Aircooled Dave

Looking at a car that has been maintained by Callas Rennsport. I'm in NorCal so I have no direct experience with them, but they appear to have a great reputation down there. Many people send their cars to them for PPI, but if a car has been maintained by them does it still make sense to do a PPI there or is there a recommendation for another shop? Does a PPI even make sense if the car has been maintained there?

dcdude

As of 3 years ago, Tony usually does a $150 "new customer" inspection, where he notes all outstanding issues with the car. It's thorough, down to the rubber drain tubes under the body and plugs on the mirrors, in my case.

Get a scan or fax of that as well as all of Tony's invoices used to remedy the listed issues. Then I would consider it "maintained" by Callas.

Even still, a fresh PPI from another set of eyes is still the cheapest thing you'll do for your car.

Linnm

IMO, it always makes sense to have a PPI done. The amount of money is relatively insignificant

Aircooled Dave

I've seen them for this particular car. Very detailed down to individual pieces of hardware. Based on the invoice and the reputation, it appears the car has been well maintained while in their hands. I feel good knowing this, but before i take the plunge, I want to get a feel for how necessary it would be given the car has been maintained there and who else would be recommended if Callas is already out of the picture just to allow a 2nd set of eyes.

I tend to agree, but what shop would people recommend that is close to Callas?

gonzilla

I can wholeheartedly recommend Arredondo Motorsports. Art Arredondo has been the only one to turn a wrench on my car besides me since I bought it 5 years ago (in fact he used to work at Callas when I first bought my car). He's very knowledgeable about all things Porsche and runs a tight, clean shop. He's located about 2 miles east of Callas in Torrance. The number is 310-787-7001.

P-daddy

Since they have vested interest in the car, I would def get another PPI from someone else.

Ed Hughes

There's that, and a set of new eyes may see something. That old "seeing the forest but for the trees" thing.

Chuck W.

If it were me, I would let Callas do the PPI. They do have a vested interest in the car if they have been taking care of the maintenance. And they'll want to make sure they haven't missed anything. I had my Boxster worked on there recently. Tony runs a tight ship and keeps a running eye on everything. Stand up guy. He is an honest as they come.

Martin S.

He doesn't pull any punches and will tell you more about the car than you may really want to know. There are few people I know that understand the 993 as well as Tony...the other guy that comes to mind is Joel Reiser outside of Rochester NY.

RJT

I Love Art at Arredondo Motorsports. I worked with him at Callas Rennsport, but as Mike had said, he used to work for Tony and I am not 100% sure about how their relationship ended so I don't know if that would be the place to take it for the PPI. Don't get me wrong, Art is a fantastic mechanic and I would 100% trust any of my cars with Art, matter of fact, if Tony was out of the picture, Art would be the one who I'd let work on my Porsches if I still lived in the South Bay. In this case however, I think there might just be a little conflict of interest. I know it's a little bit of a drive, but what about taking it to Mark at Hergesheimer MotorSports? He does a very good PPI too.
Also you can go see GARY Topal at FactoryWerks in Westminster. It is only about a 35 minute drive down the 405 from Callas Rennsport (barring traffic). I think he has a website. you can check it out. GARY worked on one of our Porsche's when we couldn't get it up to Callas Rennsport and we were very impressed with his work too.

That being said and IMHO, when it comes to 993's, no one knows them like Tony Callas knows them. He's the best.

Lorenfb

"IMO, it always makes sense to have a PPI done. The amount of money is relatively insignificant"

That's it! Always use another 'non-interested' shop, i.e. Another shop
will usually find some issue that the other shop thought insignificant.

"There are few people I know that understand the 993 as well as Tony."

Please! There are MANY very competent Porsche shops in SoCal that
are 993 capable but don't get promoted because of their more modest
egos. Probably nowhere in the US are there more Porsche shops than
in SoCal.

PorscheDoc

It is a no win situation for a shop to do a PPI on a car they maintain, and I honestly wouldn't ask to put them in that situation. If they miss something in the PPI, or something lets go shortly after the new owner gets the car, they will be accused of being SOB's that were protecting their customer. If they find something that kills the sale, they will have a current customer pissed at them, lol.

RJT

Now Loren ~~~ Tony is about as far from egotistical as they come. No one here said there are not just as competent mechanics in So. Cal. as he is. Just because someone gets a lot of promotion doesn't mean they have an ego.

Me thinks you have a slight ego that has somehow been dented by the folks at Callas REnnsport because you always cut them down. I don't think I am the only one on this board to take notice of that either. Sometimes just let it go. For example, take Art. He worked for Tony and I said he was a great mechanic and I had no problem saying that about the man. Yet you can never say one nice word about Callas Rennsport ever. why is that? Just asking. The OP asked about shops he can take his car to. That was a simple question. How come you didn't recommend one?

Lorenfb

"How come you didn't recommend one?"

Since there are so many great Porsche shops in SoCal, one should
indicate where the car is located so it's convenient for the seller to
deliver the car for the PPI. Unless I missed it, it hasn't been mentioned.

Aircooled Dave

Interesting seeing all the different responses. Some say go back to Callas and just have them do the PPI, others to go somewhere else due t conflict of interest.

I think the bottom line here is that a PPI is always a good thing. It's minor when compared to the cost of the car. If you find a $5K problem, or even a $1K problem it's almost paid for itself.

I can see how I wasn't totally clear on the location. Those of us who are not in LA tend to forget how big it is and how difficult it can be to go just 10miles. I guess I just assumed that if Callas was already doing the work, that something nearby would be implied.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. This 993 noob appreciates it. :-)