LJpete

Thanks for posting this info. I am considering a car from them now and it gives me pause to seriously consider how they do business.

Pete

Phil G.

Viper, sounds like your experience was a nightmare. I didn't purchase from Brandywine, but I've had my car serviced by them. Shortly after I got my car (from Isringhausen), I purchased an OEM SSK from Brandywine and had them install it. They additionally replaced a section of my 3M clearbra and removed the Lexan shields from the headlights. Pricing and install were flawless and I had no problems - this was well over a year ago. I did ask them to order a thicker wheel for me through and dealt with Jay in their Performance Parts area - despite multiple calls, the part never came in and I never received a call with any status update. So, I gave up on that one. But overall, my experience has been positive with them.

JasonAndreas

One of the reasons they were banned was for creating multiple fake accounts and posting their (fake) experiences with the BW parts department...

Wellardmac

Now if that doesn't tell you how unethical they are, then nothing will.

fast1

Thanks for sharing that bit of info. Enough said.

PJorgen

Requiring a wire transfer instead of a credit card would have been a huge red flag for me, I would have ended the discussion right there. Using a credit card gives you some recourse if they totally flake or try to rip you off.

Wellardmac

Yup, especially considering their bank account is situated in Nigeria.

Curvfun

I have to wonder what they imagined they were accomplishing by misleading you over and over. They probably didn't know about your legal expertise.

When you commented on B'fest about your engine saga, I had no idea you were really having to purchase a new engine. Sorry that has happened. How did you lose the valve?

grant911

The only good thing I can say about Brandywine is that they are very prompt to work on your car when you drop it off without calling first. But I'm now finished dealing with them. Anytime I got an estimate, it was honestly always about twice as much when I'd go to collect the car. They BS'd me about every performance part I've ever bought.

1.GIAC software upgrade, I was told it would add at least 20-25 HP and it would be just as fast as the 3.6 996.
2. Muffler bypass pipes add 25 HP
3. Cat Bypass pipes add 25 HP
4. I was given a price of $199 over the phone for my B&M SSK. Then when I called to back to let them know I wanted that done, it was bumped to $499 I believe. Which then I had to argue that I was told $199 earlier. (By the same guy none the less!!!)
5. Fabspeed intake. No drama whatsoever actually.

I haven't gone there now in over two years, other than to just look at the cars on a nice sunday afternoon.

LiveNupe

I'd rank Park Place in Dallas right up there with Suncoast and Sunset in quality of service, not necessarily in price however.

Randy, the parts manager at Park Place, is an avid PCA track guy and knows his stuff. The knowledge and professionalism of their parts staff is second to none. When I lived in Dallas, they serviced my car. Even though I didn't buy it there, they'd always hand wash the car and provide a free loaner... even apologize when they didn't have a Porsche available and had to give me a Benz.

I've dealt with the guys at Suncoast a dozen or so times and have always been pleased with their prices and professionalism (ok, they screwed up an order once but they made it right). however, the last time I called, a guy from another department was answering the phone to help out. He was upfront in admitting that he didn't really know the parts end of the business. After fumbling for 5-10 minutes to answer my questions on gt2 rear brake ducts, he took my number and told me someone would call me back. A week later, I'm still waiting for the phone call. They're obviously short-handed and need to hire some more help.

When my indy ordered gt3 suspension parts to install on my car, PCNA screwed up the order and shipped the wrong parts. Unfortunately, they didn't have the right parts in stock and couldn't fix their error in time for my car to be ready for an event I planned to attend the following weekend. I called Suncoast, Sunset, and a few others looking to have the right parts shipped overnight to my indy. I explained my desparation and received a curteous "Sorry, we don't have that in stock." The guys at Park Place didn't have the parts in stock either. But the guy spent about 20 minutes on the phone with me while he searched the inventory of the dealers in North America and found a dealer in NJ with the right parts. He gave me the contact info and I called the NJ dealer and had the parts shipped. The guy at Park Place CLEARLY went above and beyond the call of duty when the others didn't. What makes the story even more impressive is that he didn't gain anything by helping me out. If he didn't volunteer to search dealer inventories, I wouldn't have even known that the parts departments have that capability.

LiveNupe

Viper501,
Just curious, how's you blow your engine??

viper501

Engine was cruising along at 80 in the interstate when the car started running roughly, as if I was going over the edge rumble strips but I wasn't. Check engine light starts flashing too. I pulled off the interstate and car died as soon as I came off the gas and put the clutch in. Was able to nurse it to the Porsche dealer in Kingsport, TN (Rick Hill Imports). Left it there about 8 p.m. and dropped the key in their service box. They called with a report that the number two cylinder had no compression and that they believed it was a bent valve. They qouted 10k and change for a new engine installed. I was a bit leery of spending that kind of money out of town with a dealer I had no experience with so I flatbedded her back home and had the local dealer evaluate her. They came to the same conclusion but were not certain it was a valve but were certain that there was zero compression on number 2. The 'great' part about my dealer was that they initially qouted me 18k to replace the engine, with over 30 hours of labor for the job. I called B.S. on them and they dropped it to 16k and finally to 14k but that was "the best we can do because it is very labor intensive."

I have come to learn that there have been other valve spring failures on some cars. Given the fact that it was one cylinder and the fairly acute nature of the problem (in other words it wasn't something that had been progressively worsening) and that the car would run but not well and wouldn't idle, it was obviously nothing catastrophic like the IMS failure. I also wasn't hearing anything bangin' around like I would expect if the cylinder liner failed.

viper501

Dwayne, thanks for the condolences. I wish that Porsche would stand up and eat some of this as BMW has done with the S54 engine failures.

VGM911

The fact that viper501 had a bad experience with a local dealer (Brandywine Porsche) is important to those of us who value dealer reputation and the personal experiences of our online colleagues. I'm always thankful that people take the time to post their personal stories - both good and bad. Thanks, Viper, for sharing your experience with us, and I hope things are resolved successfully to your satisfaction so that you can get back on the road soon.

I do have one suggestion, though, mainly because I think it's often unfair to say "don't ever deal with these people because I had a bad experience with them." Instead of a thread title like "Avoid Brandywine Porsche," it might be more informative just to entitle it "Had Real Bad Experience at Brandywine Porsche." This lets the reader(s) decide whether what we hear (both the good reports and bad reports) should guide us to do business with the company or to avoid them.

For example, I read one thread where an order for floor mats was apparently mishandled and the writer had a fit (rightly so) about the way he was treated and slammed the business with a "never buy from these people" kind of title on the thread. I think that's pretty extreme, based on a screw-up of a floor mat order. I'm not excusing the company he ordered the floor mats from, but all businesses make mistakes - the good businesses know how to correct them and rebuild the customer relationship when they happen in order to earn back the customer's respect and loyalty.

I personally had a good experience with Brandywine when I purchased a Boxster from them and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another from them. I have not, however, had any service work done there, as I prefer to have that done by a Porsche dealer who's much closer to home. Viper's experience admittedly gives me a reason to worry about their service/parts operation.

viper501

If you look over at 6speedonline, there are additional posts regarding peoples personal experiences with Brandywine.