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I decided to let our local dealer arrange storage for my car this past winter, and since a friend had good things to say about the service dept I had them change the oil and also deal with a SAI problem I’d had for a while. There was a lot of classic Porsches all over the service dept when I dropped it off which felt pretty good. The price for oil service was eye-watering, and they also said the expansion tank was leaking and needed replacement. The price they charged for the tank was the usual retail, so that was good. Also they said that the SAI job took double the hours I was quoted but they didn’t charge for that. Overall I was satisfied. And my wife binged on Brookside candies while I paid the bill, so she was satisfied too. I could have paid less elsewhere but I would be happy to have those guys put their hands on my car once a year. But given the extra time it took to do the SAI repair, perhaps the specific 996 expertise is not there amongst all their techs.
Holy cow, you guys gotta find a good Porsche Indy...
I had an extended warranty that ran from 2002 thru 2007. I did all of my warranty work thru the dealership thru that time period and all the non-warranty work thru my Indy. As soon as the warranty was over, it was indy all the way. Not to mention have a strong relationship with the owners and staff. Makes it easy to discuss the issues and find the most cost effective path for us non-wrenchers.
I decided to let our local dealer arrange storage for my car this past winter, and since a friend had good things to say about the service dept I had them change the oil and also deal with a SAI problem I’d had for a while. There was a lot of classic Porsches all over the service dept when I dropped it off which felt pretty good. The price for oil service was eye-watering, and they also said the expansion tank was leaking and needed replacement. The price they charged for the tank was the usual retail, so that was good. Also they said that the SAI job took double the hours I was quoted but they didn’t charge for that. Overall I was satisfied. And my wife binged on Brookside candies while I paid the bill, so she was satisfied too. I could have paid less elsewhere but I would be happy to have those guys put their hands on my car once a year. But given the extra time it took to do the SAI repair, perhaps the specific 996 expertise is not there amongst all their techs.
If a dealer is actively working on 996's, then I wouldn't be against using the dealer if the prices are fair. I haven't seen dealers working on older 911's in our area, so I don't feel comfortable but that's probably a dealer-to-dealer variable.
I don't mind paying a premium for dealer service -- in fact I always do that for new daily drivers -- but when the quotes are ridiculous, I can't do it. It isn't even about the money -- it's just personally offensive when you can look at the parts and know that they are WAY over MSRP and the hours are way over whatever even "book time" is, let alone real time -- and they don't budge when you call them out on ridiculously unsupportable quotes (took 3 attempts to get them to break down parts and labor, for obvious reasons (neither was defensible)).
With the Macan, I'm going to do stupid tasks like the pollen filter and air filters myself -- I'd rater pay a modest dealer premium to do those, but last time it was just insane and offensive. I will still have the dealer to oil/PDK service/inspections.
FWIW : Porsche Training Center at Atlanta Headquarters still holds regular classes for P10L ( Luft/Air cooled engines) P10W ( water cooled engines) P10T ( Turbo and Mezger engines ) plus most other classes such as suspension, electronics ect. on a yearly basis, and dealership send there techs there for training yearly. And yes the classes are updated periodically so even if you have taken the class before, you are encouraged to take it again after 5 years or so.
The only class I know for sure that is no longer held is the exclusive and rare Carrera GT Class that I was fortunate enough to attend back in 2004. they only held a few of these to the lucky dealers Techs who were fortunate enough to get a new one, they had to have 1 Tech that had been to the class. ( yes it was pretty fun taking that thing apart and putting it back together., totally splitting the car in half to get the engine/trans out.....lol )
Being a Dealer Tech for 45 years and going to training at least twice a year ( two weeks 4-5 day classes ) I have been to over 100 Dealer Training Classes. When I started for Porsche they flew me to Reno Nevada ( that was where Headquarters were at the time) for 1 week a month for 7 months for Training., They called it the " Turbo Track Training"...
Last edited by Porschetech3; 04-21-2022 at 12:05 AM.
One thing Porsche dealers don't have (in all of the dealers I've dealt with at least) is the ability to see work that was done at other Porsche dealers. Much to my surprise, there doesn't seem to be any way for them to see it except through a third party like CarFax.
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I have gotten good support from other Porsche dealers who serviced my cars before I purchased them. I called the service department and gave them the VIN and they pulled up what they had. I have also done that with indys as well. Carfax was helpful in locating dealers that worked on my cars though.
Last edited by Lady Silver; 04-21-2022 at 06:40 AM.
Meh, a good indy is as important as Dealer support. BeFreak is a troll but he's not completely wrong in regards to resale prices benefiting dealer maintained cars for a larger audience and or a collector.
What if I told you that many Indy shops are ran by old Porsche techs that know their stuff quite well. What if I told you that an old Porsche tech developed UAOS and UIDS where a regular dealer would install an OEM AOS unit that is prone to failing and then more than happy to do the job again? B3freak is clearly trolling when he could have had a 5 min call with his local dealer to find out the pricing but I suppose time is better spent here arguing when all we really want is more whisky and brisket content. Where you at, Luis?!? Get us back off track!
Well guys the 996 got me into the porsche crowd lifestyle etc. Anyway I always loved the driving experience but in my search for more power, finished landing on a 996 turbo, which I purchased yesterday. Pretty soon I’ll be selling my coupe and the performance parts. Please meet my late belated birthday present, “ The black knight”. Love the red accents. Spare set of wheels. I have always been an as? Guy, what can I say. Powder coated turbo hollows I do like. $122 plus msrp not bad.
Last edited by 3/98 911 coupe; 04-21-2022 at 10:27 AM.
FWIW : Porsche Training Center at Atlanta Headquarters still holds regular classes for P10L ( Luft/Air cooled engines) P10W ( water cooled engines) P10T ( Turbo and Mezger engines ) plus most other classes such as suspension, electronics ect. on a yearly basis, and dealership send there techs there for training yearly. And yes the classes are updated periodically so even if you have taken the class before, you are encouraged to take it again after 5 years or so.
I think it's great that Porsche still provide service for the older cars. Try going into a VW dealership with a Corrado - they haven't ever heard of it, the parts counter guy at the nearest VW dealership hates me, one of the techs asked me if it was made by Saturn! I think I'm going to change my license plate to 535-NLA in celebration of VW's parts support (535 is the internal VAG code for Corrado similar to 996 for our Porsches).
I think it's great that Porsche still provide service for the older cars. Try going into a VW dealership with a Corrado - they haven't ever heard of it, the parts counter guy at the nearest VW dealership hates me, one of the techs asked me if it was made by Saturn! I think I'm going to change my license plate to 535-NLA in celebration of VW's parts support (535 is the internal VAG code for Corrado similar to 996 for our Porsches).
Oh I know that feeling quite well… imagine having a post Diesel-gate VW Touareg.
04-20-2022, 10:43 PM
