pp000830

Lookup parts cost at rockauto.com and for any part, you can't find there, Pelican Parts and then add a 40% markup and this is what you should be paying for parts.
Sometimes parts costs are inflated by a shop that quotes based on sourcing parts exclusively from a Porsche dealer at list price without discussing their jobber discount.
By asking parts questions you can redirect them to more economical parts sources, especially for rotors and pads where the OE supplier sells through a warehouse distributor the same part in their box vs a Porsche branded box from the dealer for a lot less.
Keep in mind that if your discussion of price is reasonable and based on facts the shop servicing your car will not have a problem engaging you in a discussion, on some items they will agree to source elsewhere. For other parts, you will learn their rationale as to the part source they prefer.
A little give and take and education for you and them.
If they are not willing to have a discussion maybe you need to look into a different shop.
Andy

m32

andy, the price OP received was for labor only 🙁

Edwin

chsu74

You allow a shop to charge 40% margin on parts that they probably have terms with? Pelican Part pricing, as in your example, already has margin in their online prices for retail customers.

95_993

I agree with others that the labor seems a little high.

When you consider parts, Sunset Porsche and more recently Delaware Porsche have good pricing on factory parts.

alsamrob4

Thanks for all of the input. Helpful info to allow me to have an intelligent discussion with the shop.

pp000830

Yes, you make a good point jobber discounts can be from 15% to 40% from local suppliers. I suspect it is closer to 15% at the dealer.
If one prices a part out a Rock Auto and the same part at a local warehouse distributor one will get a feel for how much margin is front-loaded in online prices. I suspect it isn't much.

At Pelican for Porsche boxed stuff, they are probably working off of dealer price sheets to derive a price. Also there is probably an extra hop (cost) in the distribution process through Porsche USA distribution. They may even be contractually prohibited from underselling local dealers on Porsche branded stuff. For stuff not in a Porsche box, they can probably price much lower.

I generally buy the parts boxed by the original supplier to Porsche in Bosch, ZF, Sachs, Textar, etc., and not the stuff in a Porsche box. Certain exceptions including Stop-Tech & Centric brake hoses and other aftermarket wheel-end parts as I know them personally and they have internal engineering capability and are not just a distributor & reman outfit.

Andy

Fede-993

Hello all I can share LABOR costs on some of the mods that I had done
Front end
was done by a mechanic in JAX and charged 110$/h
- 4 Brakes (rotor and pads): 2,4 hr -> 264$
- front tie rods: 2.10hr -> 231
- lower front control arms bushings: 5,80hr -> 638$ VERY HIGH! (he struggled to remove the old bushings)
- alignment: 1hr -> 110
TOTAL: 1330$
note: Porsche ATLANTA quoted 348$ for from control arms in labor

Engine mounts: 148$ in labor always at Porsche ATL

Hope it helps

rsr91128

I have done everything on your list and don't think 20 hours is out of line at all. Ride height / corner balance and full 993 alignment can take hours on its own as you go back and start over after every adjustment pretty much. And don't get me started on those damn brake lines .

Either way Nurburger was spot on with his post.

stevensivak

a one hour alignment is no alignment...

rk-d

100% agree.

Depending on your location, the market price for labor on air cooled cars is highly variable. The price OP is listing is not outrageous.

I would be more interested in what you are getting for this price. What's the experience of the shop? How is their customer service? Their professionalism, reputation and ability to come through on a schedule? Their follow up and reliability to back their work? I could not care less about paying 10% more if it means all of the above are covered.

Finding a reliable air-cooled shop with talented techs who are willing to go the extra mile is not always easy to find. Building a relationship with a shop, IMO, is a critical part of the experience of owning these cars (unless you have the expertise, tools and TIME to do it all yourself).

Where I live - I have to drive 2.5 hours to find a shop that fit the criteria. I pay more than most people on RL for the work I've had done, but the work has been top tier and the techs there are willing to do things out of the comfort zone for many shops (ie custom machining parts, etc) to get the job done right. That's worth it to me.

alsamrob4

Again, thanks for all of the input. From what I have read, there are services for these cars that you can treat as commodities (brakes, suspension refresh, etc.) because these items aren't unique to this car and more apple pie and ice cream services. And that other services really require the tech to know the air-cooled flat six world.

All of the items on my list with the exception of alignment and corner balance, and possibly brake lines, can be DIY, and any competent tech could do them.

I'm trying to avoid overpaying for the more mundane work, and don't mind paying extra $$ for the work that requires a more experienced tech.

All of the advice here helps that. Thank you

aircooledpurist

I can do a lot of things well. Working on my cars is not one of them. Knowing this, I researched the best air cooled mechanic I could find within a reasonable drive from my home. There is a shop right in town that has been around for years. They host PCA events there and are nice guys. That was one option, but there is another shop about a half hour away that has a stellar reputation. When I visited they were building race cars and had several air cooled engines being completely rebuilt as well as a couple Porsche cup cars being prepared for upcoming races. Certainly these guys could care for my pedestrian 993. The experience has been fantastic, as they have helped me make good choices along the sorting and modding experience.

As far as parts go, the actually SAVE me about 20% from what I could purchase the same parts from Pelican or Sunset, Fister and even my tires. They are currently sorting my BBS rims at a huge savings. Labor rate is $135/hr. If that is 10 or 15 bucks high I'm fine with that, because the shop is very efficient with their repairs. They know these cars inside and out and everything goes smoothly. That is worth something. My car ran great with just 17 thousand miles when I got it. It runs INFINITELY better today, night and day difference after they have worked their magic.

So there is my long winded response, lol, to say I don't think you want to shop price when having work done on your vintage Porsche.

911F1

Agree. I paid for 4 hours @ $120hr of labor to corner balance and align my car.
It feels like a different car now. In a very good way. Money well spent!

Fede-993

It's obviously subjective.
There have been long discussions on this but for me (and I underline, for me) 500$ for a perfect alignment for road use seems too much.
I had it done once and it was great, I also tracked the car but IMHO I felt every time I drove a bumpy (normal?) roads these 500$ were being flushed down the toilet.

Plus on the road it didn't feel 4 times better than the other "cheap" alignment I've made.
No hard feeling it's just my personal opinion based on personal driving capability, budget....

@alsamrob4 best of luck with the repairs!

ciao!

911F1

^ I see your point as well. But for me, Having spent thousands of dollars on suspension components.
$500 more to make sure everything is dialed in. Is a no brainer. To each is own