MarkD

I checked with Marc (moderator) before posting this and even then, I hesitate to.

So, let me start by saying that others may have had a perfect experience with Michael Stead Porsche in Walnut Creek, Cal.
Unfortunately, I didn't. Here's the short story:

1. They were 2.5 hours late starting on the car (I had a 9am appointment and they knew I was waiting for it). My 1/2 day appointment turned into an entire day.

2. Post test drive at 4pm, the mechanic made an adjustment of some sort to the right side tie rod end while NOT on the alignment rack and never checked it after that. Gave me the printout that was prior to that "adjustment"

3. After finding that the car pulled to the right on the way home and handled really "springy" in turns, I popped the lid to find that he had cranked the strut brace so tight outward that it was bowed a few inches. He knew it was there (I discssued this with the service advisor before align. and after) and intentionally did it.

They are refusing to refund the cost of the alignment and want to fix the problem. I don't want these guys touching the car's alignment but, instead am going to take it to a reputable indepedant.

They insist they need to look at it before giving me a refund. I can understand that and agree to bring it back in but explained I don't want them "fixing it".
If I take the car back, I gurantee they will put it on the rack, attempt to fix their mistake, waste more of my time and still refuse the refund, which is really all I want from them at this point. I am not even asking them to replace the strut brace as I think I can get it pretty straight myself. I told them this.

On top of all of that, there was a grease streak on my freshly reconditioned leather seat. Not a big deal, I cleaned it off... but I expected a much better service experience than this.

My advice is to beware of this OPC. I would not go back there to have the tire pressure checked much less anything else more challenging.

So, there it is. Again, if you had better luck there, great. This was what I experienced.

PS - I filed a complaint with the BBB and am going to contact the Bureau of Auto. Repair here in Cal. for what it's worth.

InTheAir

Contact your credit card company, assuming you used one.

MarkD

ohh, good idea Jeff. I should have thought if that. Thanks.

kgorman

try Kahlers in Dublin. I use them, they seem to be good, albiet expensive. But they appear to be very thorough and detail oriented. www.kahlers.com.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I use Stead for parts only and they have been OK with that. Man, parts are expensive, but thats nothing new.

One idea would be to have Kahlers look over the car, and come up with what is wrong, and the cost to fix, then you have documentation regarding the extent of your claim by a 3rd party. Just an idea.

MarkD

Kenny, yep, Kahler's is where I am headed. They are booked until second week in May at the moment. I have heard nothing but good things about them here and elsewhere.

I filed a complaint with the BAR (actually DCA, Department of Consumer Affairs) and plan on waiting until they respond to see what route to take. I was thinking the same thing you suggested though.
I can still drive the car a bit (since I took the pressure off of that brace) so I'm in no rush.

On parts, use Sunset! They really do have much better pricing. I bought a couple of small parts at Stead last week because I was there. Example: window switch at Sunset was approximately $38, Stead was $58.16!

kgorman

good tip about Sunset. I cross-checked prices there a couple times and they were so close I just decided there was no benefit. But now that you mention it, I will check them out again!

loot87

I just got an accumulator from Autohaus AZ for $150. Sunset wanted $200. Pelican wanted $240. List is $310 I think. I've gotten very poor service from Autoparts Giant.

vernon

Hi I grew up in walnut creek we move their in 1950 I bought my first new Porsche in Walnut Creek in 1965 an three more their also I also bought my new parts from them but I would not have them work on my car. When I live down their I would only take my cars to Kahlars they are the best they do a great job an every time they work on my three Porsches they did it right the first time an I never had to go back If you love your car that is the place to take it to. Vern

LA964RS

Sunset rocks...prices at least shipped here to SoCal are best i could find.

Indycam

Hiya 92964cab
If it helps any , next time I'm over , I'll ast them a million questions , test drive the cars , eat the donuts,
drink the coffee , ask for quotes on unop parts , and then mess up the restrooms . Goodnuf ?

carmelo

92964cab,

Michael Stead Porsche in Walnut Creek sucks. Do not ever try to buy a new car there. I went looking for a new Cayenne S for my wife and talked with some Salesman. During negogiating etc., he mentioned that people that buy Porsches from them at Walnut Creek get first attention when servicing is required. In other words, if you bring your car for service and you did not buy it there, you won't get good service. Is that stupid or what? I thought it was just me, but my buddy who ended up buying a new carrera in Oakland had the same experience with Walnut Creek. Keep away...

Carmelo
90 C4 Convertible

andrew911

I'm glad the moderator allowed this post (I can't imagine why he wouldn't?)- this is what these forums are for. There may be people on here that had a positive experience at this dealer & they can chime in, but this type of info is very useful & thanks for posting it Mark. The un-informed non-rennlist owners may fall victim to this type of dealership, but we are now wiser.

I only post this because I have stayed away from certain distributors/mechanics/products, and on the other hand used others based on things I've learned on this forum. (For example, Otto's of Venice was a great contact I received from Rennlist- they rebuilt/did the updates on my HVAC controller). This type of feedback is a big part of the benefit of Rennlist besides the specific technical questions people have on Porsches, or the general car talk (all of which is great too!)

Thanks for posting it
-Andrew

MarkD

Andrew, Thanks for the encouragement. I really hesitate to slam a particular supplier or shop... you never know if your experience is a one-off kinda thing. This one was pretty bad so I checked with Marc before posting. He had absolutely no problem with it... I was just being cautious.

Rennlist has a lot of power, just didn't want to abuse it.

dutchcrunch

To me I think when you take your car to the dealer that you saying hey you guys are the specialist and i want the best for my car, price is not an issue. then they do some crappy job and leave grease in your car, you could of taken your car to martha stewart and she could of did a better job. i know that its a pain to get your money back, but this is not nogatiable, they have to fix it right which the could not so a refund is in order. the B.A.R will get your money back, so will your credit card, the only thing about the credit card they might eat it just to make you happy but B.A.R will get in their butt and tell them straighten up!, which they obviously have a problem doing , even with your car, HA HA HA. I have delt with them before and I will never go back there for service.

Good luck

kgorman

Yeah, I am going to use Sunset now for parts just to avoid any future possible issue.