TommyV44

The only reason someone goes to an Indy is to save money...not my goal when it comes to fixing or servicing my 14 year old car. Then this happens!

Petza914

This is why mine only get worked on in my garage. Last time I had the Cayenne at the dealer they left the steering shaft coupler loose and routed a cooling hose to the wrong sidemod the serpentine belt so it cut theiugh the hose in about 7 miles. That was the last time I was at a Porsche dealer and was in 2018.

My Indy has better techs than the dealership and at about $100 less per hour if there's ever a job I don't want to do or don't have time to do.

groovzilla

You are incorrect. I've had horrible work at Dealers including poor inaccurate PPI's when I have purchased Porsche's out of state..
....I'm fortunate to have a 60 year Porsche Indy shop 5 blocks from my home.
Been my Indy for 38 years. 356 to 997

Edcantera

There are pros and cons to everything in life. Whether at an Indy, or a dealer, do your best to choose wisely and build a relationship so you have someone to count on. Any place that values their customers will stand behind their work. Things don’t always go as planned when turning wrenches.

One thing I do advise against is having one place do something, then another place do something else, and so on. When something inevitably goes wrong no one wants to take responsibility and the finger pointing contest begins.

azmousss

thank you. this is insightful. as this is the type of info i was looking for.
i emailed the mechanic with all the pictures and tow car information
and detailing the sequencing of events.
i kept the email neutral and non accusatory.

ive never ever dealt with this type of issue where you take the car out from a week at the mechanic and break down an hour in. i was very emotional and upset and frustrated. road trip vacation with the wife was in the bin.

azmousss

this is true and excellent advice.

Tom R.

This is why this forum is a crapshow. But, thanks. Your flippant comment that does nothing to help the OP in Switzerland gives me the perfect segue to vent about the craptastic service I got from the two Porsche dealers by me.

My high pressure fuel pump was going (I read the codes, read the forums and based on the symptoms concluded that was at least one of my issues). I left a message with the GM of one dealer - he was the service manager until recently, and I know him from PCA and instructing at the track. That was early June. Still have not gotten a call back. I called again and got one of the advisors - a new guy named Solomon. I asked about how much it would cost. He refused to look it up. I asked if he would check to see if my 09 was part of the recall for HFPFs a while back. He refused. I told him I wanted to get a rough idea of the cost before driving a car that is throwing a few codes, one of which was limp mode. He said he would only give an estimate after he sees the car. Solomon was too lazy to offer any assistance. If they are too lazy to look something up, I am too lazy to tell the GM he has a dud working for him.

I called the other dealer which happens to be closer to me and left a message. I called again two days later and left another message. When I called a third time I got someone who promised me that I would get a call in the next day or two. That was over a month ago.

I called a local region PCA sponsor after hours. Left a message, and at 8:10 the next day I got a call back. He quoted me the hourly labor rate, book hours, and roughly what the HPFP would cost. I get my car serviced by people that provide a service!

Tell me again how wonderful the dealers are please. If they can't quote a job or call someone back, are they competent to work on my (hold your nose) 968, (guy was looking up price for a clutch when I said it was a flex plate for a tip) or my 997. That is why I do research before blindly letting someone work on any of my cars.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 201K miles

My experience with dealers has generally been very good... but I did learn a "secret" about Porsche techs. They learn on your car. My local Philly dealer's shop foremen of twenty some years left to start his own shop... so I got to know him well back when I had my aging Boxster 2000S (could not work on my car back then).... restated, techs learn on your car. I've also had an issue when the service manager did not talk to the tech and they tried to charge me for work not done... I spoke to the tech before I paid the bill and discovered the miscommunication... I don't think this was at all a cheat, but it does happen.

My neighbor has a 70s 911 and the dealer had it four times and can't solve the issue despite "tons of money" spent. I can't really fault the dealer as knowledge of classic cars is really the domain of small indys... but this didn't deter the dealer from using the owner's money from trying to figure it out.

My point with all of this is simply that dealers are not the experienced wizards that many think... and they are expensive.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Tom R.

When does a car become a "classic?" There hasn't been an air cooled 911 in about 25 years. They only made air cooled 911s for about 35 years. The first Boxster is almost 30 years old. The newest 996 is now 20 years old. 997 came out after the Cayenne. What is the ratio of SUVs to cars being worked on at a dealer's service dept?

Petza914

By Porsche's definition... here you go - https://www.porsche.com/usa/accessor...ices/classic/?

So, anything as new as a 957 Cayenne, 987 Boxster or Cayman, or 997 911 are all Porsche Classics. Anything newer isn't yet.

Bruce In Philly

Some states say 20 years old to get a classic plate... the concept of a classic is a bit silly to me.

Peace
Bruce in Philly (now Atlanta)

Tom R.

I threw it out there not so much for the definition, but as a question for the universe of when will the dealer not have the techs trained for our older car because those techs are now at the indy shops?

Now that I am older I remember when driving a 944 was looked at as having the non Porsche, and almost all of us Porsche owners got their hands dirty; whether it was working on the mechanical parts or polishing it for a show. Now guys like T.V probably have the car detailed on a regular basis and have only the dealer touch it. Meh!

