Re: It's great if there's a good one to be had, but

Again and again, and again yesterday, I thank the fates that I have a reputable independent mechanic. Walking into the service area of a dealership, with their oh-so-elegant furnishings and oh-so-precious curated organic water dispensers is like walking down the wrong street with a wallet full of big bills hanging out of your back pocket.

These are expensive cars, even used, and repairs are not cheap. Unless you're the sort of Porsche owner who can casually pick up a new one on a whim, for those of us on the board who are just buying their first Porsche or first Boxster/Cayman, invest the time into finding a good, trustworthy indie in your area.

2001 Base, purchased in 2004, replaced engine at 130K+, RIP 2017

[drawception.com]

My point is not that all independents are necessarily better than all dealerships -- in fact the service department of Arlington Porsche here in D.C.years ago had a great reputation and I was a regular customer (although under covered repairs, so I didn't pay). My point is more that a good independent will give you your money's worth. Car dealerships try to gull you in with the frills and luxuries of an expensive lounge and the supposed cachet of having their specialist hoity-toity mechanics, but often will rip you off. Car dealerships are, in large part, in the business of selling cars, not fixing them.

My dealer used to have this, but it broke down too much. Even if they leased it... I told them I now understood why their hourly rate was so high. Don't want to know how much the new one is.

[ifyoulovecoffee.com]

And of course, when it broke down, they didn't take it to just any old coffee-machine mechanic, but the dealer.

I would dispute your claim.

(source: [www.edmunds.com])
"The new vehicle department of a car dealership accounts for about 30 percent of a dealership's gross profits."

I would suggest this order of importance for a consumer visiting an auto repair shop (most important first):
- Honesty
- Competence
- Experience
- Price
- Friendliness
- Efficiency
- Nice facilities



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2016 03:10PM by Boxsterra. (view changes)

.. which mechanically are vastly simpler and more durable than internal combustion ones. Of course the electronics may overcome that.

But back to the point, the articles discuss how the potential for cars that require less service could badly disrupt the basic economics of dealerships, which in many cases effectively break even on car sales to get repeat service revenue- both warranty and after warranty.

Several of the P-car dealers in my area have terrific techs on staff. But the cost of using them literally scares me.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

at least one can have some confidence that a dealer's mechanics aren't going to be using your vehicle to learn how to work on one. And they're getting paid a premium to know just what to do.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2016 01:14PM by Laz. (view changes)

That isn't necessarily true. If the car is a few years old many of the dealer techs haven't touched one before. My son just had a very negative experience with his 1999 C43 AMG. He took the car to a major dealer in the Washington, DC area to change a noisy pulley in the belt drive. It is long story I will skip here, but when I got the car here at my home and looked at the missing parts, etc. (things that didn't need to be touched to do the job) it was clear the tech learned how to do the job on my son's car. The dealership claims the tech is a "master tech", by my contacts in the dealer network say that doesn't necessarily mean they have much real world experience. It is up to the Service Advisor to direct the car to the best tech for the job, and that doesn't always happen.

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

Routine oil & Filter, top off fluids and 17 (?) point inspection.

Dealer - $290
Independent - $160.

My Indie's have always been recommended by other Porsche People - I'm sure we'd all give Pedro a big

Ed from Long Island (Tampa)
05S Cobalt/Blue/Blue

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Ed from Long Island (Tampa)
05S Cobalt/Blue/Blue

i left out the cost of beer, which is never synthetic.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

… of what WalMart sells it for in South Florida.
One 5 qt. jug is $22.50.
Happy Porscheing
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 314,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

The $2.50 is sale vs regular. Always buy on sale :-)

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com