goofballdeluxe

Hey Maz.

You're lucky to be moving close to the best alignment guy around, and a suspension set-up genius: Darin at West End Alignment. If you Google him, you can read all the rave reviews this guy gets. He's a one man shop, so you will need to make an appointment about 3 weeks out, but for suspension/alignment/corner balancing, there's no one better in SoCal.

Also, you do require a front plate here in California. These days, the enforcement has really ramped up in Los Angeles, as cities struggle to find new revenue. I had several front plate tickets last year, but didn't wanna put an ugly front plate on my 993. I found a nice compromise with this Invetiva sourced mounting bracket. It looked the least offensive of all the ones I saw:

P1CR

That license plate setup is genius. Just screw it in when going to hotspots? Or keep it in the car to say "I forgot, but its right here".

I'll check Darin out..

This is great feedback. Thanks everyone..

SCMomentum

IMHO, what you are paying for with Tony includes large doses of integrity & honesty. Those go a LONG way in today's automotive world.....a long way.

~Dave

Canyon56

I wholeheartedly agree.

(however that doesn't mean that he has a monopoly on integrity and honesty. )

goofballdeluxe

As I've said, I have a huge amount of respect for Mr. Callas' ample talent. I'm not saying he doesn't have integrity or is dishonest, but charging 30% more for the same quality work one can get at another shop with equally honest mechanics just doesn't make any sense to me, personally.

RJT

And Tony Callas is about the most unpretentious Porsche person I know. Matter of fact, I've found it amazing that he is now holding clinics on the 993 all over the country considering how quiet he can be at times.

Still even though I LOVE Tony, I've got to agree with everyone above, L.A. is a HAVEN for really good Porsche mechanics. They are everywhere. TRE (Dave) is super. Darin used to be with Johnson Alignment and he was the only one we'd let touch our car while at Johnson And now has his own place and we'd go to Darin of we were still in LA as he is by far the best anywhere.

Just promise yourself on thing: make sure the shop you choose is relatively clean because some are not. We had a great mechanic when we owned our 1st 911, his shop was a mess however. How he found anything in there is amazing and never ever ask to use the bathroom..... but he was reasonable and would never do anything that he didn't thing needed to be fixed right then (which always isn't a good thing). On one of our trips for service he sat something on the hood and it etched a large ring into the paint. He didn't say anything about it to us and neither did we to him when we noticed it as we were driving home. We just didn't go to him again and got the hood painted.

SCMomentum

Goofball & RJT,
I hear what you are saying. I would never say Tony is the only guy worth going to as there are quite a few Porsche mechanics in Southern California that have their act together and perform fantastic work. Other than Peter Zimmermann, Tony is the only mechanic I have every really worked with. I'm simply just another voice that can vouch for Tony and his work. The other guys mentioned sound terrific and if I hadn't developed a relationship with Callas Rennsport I probably would be willing to try any that my fellow Rennlister buddies recommend:-)

~Dave

gonzilla

I'd like to throw another name into the ring... Art Arredondo at Arredondo Motorsports. When I got my car serviced at Callas Rennsport, Art was the only one who ever worked on it. He left Callas a few years back to start his own 1-person shop (not unlike Darren and West-End, in fact he worked out of Darren's for a while before he found his shop). He runs a tight CLEAN shop and he's extremely knowledgeable about all things Porsche, but especially the 993s. He is really honest and is relatively easy on the wallet. He now services all of our cars (Audi, BMW & Porsche), and I can't see myself going to anyone else.

goofballdeluxe

+1 on this.

I've met Art, and I agree. His shop is clean, he's a terrific guy and is very knowledgeable. A real asset to any SoCal 993 owner and another example of how you can bring your 993 to one of the best mechanics in the area at a FAIR price.

Father of 3

It's funny, I didn't think anyone else on Rennlist went to John and Dean's shop. I really like those guys though they've only done pretty routine stuff on my car. As for Darin, I'm a big fan myself. He installed my suspension and did the alignment and corner balancing. He does all of the work himself very methodically and carefully. I just hung out there all day with him. Perhaps a small secret, Darin also did my brakes (rotors, pads and fluid).

Just as an aside, where in Pasadena is there a good shop? Scientific? I've called those guys and spoken to them but never used them before.

FGL28

Scientific is good and I have used them for years. As has other Rennlisters.