ZuffenZeus

“hi all, some context before i get to issue at hand
997.1 , carrera , manual/stick shift , approx. 130K miles
original engine, original clutch, some minimal bore scoring for info.”

[Translated:]
Hello from Switzerland everyone! Before telling you about my horror story, let me share the details of my current 911: It’s a 2006 997.1 Carrera with manual transmission. The car has 130,000 miles on the original factory engine. The clutch is also original, but it has been confirmed to be in the early stages of cylinder bore scoring.

“i took it to the mechanic for service this monday
rear suspensions change, starter changed , i think what is in english air oil separator which is a piece also near the starter which is all in the back where engine is . both pieces. and there was a leak in a/c and the front grills which allow for airflow were changed.
the mechanic had the car for 5 working days and i got the car 3pm friday

now some months ago at another garage, i had the pulleys an the accessory belt changed as i was out of town and the car stopped working and it was the accessory belt that was KO. so fixed locally so i could drive the car back home and all was ok.”

[Translated:]
On Monday July 22, I took the car to an independent shop for service. When booking the service, I explained to the mechanic that a few months ago I took it to a different shop because the main serpentine belt broke and caused the car to fail on the side of the road. I continued to explain that the other shop confirmed the pulleys were defective and were replaced along with a new serpentine belt.

They appreciated the information and I left the car with the new shop.

The suspension was causing issues and so the shop replaced defective parts associated with the problem(s). The engine was also having a difficult time starting and making a horrible squealing noise during cranking like the pig scene from the movie Deliverance. The mechanic verified the started needed replacement and he explained that since the AOS on these cars are known for all kinds of issues, he recommended changing it out because it would save me money down the road. I agreed and he replaced the AOS. I also mentioned that the AC wasn’t blowing cool air and since it’s been really hot these days, I asked him to check it. He explained he ran a special dye in the system and found a leak in the front condenser. This of course, required replacement. I agreed. It took about 5 business days to get the car repaired and I picked it up on Friday, July 26.

“now, i leave the mechanic to go on a holiday road trip, mechanic was aware of this. i pick the car 3pm this friday. 70 miles into journey the car breaks down on side of the highway. the accessory belt is hanging off the the bottom of the car. long story less long a tow truck company comes after calling my insurance and i share the story with him. he tells me its simple, he said the starter piece and the the oil piece are in the back where in the engine is and they are near the accessory belt . the mechanics musnt have put it back correctly.”

[Translated:]

As mentioned, I picked the car up on Friday, July 26 for a nice vacation. Nothing like driving a Porsche on a road trip, right? Well, my vacation took an unfortunately turn of events. Just 70 miles in route to my vacation destination, my 997 breaks down on the side of the highway. As you can see in the photograph, the serpentine belt must have broken again and it over heated because that’s what it told me on that gauge cluster thingy. My battery ran down too! I called my insurance company because I have emergency road side assistance. They send out a tow truck. While they were working to get the car on the flat bed, I shared my story with the tow truck driver. He must of known a lot about Porsches because he explains to me that the starter and AOS are located on the engine near the accessory belt. Then shows he deep wealth of mechanical knowledge of Porsche engines and says… “He (mechanic) must have put it back incorrectly!” Wow, I thought. He’s got to be right! The tow truck driver really knows Porsches since it knows were the engine is located! Heck, how did he know the AOS and starter are near the serpentine belt? Maybe I should ask him to fix it?

“what do i do? i feel deeply hurt and upset my mechanic would make this mistake. is it indeed his? i didnt drive crazy i didnt do anything unusual. . please any insight would help . im very annoyed as i just paid 5k for this service.”

[Translated:]
I’m butt hurt and feel robbed. Maybe I should buy an emotional support animal? I just spent $5,000 to replace the starter and AOS, not to mention the money at that other shop that supposedly replaced the pulleys and belt! I’ve very annoyed and my vacation was ruined.

“please any help or guidance would be appreciated this was the first thing that popped up.
some minutes then this showed up.
2 minutes later im at a stop, i get out of the car and i see this.”



[MY THOUGHTS]
Unrelated to the last shop's work and probably unrelated to the previous shop's work too. IMHO, this a NEW problem. The starter and AOS are NOT near the serpentine belt as you were told. They're on the back of the engine near the transmission. The main serpentine belt is located on the other side that drives the ancillaries.

Probably a seized up Alternator. When they seize up, they break belts! When the belt is slipping or breaks, it causes a loss of power and since the water pump is on the belt line, your car will also overheat.

[FUTURE THOUGHTS]
Instead of casting blame, get it replaced and move on with life. You have a 20+ year car with 130,000 miles. Things are going to break more and more as the car ages.

azmousss

So the verdict is in : the alternator's freewheel got stuck, causing the V-belt to break.

ZuffenZeus

Yes, in my opinion, the alternator has seized and caused the belt break. Nothing about this failure is related to previous work you mentioned.