Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Made a huge mistake when I took my 944s2 to specialist for irratic tickover, service and general check over. If only i'd asked for a running total.........
they had the car for 2months and handed me a huge bill of £3,600, which is more than I paid for the car a few months prior. Really didn't expect much to be wrong, considering it had full service history, 119k on the clock and the last owner had it for 14 years. She is now in the garage under a duvet............
My carerra fund is now gone!

What did they actually do to the car?

Thats really annoying any decent specialist should have kept you informed as to what needed doing and the cost, unless of course you gave them a free reign
I remember the 1st service on my previous two 944's
1) A 2.7 which needed belts/rollers (for peace of mind in 2004) got quoted a figure (about £350) then found the bill to be nearer £600 not happy about their way of doing business, after some arguing I managed to get it down to mid £400s paid up and then didn't use them again + no recommendation on this forum either!.

2) On a Superb S2 Cab with only 32k on the clock in 2005. The service cost me £2200 in 2005 but Hartech did have the decency to advise me of what needed doing as a minimum, cost £1270 or If I had everything sorted £2,2k a full breakdown was given to me before I committed myself. Then I went and sold it a year later for someone else to get the benefit. Would still use Hartech if I didn't use JMG.

Do you feel like naming the specialist just so other members can be warned .

I have now used JMG for the last 6 years on my 944 Turbo and you do get advised of what needs doing as a bare min + what really could do with being done + costs and timescale AND of course a TIPEC Discount + lots of Techical Knowledge as you may have noticed on this forum.

Well now it's sorted, don't leave it in the garage under a duvet, get it out and enjoy the driving and get the use out of it , the Carrera will have to wait a bit
Clive

What did you expect? You bought a cheap one. A good S2 will still costs more than you paid! Cheap to buy does not mean cheap to run. The garage should have contacted you with an estimate if it was that bad. But your S2 is every bit as good as a Carrera. I would say better. The first year of ownership you are playing catch up for the jobs that should have been done & were neglected by the previous owner. Any car is only as good as the the last guy that worked on it.
Now you fixed it. Enjoy. The guy I sold mine to left his 911 at home & took my old 944 to Leman. If you wanted a Carreara why did you buy an S2????? They are as different as chalk & cheese but they are both a real Porsche.
edit. You do not say were you are based. But heres another plug for JMG. I am based in Yorkshire but still got all my parts from them & used them for technical support which was free!

Quite a long list- service, throttle position sensor,fuel line,fuel return line,fuel hose, cv boot kits, anti roll bar bush, rear axle mounting brackets , fuel pipe, fuel line rear, fuel pipe adaptor, + nuts, washers, clamps.

labour 27 hrs
£60 hr

Did get some break down of work needed,but not final cost, the car was on the ramp, minus gearbox, exhaust, drive shaft, rear axle, fuel lines etc so had no option, seems like a good job done at a price by - PETER CHAMBERS AUTOMOTIVE, TEWKESBURY, GLOS.

You dont expect all this to be wrong with a full history, S2 looked and drove well before purchasing, only did 800 miles since last mot.

Will enjoy her now......

There are plenty around much cheaper,but it was what i wanted to pay at the time, and was totally prepared to spend money on her, she now drives as good as she looks, regarding the Carrera it was hard to find a manual in the right colour etc, will now be holding on to and enjoying my S2

They obviously went by the book to replace the fuel lines which is insane! That is why the labour is so incredible. There are various ways of doing the job & they did the most expensive. I'd avoid them in future, especially if they don't communicate.

They should have given you some options and costs.

At least you now have a very sorted S2 and by sharing your experience others will be wiser.

£3,600 for changing the fuel lines and a service, taking the piss somewhat. You can change them in a day quite easily and not have to spend £700 on the OEM Porsche lines.
I wouldn't have been paying that at all.
Alasdair

What I was thinking. JMG charged about that for front engine rebuild inc water pump, belts, idlers etc etc, new fuel lines, full major service as Blue rocket had been sat a while, new alarm system, and new sills each side. Seems with knowledge come speed and honesty.

You know sometimes I think I am doing something very wrong... Othertimes I think maybe I am doing something right.

One stick that keeps beating us at JMG Porsche is that we do not do anything without a customer authorising it.

Sometimes this means a car sits around for a week while we run around trying without success to get hold of a customer for authorisation, sometimes it means we stop a service while we wait for a customer to authorise something extra which is easier done while the car is part completed.. In any case, it means that every day we get a fraction done of what we would like to get done, and it means I can only dream of my technicians doing 40 hours of chargable work in a 40 hour week.

It also means I have to maintain a compound that can hold 30 customers cars, a T-Card and logistics systems set up to have 25 cars on the go at any one time, even though I do not have 25 cars turning up every day, and why even though I have a workshop with 4 lifts and 3 other bays, I can not move to a simple industrial unit with space inside for 4 lifts and 3 bays... Far more cars are here waiting for the "go ahead" from customers every day than there are being worked on every day.

The reason we work like this? Because we can not see another way of working.

Maybe most garages just get on with it and present a massive bill to customers when they come to collect the car, maybe this is normal, but because I have never had to use a garage (owning a garage kind of stops this from happening) I have no idea what is reasonable.

The idea of presenting a customer who had expected a bill for a service and a minor running fault, with a bill of thousands of pounds, to me, seems completely out of order.

I even have some customers in the UK and overseas who give me an open cheque book, and sometimes they seem a bit miffed that we still call them for authorisation, but to be honest, how should I know when to just go ahead and spend someone elses money and when should I call them?? Or where do I draw the line, we even call a customer for a £5 item.. I take the attitude that if I am not going to do it for free, then the customer should not be expected to pay for the unexpected.

So, am I just a daft bugger? or has this other garage got some brass kahooners?

At least its all done, and in some ways, even though specialists like me offer an alternative to genuine Porsche fuel lines at a cheaper price, it is nice to see a Porsche get the original parts from time to time. No improvement in function, but in 20 years time yours might be one of the few in the world with original type fuel lines.

However, please do not give a garage an open cheque book again, thats crazy!

Jon, I would suspect that 95% of your customers prefer your way of operating. It's what retains customers, and it's called customer service. It's a dying trait so you stick to your guns.
I have three independants very local but would be inclined to order parts from you given the experience I have had with each.
One chance to make a first impression and all that !!

Ouch. Thats pretty minor. Taking the piss most certainly. More than three times what you should have paid in my book. Wouldn't use them again if i were you. Biggest bill I ever got was around that amount but included a new clutch & engine overhaul with a gas flowed head & a pair of new drive shafts. They replace the fuel line along with the brake pipe included in that. Enjoy your S2. But find a decent mechanic or DIY. Would be cheaper to put it on a trailer & have it taken to JMG at those prices!!! Feel sorry for you. Once bought a stolen car from a franchised dealer. So I know what it feels like to be shafted. 27 hours. Did the mechanic fall asleep????? Go back & shout a bit. Thats not reasonable.

Thanks for the good advice and still cant justify the final bill, I certainly didnt give PETER CHAMBERS an open cheque ....Iam now very caucious regarding the use of a specialist again