My guy is quite reliable (pic above) as he will be right outside my door again this afternoon. Hence the snapshot I took of him yesterday. Behind our yard is an avocado orchard full of four footed furry things, or as Mr. owl says, "HomeTown buffet".
Its just a snapshot, not a photograph taken with a real camera or a real photographer. But Mr owl is real and we will be loading up coil paks later today.
Cheers!

 

OK, all done.... but I AM NOT HAPPY. I had a very bad experience with an Atlanta indy. I can honestly not recommend Buckhead Autosport in Atlanta. Just a bad experience all around. It started with my first contact and with every contact thereafter.

Questions:

1 - What should an AC diagnostic and recharge cost?
2 - What should the replacement of six ignition packs cost?

Since I do my own work, I have no idea what the costs of this should be.

There invoice to me was:
Labor:Parts:Regarding the experience.... I was treated.. well talked down to... poor communications (said they overnighted the coils... I had to call four days later to find out they had not been received)... more poor communications... lied to "can't have the car ready, your bolts are all rusted and we had to soak them" (I had the car apart three times in the last year and replaced all 6 exhaust bolts with stainless and two new pipe collars)... to charging me for work I didn't ask for... they replaced 6 spark plugs... I blew up at them (I replace the plugs 14k miles ago).... he removed the charge for the plugs....Took them one full week to do this. there is more but I won't labor the story. In short, I can no way recommend these guys. I guess they are used to dealing with clueless owners of luxury cars. As I write this... I am so mad I could spit.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

 

I've had similar bad experiences with two indys in my home town so I'm done with them. Dealership for anything I can't do myself from now on even though they're more expensive and close to a 30 minute drive through downtown. Both indys are within 10 minutes of my house. At least the dealership is honest and don't pull the kind of crap you describe.

 

You have a relationship with your dealer and they know you're on the ball so they don't play games. Lot's of folks do get fleeced by dealers though based on some of the posts here. There was a first-time poster a few months back saying the dealer claimed he needed a new $8k front transaxle replacement because it was seeping some fluid. Assuming the seepage actually needed attention the seals are replaceable and not expensive. Porsche Service Advisors are commissioned salesman and under pressure to make sales just like the guys on the sales floor.

Funny thing about the coils is that they can get microcracks and arc to the surrounding metal and cause misfires. My Saab started misfiring on one cylinder at 110k miles. I pulled all the coils out (easily accessible), cleaned them, coated them with dielectric grease, and reinstalled them. It's worked beautifully for 30k miles without a misfire. They really aren't that expensive but they weren't readily available at the time and I just wanted to see if it would work. Surprisingly it did. I doubt I'd do it on my 911 but maybe something to consider if in a bind.

 

Hi Bruce, first off, we are glad you are up and running. The car had the issues we (I) expected, coil paks and A/C problem but not refrigerant system failure. That is the good news. Now for the rest of the story..... Like you, I do my own work and we are not used to paying too high prices for labor and full list price for parts, but that is the normal, typical world for dealers and many indy's. Treated badly and lied to is inexcusable in all cases. If you had your tools (for the coils) and knew your neighbors to borrow the A/C gages, you would be back on the road for $360 max and that includes buying the damn A/C gages. Dealers and indy's go to the most cautious side of situations and replace anything that may be suspect just to avoid call backs and bad reviews. Most people just use the term "they are expensive, but they fixed the problem, " For us guys, that is a bunch of B S. I wouldn't mind paying a high price for advice or diagnoses, say $100 for 10 minutes of PWIS work that provides an answer that I can not figure out myself. ( That is $600 per hour). , but turn the wrenches yourself and clean up the blood when done.

 

Both valid points. My dealership has serviced and repaired three 997's now over 14 years so I guess you can call that a relationship. But I think for a dealership relationship to work in your favor you have to play ball. If they have a problem getting a part, late in getting the car back to me as promised because one of their techs quit or is out sick, I work with them instead of raising hell. Makes a difference. I've received a lot of goodwill on various repairs over the years.

Pretty safe bet that those who raise hell or start behaving unpleasant in general when the dealer has a problem are the ones more likely to get fleeced than those who are more understanding. Probably applies to new customers too at dealerships where integrity is not at the top of their list of priorities.

My service advisor has told me stories about customers he would rather not see walking into his office. Long time customers at that. Just hopeless a**holes who can't seem to help themselves.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Welcome to Atlanta. I am in the area and if I had seen this sooner I would have said you could use my garage and tools! If you need anything else or shop recommendations PM me. I come from Audis mostly but have a 997 now also.