rijowysock

curious where you go for service?

i have heard they changed service advisors at Bert Smith, and the main guy from Vortex works there i think.

Reeves has their new "motorsport" shop

Vortex Changed over to VSR (joining with the, i dont trust them at all SR performance guys) but could still ask for the old Vortex guys.


curious if there are any other shops that I just hadn't heard about that do good work and bill hours properly/within reason... It's always highway robbery at the stealerships....

okbarnett

Ive been friends with DJ and everybody at Reeves for 20+ yrs. I know their capability is 100%
I dont know if you would be better off finding somebody else for $20 less.

sandwedge

Suncoast in Sarasota. Never been let down there. instead they often deliver above and beyond expectations. Porsche loaners too.

rijowysock

it's not the $20 less hourly rate, it's the 10 hour quote where others quote and finish in 3 hours....

i.e. suspension install @ 11 hours, versus 4 elsewhere and it actually takes 4... that is where i dislike "stealerships" because it's not actual time but "invented" time.

very far but went once when herb was there, horrible experience.... he then transferred to bert smith (another horrible experience) but he is gone now... so i guess both are viable again.

Dukec4s

Here you go....
http://www.europeanautohausinc.com/

Right here in Tampa...and 1/3 the cost of Reeves, etc.

okbarnett

Well, I understand what you might be talking about. But then again, I dont. Take a 05 carrera and put srings on it and youll have one job . But take a 11 Carrera with PASM and put springs on it and youll have a completely different job. They are different to work on and take different time. Put sway bars on it and youll have different times. It all depends on what car you have and what you are doing to it. Reeves is going to quote the whole job, including alignment.
Is the independent guy going to align it? is he going to send you to a shop that never aligned a porsche and doesnt know how to compensate for lower modified suspension?
Is he going to up charge you after he gets into the job and finds out its way more than he first thought?
It all depends on all the details and what the final outcome would be, as to if you would be saving anything. If you can get a suspension, springs, shocks, sway bars, and alignment for 4 hrs. Yea Id give it a try but get a satisfaction guarantee with it.

BED997

Rennhaus, Sarasota? Any exprience? My car was serviced there.

rijowysock

having done installs myself, the difference between the 05 997 non pasm and 11 with pasm, is about 4 minutes...(i had 05 cab and 09 coupe) as the only difference is the cable coming from the shock body which forces you to unclip it.. and use a wrench to hold the threaded part versus a hex key..... doing springs means removing top hats so theoretically you could swap shocks at the same time with no additional time needed... sway bars are also disconnected so swapping rear is an extra 15 minutes for 4 bolts... front however needs the center brace removed (time consuming)





what upsets me.. is nothing against your friend, but the fact that the actual install takes around 2.5 hours... the independent bills for about 4-5 and takes many breaks.. the porsche dealership bills for 8-10 and takes even more breaks.... i wish instead of giving me a quote.. they just worked on the vehicle and billed for TIME SPENT, this goes for every shop..


this comes down to my dislike of labor rates... i dont mind 100/120/hr but please work during that time...


i will however call and get quotes and refer back to this thread... but most porsche specializing independent shops actually tune/fix race cars therefore they have all the alignment/etc equipment as well..

mdrums

Stay away from Bert Smith!