Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

small workshop down the end of St James Mill Road (near the station, behind Maplin)

Run by a chap called Ben who's pretty patient, helpful and knowledgeable about porsches in general. About 20% of their work is porsches - certainly I saw around 8 when I was down there. Not keen on doing nonstandard work ("we don't do boy racer stuff really") but will fit parts if supplied.

Pretty quick to fit me in (got the impression I got lucky tho as they seemed very busy later)

Took me round all work done afterwards pointing out what they'd done and showing me the parts replaced. Very pleased with level of service, patience with someone who's not that knowledgeable mechanically, and the effort they went to to make sure it was all done right. And put up with me phoning a lot

Bill was as follows:
4 Brake pipes £40
Alarm remove and install (thru a 3rd party - Northants Auto Parts) £350
Brake fluid £9
Clutch flexi hose £44
Clutch slave cylinder £52
CV Boot £10
Fuel filter £15
Metal front to rear fuel pipes £50
O/S/R Brake disc back plate £42
Rear brake pad sensors £15
Sundries £5

Parts total £632
Labour £748
Vat £241
Total £1621

Hi Krone9

Do live in Northampton?

Rich

strewth! how much for labour?

people certainly know how to get ripped off!

You can't really say something like that without knowing the hourly rate / time taken, shirley?

Adam

yes i can adam.

i know that that is a whole lot of hourly rate for a few hours work. 40 quid for 4 brake pipes? a roll of cunnifer pipe is about a tenner (if that) and it litterally takes no longer than 1/2 hour to remove make and fit 2 main brake pipes and 2 link pipes. last set of brake lines i fitted was to the mercedes which are equally as awkward as 911 brake pipes that pass over the gearbox it took me 1/2 hour to do the lot.
they have charged a fortune for what i can see is very little work.

they even charged for brake fluid for crying out loud. shirley they could waver that? i know i would!

Big job there as I see it is the fuel pipes. Depends how they were done but that can be very labour intensive. Be good to know the labour rate though. Bits prices are about right. Didn't realise the clutch flex was that much though, at that price almost worth getting an after market braided one done.

Dave I hope you don't think I was having a pop at ya. I was exercising haste because I know from personal experience that 944s are not necessarily the easiest cars to work on and that things like brake lines could be potential grief - and you are still new to 944s I think so without an idea of the hours undertaken it's not really fair to label a job a rip off (yet )

But i reckon there could be another youtube opportunity 'round the corner for ya

Cheers,
Adam

lmao adam, yes maybe another vid lol

i was inspecting sarah's today and they do look a tad awkward so yes maybe i also replied in haste i simply couldn't justify charging a fortune for brake pipes. especially £9 for brake fluid its only 2.99 from the local outlet for 1/2 ltr of dot4. hell how much did they use lol.

i dare say they done a damn good job tho

_______________________________________
i don't see how folk can sleep at night charging over £35 ph labour. these people are nothing special, cars are not some scientific creation that people need a degree in science to work round these cars. altho some modern stuff you would certainly lol. its like any "car specialist" because they specialise in high priced tags they seem to charge a high price for their services. which in my book is wrong. i know a guy that specialises in GTO's (not me) and he charges upwards of £100 ph and tbh he's work is crap i wouldn't trust him to fit a bulb or wiper blade. yet folk return to him time and time again for another 2-3,000 pound bill.

this is why i jumped on the charges. i simply couldn't justify it at all.

Sorry Dave but are you saying you can do a complete bleed through with less than a litre of fluid, on a 944 you'll struggle even with a pressure bleeder. It might happen if you're lucky but is unlikely especially with new pipes etc. They could also be using something like ATE Super blue which is much more expensive than cheapo stuff from the local factors, this is quite likely if they do lots of Pork.
Having come close to opening a garage type place 3-4 years ago, premises & overheads vary hugely. This depends on where you are etc. Most of the cheapy places, one local to me charges 30 quid +VAT per hour but work from the back of a car sales area & are in the middle of nowhere so therefore relatively cheap. Northway charge around 50 quid an hour but then they're a stones throw from Reading & in a high rent area.
I'd also add that if you get into Porsches & buy say a Bosch Hammer for 2-3K how are you going to pay for the unit except by increasing your hourly rate. Even the later 944s need diagnostic kit.

unless you want to pump brake fluid all over the ground then a gallon is just enough. i replaced every single brake pipe on the 300 SL and i only used about 3/4 ltr on bleeding it through (no gadgets) so i recon... yes jim i think i could...i'll let you know next time i replace pipes on a '44