Team Plutonium

workhurts

My water pump on the 987.1 started squeeling at around 45k miles I think. About 1,200 repair with fluids and parts (I think). Would have done it myself but didn't want to risk driving it.

I had a Mitsubishi eclipse years ago. Long story short; local mechanic kept replacing parts but never did resolve the issue. Timing belt was changed and the car sounded horrible. He replaced more parts. Gave up and took it to dealer who fixed everything properly. Disputed with CC and actually won.

Anyway, sounds like your car is in good hands now.

FlatSix911

What is this thing you call a water pump?

workhurts

Aren't we in the 'water cooled' forum? Given the amount and price of coolant required, it should be called the 'liquid gold pump'.

snake eyes

Just imagine all the money you could have saved simply getting it towed to the Porsche dealership in the first place. Indys are not significantly cheaper than dealerships. Dealerships also have standards the factory holds them too. roll you dice with an Indy

workhurts

Speaking of which. I notice independents are usually about 10-15% cheaper in terms of hourly rate but they somehow also quote less hours. I haven't compared in a while.

Bruce In Philly

My indy, not only quotes less hourly rate and less hours, but gives me both a discount over what the dealer would charge for a part, and the option of going OEM or alternative so save even more. My indy is the ex-shop foreman of a Porsche dealership.

Example: Porsche dealership charges something like $75 for a cabin, charcoal air filter. You can buy them discounted from some dealers for around $50. My Indy charged me like $25 for it because as he said "I just can't do that". This was back when I had my Boxster and was using my dealer and then indy for everything.

Today, I just do my own work and buy the OEM filters (MANN in this case) from Pelican selling this 2009 C2S filter for around $25 or $64 for the Porsche labeled unit.

The challenge when choosing an indy is finding a real Porsche expert who has the diagnostic equipment. If you find one, you should save money.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Update: I remember my indy saying that one of his mechanics was really good at replacing those awful coolant tanks. He said he could bang them out faster than the "alloted time" and charges me the actual hours not the book hours. Now to be honest, I don't remember his exact words as this was two years ago, but..... it appears that dealers charge you a standard time and "keep" the savings if their mechanic does it faster. Anyone have comments on this?

snake eyes

I've had reverse experience with independents. Dealerships have been better to negotiate with. Best part of the dealership is they won't charge over book time and my local dealership charged me under for my latest work. Also they warranty their repairs, and have goodwill tool from Porsche. Good dealerships price match, my local will price match anyone on parts prices such as sun coast.
For basic maintenance I do it myself and have them price match the parts from the Internet. Being in Oregon I don't pay sales taxes, per let's say shipping to my house in washington

BIG smoke

Wife's air conditioning was pushing temped air. I went to favorite indy. He wanted to order a coil for the dash. Needed 10 hours and 1500-2000 repair. I questioned his diagnosis. I tool the MDX to my local Honda dealer. Their repair? $400 relay. If your scooby senses are tingling. It does pay to get a second opinion.
O/P good for you for getting your car out of there. When they think they have you by the kahunas, that's when the try and take advantage of you. Clearly the original shop had no idea what they were doing. I assuming your car is now all back together. Where is that photo? Get your good shop to show you the water pump. It will give you a better understanding of what happened.
I often call in to my dealer to start the pricing research. Sure they charge 4 hours for a job, but if they break a bolt or something is seized. That's all they can charge for the job. They may also have that special service tool that makes the job possible. The indy may not have that tool. I seem to remember some 944S2 had a twin cam set up that needed a porsche only tool. My indy had one to borrow.

moorejd

FINAL UPDATE: For those still playing at home, the bill from my Indy came to $2,100 (plus tax), however, that included an oil change and a safety-and-emissions inspection that I decided to get done while I was at it.

Also, the refund check from original garage actually arrived.

Thanks again!

helispud

Good News! Sounds like you got your car repaired for a fair price.

BIG smoke

Moorejd- where is the photo of it all back together?

Little Green

From a shop perspective the way it works is 3 ways.

There is flat rate labor. Clutches done for $499.99 out the door. Brakes $99 an axle as examples

There is what almost all dealerships and large chains go by-Mitchell Guide. Every YMMV is listed and the labor for every single thing you can do to a car. If mitchell says a 997 WP takes 6.5 hours the shop will charge you for 6.5 hours. The mechanic gets paid for 6.5 hours whether it takes him 2 or 8. This is how good mechanics will clear 100K a year.
There are typically 3 level techs in any shop:
General Service tech (oil changes, tires, maybe brake pads etc)-They get paid hourly
There are level 1 techs (complete brake jobs, water pumps, belts, hoses, radiators, alternators etc) Typically bolt on/bolt off stuff-They get paid base hourly plus part of the job rate.
Master Techs-They primarily do all the heavy work on the cars in the shop-They get paid by what they produce

Then there is how a lot of indys work. They know the true time on a 997 WP is roughly 3 hours. He charges you 3 hours of his labor rate(which is typically cheaper than the dealer per hour charge).
He knows that by charging you less you are more likely to come to him the next time. This is how they drive their business.

Hope that makes sense