trickydisco

Hi guys,

I've searched through numerous posts on independent shops,
and there seems to be some strong opinions/experiences
that are positive towards FIORANO, and negative towards GTEK.

I am leaning towards Fiorano, based upon your posts, but am
hoping that some people with negative/neutral experiences with
Fiorano will chime in aswell. Nobody's perfect, and I feel a good
measure of a business (or a person for that matter!) is how
a situation is handled when things DO NOT turn out as hoped.

This is my first entry into Porsche ownership, and I'd like
to start off with the right shop.

I've seen two opinions on Weitmeister ... any others?

My car (en route) is a 993. Is there a 993 specialist shop?

Thanks everybody,

Barrington

Jaak Lepson

My friend owns HPCARS (formerly Heimraths) on Lawrence Ave E & Pharmacy RD. area.
His wrench is good ... Call Mario @ 416 752-7280

Jaak Lepson

Check out the Tech centers on the PCA UCR website for a list of all PCA UCR recommended shops/tech centres.

fc-racer

Barrington, I had a few repairs completed on my 993 Turbo recently, one was a very minor one, a squeak from the steering wheel. I had it in to Courtney for repair, when I got it back, it started to make the noise again the next day. Before I could call Courtney, he called me to see how the repairs were and I mentioned it to him. It really wasn't a big deal so I thought I could wait until the next repair, but he said he would come pick the car up from downtown, fix the noise and return it back to me downtown! Now that service! I wholeheartedly recommend Fiorano.

GREEK-TURBO-RACER

Let me clear up some confusion here. There is only one FIORANO RACING. At 400 and Finch for the last 22 years. Gianni's reputation is very well known in the Porsche world in Toronto and the US. Gianni helped Courtney in the beginning to open his shop by letting him borrow the name to attract the customers. At that time, Gianni was involved more in the racing than street work.


Theo

fc-racer

There seems to be two Fiorano's now, one is the street shop called Fiorano Autowerks and then there is the raceshop as you've written about above. My comments are related to the street shop run by Courtney. I have very high standards and Courtney manages to beat those expectations every time and he's done some difficult work for me, not just regular oil changes.

GREEK-TURBO-RACER

Actually, if you go by Courtney's place now, you will see that his place is only called AUTOWERKS. There is no affiliation with Fiorano Racing anymore.

Courtney is a really good mechanic no doubt. He has come a long way from learning many things at DFC and working for Gianni many years in the racing scene. He is a good man.


Theo

fc-racer

Theo, I will concede to your knowledge since I am relatively new to Toronto and don't know the scene, but I should say that the business card I picked up last time I dropped my car off at Courtney's says "Fiorano Autowerks" but I guess they could be old?

theiceman

Where is the autowerks? I only ever took my car to 400 and Finch.

theiceman

Hey an opportunity for Gossip ....
Hey Jaak what is the story on Heimrath ?
Th losing of his dealer ship story is stuff of Urban Legend maybe but I know he ran it without the Porsche backing for several years, did he finally retire or what ?

ice

GREEK-TURBO-RACER

Iceman, I can definately help you there. I worked for the oldman for a while before moving to Miami.

As MANY people know, Ludwig Sr. was at times a very difficult person to deal with. NEVERMIND working for him. When things changed in control with Porsche Canada and North American operations, Fred Schwab, the New Boss of Porsche NA at the time, needed to clean house. He considered to keep Ludwig as an official dealer but under THEIR terms. This was the beginning of the end. Of course , that was a definate no, no for Sr. He blew a head gasket I don't know how many times when he could not get his way like in the past. And not to devulge to much more detail. in the end, Ludwig was the loser. A lot was on his head. But not all his fault. There was inside help to hang him ..... and it worked. A shame, I have known the old man since I was 11 years old. To see the changes through the years at the dealership, working for him, and finally selling the bussiness, a very hard pill to swallow with alot of regret in his eyes. Amazing how he STILL has a following of loyal clients who he helps out.

You will here different versions of what happened I can assure you. Was Ludwig an a$$hole ?? At times yes. But he would bend over backwards when needed to help someone. I hope that part of the story also comes out.


Theo

fc-racer

681 Chrislea Road, Woodbridge Ontario

theiceman

Thanks Theo

I dealt with him a few times and found him okay .. I guess it would be safe to say a typical German hopefully without offending anyone, not unlike Uli in Kitchener. Thanks for filling in the gaps, there is no doubt he is part of the Porsche Legend in this part of the world, and I often wonder what becomes of these people.

theiceman

Theo

Where abouts in Miami are you ? do you deal with Vertex much ?

GREEK-TURBO-RACER

I am in the Doral area of Miami. I know Mike , Charles , Sidney for a long time. We do some business together. Their place is about 25 minutes from me.


Theo