thewitchdokta

This is a repost from the 944 forum. Some kind gentleman alterted me to the fact that there is a Canada forum. Very nice!
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Hey guys,

I’m writing to share with everyone my experience with EU Autowerks in Woodbridge, Ontario Canada. This is an account of my experience with them. Many people speak very highly of them and may not agree with what I’m saying. My aim is to provide information to my community to help people make a decision on what shop to use. Please don’t flame me.

Two weeks ago I brought my 951 there for a timing belt/water pump/rollers replacement since my usual mechanic is abroad right now. They said it would be done in a day and I could pick it up the day after my appointment. I dealt with Dominic, who is a very nice guy, as are all of the staff I met there. I ended up having to pick up the car 4 days after due to a string of what seemed like excuses such as; “we ordered the wrong part, we still have to test drive it, parts are delayed, etc…” I didn’t mind however, since I know that things happen.

When I came to get the car finally, I drove away and it seemed that while they were adjusting the parking brake (something I had them look at), they adjusted it so tight that the brake was stuck on. I was forced to drive back to the shop to have them fix it. This tells me that no one must have test driven the car, since I’m sure even the most dim-witted mechanic would notice that the brakes are stuck on, or at the very least the slight wisps of smoke coming off the rear hubs from the brakes being in constant contact with the drums.
So with an apology they fixed it while I waited and off I was. It didn’t take long to notice that the car was running hot. When I arrived at work I checked my bill ($2300 aprox.) and noticed they changed my thermostat and coolant. I drove it around some more to confirm my suspicions, and also noticed that the fan came on, but would not bring the temperature down on the gauge. So I called them and they told me to bring it back the next morning and they would bleed the system as it most likely had an air bubble in it. I brought it back the next day, and they worked on it right away, which was good of them. After a couple of hours they told me it was perfect, and that they tested it thoroughly and it was running fine. Reassured, I drove off.

Throughout the week I noticed that now, the car cooled well when moving, but at idle it would overheat. Any time I left it idling for more than a minute, it would spew coolant from the expansion tank hose. So again I called, and this time had to drop the car off again. 4 days later I was called and told the thermostat was faulty and the system wasn’t bled properly and that they had finally gotten all the air out and it was fine. I was told to come pick up my car. Happily I went the next day (today) to pick it up. After the third time of bringing it back, no apology was offered, no excuse as to the seemingly bad experience I had had. Just another “let us know if there are any more problems.” As I get in my car to drive away, I notice the car is now about 10-15 degrees off of alignment in the front. Frustrated, I just left happy that I got my car back and it was no longer overheating. I’ll have to take it to Woodbridge Alignment tomorrow to have that fixed. I don’t think I would return to that shop unless I had no other choice. I’m surprised such highly recommended specialist would treat me to such a bad experience. I got the feeling there that the prevalent attitude is that they are doing just fine without my business should I choose to withdraw it. Very sad.

For the other Torontonians, have you guys experienced similar things here or is this an isolated incident?

Turbodan

I think it may be a case of a very busy time of year and not thinking they can make much off 951 guys.
did he change he thermostat without getting pemission?
what do you think caused the alignment issue?

Sputter

Geez, talk about mickey mouse. It would be hard for them to defend that shoddy work.
I agree, anybody should know that the brake was stuck on even if only moving it a few yards.

Sputter

That's not a very good reason nor is it a defence for $2300 dollars worth of work.
"i'll charge you $2300 but i'm too busy to do it properly".

thewitchdokta

I hadn't specifically asked them to change the thermostat Turbodan, but I assume it was in need of replacement. Ironically, it turned out to be one of the culprits for the problem as it wasnt opening fully. The alignment I assume must have been just a roadhazard during test driving. I was so fruistrated by the time i got my car back that I just drove off once i had assurtained that the car was no longer overheating. I'm gonna make a pit stop at woodbridge alignment early sometimes this week and have some real pros work on my car

Turbodan

I wasn't saying he is justified in not fixing the car right, just offering a possible explanation for shoddy work.

peritus

Everywhere you go you get good and bad experiences - you hope over time that the majority are good, however.

Regarding Autowerks, my loyalty to them came from an incident with my Audi last year. It had a wining noise in the turbos after getting a major engine overhaul. Nobody could figure out where the noise was coming from.

Autowerks took the car back a few weeks later and inspected everything for 2 whole days, free of charge. They found the problem (you could argue it was related to the work they did) and changed a cheap part. Most of my experiences of going there have been good, and I know that I can trust them, which is worth a lot these days.

If I were you, I'd speak up and talk to Courtney (owner) about your experience. I would bet that he'd feel terrible and would do what needs to be done to make things right for you.

Zookie

Man thats wierd, maybe it was just bad luck on both sides... As for me i have been taking my P-Car there for 4 years and have never gone back for a problem, everything was done right the first time around... infact i was just there yesterday and i was takin care of right away

theiceman

yeah I adjusted my own parking brake ,, after i was done I pulled on the brake , got out, and off my 911 went down the driveway .... i knew it wasn't "stuck on"

To the OP sorry about your luck , unfortunately it only takes one bad incident to turn you off a place and this certainly looks like one of those times.

Christien

I think that's the first bad thing I've ever heard about them. Wow. I've never used them (only for reasons of geography) but know tons of very happy customers. I agree with what James said - talk to Courtney. Any business can make a mistake - the real measure is in how they deal with it.

Receiver

+1 re speaking to Courtney. I am a very happy customer of Autowerkes. They've always treated me well.

thewitchdokta

I just wrote a polite letter to mr Walsh. We'll see what kind of response i get back.

Dale Gribble

I'm sure you two will come to a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Courtney is a good guy and a good tech. I'm sure it is an isolated incident that will be made right.

fc-racer

Very, very surprised to hear of your experience, it is certainly an anomaly. I wholeheartedly trust them with my GT3 as well as my previous 993 Turbo. I always tell people that a business should not be judged by the mistakes it makes, but by how it deals with those mistakes.

As others have suggested, I'm confident that Courtney will make things right. As a side note, I used to have a 944 Turbo S and it's a BUGGER to get all the air bubbles out. There is a pretty intense procedure to get them out and it involves bleeding, driving, bleeding, driving and then bleeding one more time on a slope!

Bill N

Well said!