I already own? Stupidity IMHO, sorry.

I might add brand new OEM parts in the bag from Sunset.

FRporscheman

Mechanics have accounts with parts suppliers, and they must meet a monthly purchase quota to keep that account open. Frequent orders also keeps the relationship with the supplier healthy.

Another reason not to use customers' parts is liability. It doesn't matter if their parts are in sealed Porsche bags - maybe they were sneaky and put URO parts into a Porsche bag and resealed it.

Right now I'm running a (non-automotive) business and for a few months I had a falling out with my main supplier. Then I lost my account with them. It bogged us down badly. I've been working hard for a year to slowly build up a rapport again - it's tough. There's no shortage of customers out there, for any business, but the problem is knowing how to fill your schedule with the jobs that will actually be profitable, and the online outlets and discount retailers are edging out the little guys who have to stay sharp to survive.

No offense Eric, I understand your point as well. Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, this policy aside, Heyer is still a good shop, and he does like 944s.

Tom M'Guinn

I agree completely, though these stories don't surprise me. There's a place in the world for shops that will collaborate with customers on parts, division of labor, etc., to keep costs down, but this isn't one of them.

URG8RB8

I see your point, but in this case it is a 99.9% labor bill. This is a huge job, engine must be pulled to install evaporator line. Most likely a $3K job he turned down because of a policy. Sorry not good business sense.

ried

For the work I'm doing now, I've sourced about $6K in parts from Sunset. Adding another ~$2K in retail mark-up for those parts on top of the shop labor charge just isn't sensible for me.

Dave W.

From the mechanics point of view, the shop still needs to verify that all parts are correct for the job, which takes time. If the shop supplied the parts, then the responsibility for those parts being correct falls on the shop. If the customer supplies the wrong parts, or doesn't provide all parts needed for that job, who takes responsibility? You can't simply expect the shop to install a box of unknown parts and expect everything to work out correctly. What if there's a few other parts needed that the customer doesn't know about? What if the customer supplied unnecessary parts and expects them to be installed at no extra labor, while thinking it's a normal part for the job? These are all 'gotcha' pitfalls that kill profits.

To protect themselves from these pitfalls, certain shops will charge a higher labor rate for installing customer supplied parts vs shop supplied parts, plus they'll charge a storage fee for every day the car remains at the shop while waiting for other, unexpected parts to arrive. From Germany.
How much did you really save by buying the parts yourself?

ried

That post makes a lot of assumptions. One of the items I'm installing, for example, is a new OEM Porsche muffler. Should I give the mechanic an extra $400 for retail markup on that item when it's a simple 1-2 hour installation with no special parts required? In addition to the labor I'm already paying for? Should a mechanic charge $500+ to install a muffler? No way.

I see both sides, but get the distinct feeling simple greed plays a major role.

spanky

FRporscheman, can you share any details on the negative experience with sportech?

FRporscheman

Like I said, it was my friend who took his car there, so I wouldn't feel right telling you the whole story, but here's a bit more.

We did research online and found out that Sportech was renowned as the experts of the particular job my friend needed done, so we/he decided to go there. The job was a major one, and after only a couple of years it needed to be done again. And they insisted on charging for it. I got the parts that they removed (that they installed a couple of years ago) and it looks to me like a defective part. I'm not looking to start a fuss over it, I'm just saying I wouldn't take my car there.

Nashvegas

Wanted to revisit this thread / reopen things. I've moved to Bay Area with an 86 951 with about 40K miles on it. Need struts replaced and oil change, porsche parts only as it's a concours-ready car. Anyone know of a great shop or even dealer in the SF Bay Area?

Thanks in advance

Tom M'Guinn

Welcome to the bay area -- you'll have to come to one of next get-togethers! If you want a dealer, there's a good younger tech at Fremont Porsche -- Corey -- who is a 944 fan. My 951 caught his eye while he did new-car service on my 911. Great guy. Tony Heyer in Mt. View is very much a stock parts guy. Or ping Dave W who posted above -- also a great guy and could that work with his eyes closed.

Nowanker

Gotta jump in on the 'bringing your own parts' concept.
Opening and running an auto repair business is unbelievably expensive.
Trying to earn a living from an honest repair shop is extremely difficult, and shops rely on income from parts profit as well as income from labor to make the exercise worth the effort.
I've known Tony H for a long time, and his reputation is stellar. There are a lot of shops that will accommodate you on parts, but he's earned his position and has good reasons behind his policy.