Hiya sorry its a late entry here, but im new to the forum and also new to Porsche ownership, However I am not new to porsches, Having had first hand experience of Hartech Automotive as an employee, and also cath burrows as a co-worker i can give a unique view of both specialists.
Hartech Automotive:
Back in 1996 i was looking for a work experience placement and my brother knowing i was absolutely car mad, had a friend who he knew called grant who had set up a porsche repair garage with his dad Barry on a local industrial estate in Bolton called deakins mill, This was two minutes walk from my home so i jumped at the offer. It was at hartech I got to work alongside cath burrows. I worked with hartech for around 2 years and was with them when the expanded to a new unit further down the industrial estate. They were kind enough to put me through an apprenticeship which i f****d up by not knuckling down as i should of, but thats a different story. Hartechs standards are high, very high in fact, every nut was torqued to the correct tension, copper grease used in abundance, strip downs meticulously organised, great care taken to ensure no dirt entered the car, any parts sent out to be skimmed etc, were scrutinized and measured to exacting standards, if it wasn't right it was sent back. Every car driven, anything not spot on and the car was back on the ramps and sorted out. cars left cleaner than when they arrived, As it happens they are now based again only 5 minutes from my home, and i will have no hesitation using their garage if i had to. Luckily theyve graced me with enough knowledge to tackle most jobs myself. And even though I was eventually sacked I have to say thank you.
Cath Burrows.
What can I say, as with hartech, cath was an inspiration, it was pretty much unheard of to have a woman technician in a garage environment and especially one as passionate and knowledgeable about her work as cath, she had a black sports motorbike which was bloody evil! I had the pleasure of working with and being sorted out by cath during my stint at hartech and as i remember she was straight to the point, precise, and more than proved herself to be overly competent at her job. Her personal work standards were high, she was the go to person when a 911 came in, and was not one for mincing her words. But that said ts this honesty that stands out, I personally would rather have it laid out straight in front of me a list of jobs which need sorting out and know my car is safe and sorted, than have a technician that only fixes what you told them too without checking anything else. I would also be extremely happy to send my car to cath for any work. As a matter of fact once ive picked up the 944 this weekend thats exactly where im going for an inspection on it to gather the list of work to be done.
With the two garages above I would say that the only choice would have to be distance of travel, whichever one you choose you wont be disappointing. Both are excellent knowledgeable centres and much more reasonable than Porsche dealers and probably just as good if not better quality work produced.
Mark. (apologies for any misspellings im using a phone )
|