rchaas

I am curious if others have similar experiences to these:

While under warranty, I took my car to the dealer for care. In general, they have always been very good to me and I still have a good relationship with them overall, still buy cars and sometimes tires too from them. I always assumed that, given the premium price, the service would be premium as well. However, when I went to do my first oil change on the 911 a couple years ago, I was shocked to find (pretty naive, huh) that both fan plug mount tabs were broken, plugs loose and rattling around, insulation tape frayed and unwrapped and one of the fan shroud clutches (grommets that the posts mate to, clutch is porsche vernacular) was missing, so the shroud was just rattling around as well. I sourced the clutch and mount tabs and fixed those issues myself and have done most of the routine service stuff myself since then. Those broken and missing parts might have been present before my dealer ever saw the car, but should the technician have fixed them, even if they were "pre-existing"? I know I would have appreciated the effort and would not have been reluctant to compensate him for the repair, if it had not been caused by him. If it was caused by him, then he should have fixed it, period!

More recently, my warranty has ended and I fell into a very good deal on Soul sport headers, along with upgraded diverter valves and a BMC air filter. Researching the install, I decided to let a technician do the work for me. Upon picking my car up at end of day from the new to me, but reportedly very experienced independent german marque mechanic, I noticed the rear bumper was bulging on both sides in front of the rear taillights. I showed him and he said i could bring it back monday and he'd fix it. Instead, I had a look myself this weekend and was really dismayed at my findings. The bumper was slapped on, three screws missing on each side (the one behind the tail light and two of the three under the wheel well liner), several others not tightened. One of the fan shroud clutches was again gone missing, and one of the fan plug mount tabs was broken, with the fan plug not affixed to anything. I sent him an email with pics but i have received no response. My findings made me concerned about the rest of the work, but my inspection suggests at least the headers are properly installed and the car runs and sounds great. I sourced the screws and bolts from Porsche and fixed the issues myself, so now all is right with the world once again (at least the world of my garage!). Again, perhaps those screws and bolts were missing from the get go, but then, wouldn't he or shouldn't he have replaced them? I know that the fan plug mounts and the fan shroud grommet were in place when I brought the car to him, as I just changed the oil a couple weeks ago. So, he broke and dislodged those.

Anyway, am I expecting too much? My feeling is that things should be done correctly, or not at all, even the "little" things. I am still looking for an independent mechanic in my area who shares my OCD and values so the search continues. I'm wondering about other rennlisters' experiences in this regard?

McLaren997

You just have to find the right guy.

asellus

You paid for work to be performed.

The work was performed, but pieces were broken in the process. I doubt your agreement to the service included the clause of "we're gonna break some stuff, not tell you, and let you just deal with it on your own"

This is pretty black and white, they are in the wrong and should remedy the situation, either by fixing/completing the work, or paying you the amount it would take to get another shop to do that on their behalf.

Southbranch

I think your grommet/fan/shroud/bumper experiences are all too common, but that a lot of owners probably never notice such details. While I blame the technicians for inattention to detail, to be fair, Porsche itself is to blame for the fussy, impractical design. Like you, I fix these minor things myself. I try not to let them bother me, but it does not inspire confidence when I find sloppy work and it makes me worry that something major might also have occurred. It reminds me of the time many years ago when I had my nearly-new 1991 Nissan 300 ZX Twin Turbo in for an oil change and the dealer technician cracked a magnesium valve cover and didn't tell anyone about it. The big pool of oil on my garage floor that night gave him away. The dealer and Nissan spent a lot of time and money trying to fix that screw-up, and the guy got fired. My next new car was not a Nissan.

Gary12000

wow two tough experiences, i think we are all going to have trouble finding good service for some time, i know for several years at work we have had trouble with service work on our equipment, whether its brain drain, shortage of manpower, lack of experience, i know finding good help is difficult, we have gone back to hiring out of the newspaper believe it or not, we get older guys but the work ethic is better.

specifically in cars it may be we will all have to inspect the car with a video before we hand over the keys in front of the service advisor, then inspect it before you pay them.. then i would pay and inspect it with them present whilst they are standing there before leaving the premises.

Porsche_nuts

You really should expect premium work for premium prices as you said. Unfortunately, not the case here.

While you should take if back and have them fix what they failed to do, certainly understand your reluctance not to and to do it yourself.

Hard to find people who really care what they do, but then again, no one cares about your car more than you do.

Shame that one cannot get what they pay for anymore.

drbob20

Similar recent experience, a few of the fan grommets missing (not sure if there were there to begin with), ordered a few new from my local dealer. More troubling to me, the intake accordion thingy wasn't protruding from the engine cover plastic and the tabs weren't in their respective holes, so the intake was just flopping around. It's fairly simple but to be overlooked shows no attention to even basic detail.

BondJ

Perfect example of why I do all my own work or use a very well respected indi for everything I can’t/won’t attempt. In the uk all Official Porsche Centres operate under the company umbrella so many don’t give a toss if they crap out with your car. Independents tend to have a reputation they actually care about. Better workmanship at half the price. No brainier

Arena993

^^^^^What BondJ said. I do everything myself if possible and within my skill set. No one respects your stuff like you do.

straka

A word of advice. Record the mileage when you drop your Porsche off for service.

Noah Fect

My experience at independent shops has generally been good. They don't make money selling cars, and they don't typically live off of factory warranty work, so they have no choice but to be good at their jobs.

That said, a problem I've seen with the very best indy shops is that the proprietor is generally an older guy who could (and probably did) rebuild Phil Hill's Webers with some baling wire and a Crescent wrench. Bring in anything with less than a seven-figure price tag and provenance to match, though, and his "apprentice" will do the work. The "apprentice" typically comes from the same talent pool as the dealership's service department. He can usually change your oil without electrocuting himself, but that's about the extent of his talents.

So the problem is not only finding the right guy as McLaren997 says, but actually getting him to do the work.

CSK 911 C4S

Which dealer gave you this bad service?

If you say ... I don't want to post because of "some excuse" ....then please delete your post and move on.

Laszlo_Laz

I don’t understand lazy or how some can be completely satisfied with their results. I’m baffled by it.

Wujohn

Big 4 consulting companies charge millions of dollars for services and then assign "expert" fresh grads to the job and then charge extra fees for the engagement leader, who does little. Point here is that this crap happens everywhere if you do not hold people accountable. A business is only as good as its weakest link.

I would call them out and make them own up to it, even though you did the work yourself to fix it.

Bud Taylor

When the fresh new MBA enters the room certain in the knowledge that they alone are the answer to many problems. Thankfully this has improved since the 90's. I support Mike Rows foundation, everyone should.