Porsche 911UK Forum

Welcome to the @Porsche911UK website. Register a free account today to become a member! Sign up is quick and easy, then you can view, participate in topics and posts across the site that covers all things Porsche.

Already registered and looking to recovery your account, select 'login in' and then the 'forget your password' option.

what would you do?

Palladium

Well-known member
Joined
1 Nov 2015
Messages
2,489
I bought an sc back in may and although a car with some good positives, i.e. good engine, clutch and gearbox, 4 year old respray with no sign of any body corrosion coming through, 124k miles, not category c or d, last owner 8 years, brand new exhaust/heat exchangers, coupe, rhd. it was a bit tatty underneath, it had also been neglected service wise, with the owner really only doing oil changes and a pop off valve during his tenure.

It had quite a bit of surface rust on all of the suspension components, the brake dust shields were knackered, most fixings to things like oil cooler pipes were corroded, brake line fixings were corroded, though no leaks whatsoever, floors are ok as is most of the chassis.

The car drove really well for 1000 miles, with the only obvious issue being the all important brakes, pulling badly, and looking at the receipt file it showed that caliper work had been attempted but obviously an issue was there.

Electrically everything worked apart from the horn, headlamp flasher and the electric wing mirrors, the drivers door lock was sticking. The interior is lovely and clean, probably wants a couple of front carpets. The heating and ventilation seemed pretty good.

So during my 1000 miles, I decided to book in the car to have a full Porsche major service, the wait was 5 weeks, no problem, I had the car and I was loving driving it about when the weather allowed it.


I purchased (with permission) some of the speculative service items to speed up the process.

On the 19th july, I took the car to the garage and was told it would be ready by the end of the week. A few hours later I received a call to say that the brakes needed a complete overhaul, with all new calipers, discs, pads and rubber hoses. I happily agreed as it was to be expected.

Anyway, whilst renewing the torsion bar cover plates, it was evident that on one side, corrosion had damaged the stud area and a section would need to be removed and welded, I saw this and fully accepted the necessity and the quotation.

The car was taken away and was gone for a few days, but I received a call to say, all was ok, the weld wasn't as much as first thought, and its all ok now ready to continue.

Another call came, to say that due to the corroded fixings on the brake pipes, when one job is done, its creating another, and the hard lines will also need replacing throughout the car, I was also told that the track rod ends would need replacing with turbo types. I was completely in agreement with all this extra work, I expected it.

So the new revised price is obviously much bigger than anticipated, but no problem, I want it right, I intend to keep it.

Then another call to say that the fixings are so difficult to undo, that the engine will need dropping (I thought that the engine needed dropping anyway to do rear hard lines, regardless).

ok I said, no problem.

Then I get told that due to the fact that the job is turning into a difficult case, other customers with routine servicing must now be prioritised, as the garage are undermanned and holidays have been necessary.

I am told that my car will be left until staff holiday is finished, then after that, which is now this week, all the other servicing work will need doing and I wont be getting mine back till September earliest.

I am sat here, with no car, no call, no actual end in sight, as I say I waited 5 weeks to get the car booked, now I am at the rear end of the never ending queue, ive actually sorned the car, can you believe it?

I feel completely pissed off, its been nice and sunny since it went in and that was why I bought it.

I don't want to ring the garage, I really like them and feel that the end result will be great, but I feel the situation may never end.

Is this a normal wait?
 
Sorry to hear of your troubles.

I'd be getting the car out of there pronto and take it to a more erm "transparent" specialist.
Get them to assess properly the task ahead. Yes things often snowball on these old cars but a good Indy should at least be able to warn you what extra could be involved because let's face it, if the Indy is that good they'll have done this before and seen most of the pitfalls won't they? Well you'd hope so.

Also you can agree whether to have a better rate for them fitting yours in between jobs or if you're paying full rate then you expect a completion date.
I used to drop my aircooled cars off at my Indy in October and sometimes not pick them up until April. Great rate on the costs though as my Indy just pottered on between everyday jobs. It also freed my garage up over winter. ;)
Having no car wouldn't be so good in summer though.
Good luck.
 
I think I will just be patient, knowing that it will be great when its done, if you buy one that's been neglected, you cant really be expecting an in and out job. I cant actually do anything else :thumb:
 
If i may ..

Garages book in work and try to allocate hours , some jobs turn into far larger jobs than was anticipated and so have in a sense to be rebooked to be worked on .. items break , parts need to be ordered .. parts are germany .. bascially its a pain .

I can only speak for my garage but we prefer the cars goes out correct than rushed .. i would rather you wait an extra few days so that im satisfied everything is done to a standard that i would be happy with.

Trust me when i say .. older cars can be a nightmare and its impossible to give a cost .. i deal with it every day but always do my utmost to ensure the car is correct , reguardless of the time constraint and i have to be open here its not a major concern .. car correct is .

yes its frustraiting , i agree , but always try to give the garage some breathing space .. fair enough if they .. go to far .. but normally they are just doing there best :)
 
just had the call, its now all done and is ready for pick up. very pleased. :thumb:
 
Chum, I'd nickname it 'Trigger's Broom' :thumb:

I recently drove a 3.2 that was a US import for a backdate job. Looked tatty but no rot, interior was sloppy turd beige smelling of piss but it went like stink and so light/nimble despite a lack of aids. I can see what the fuss is all about :grin:
 
i absolutely love the little sc, it aint a show winner, but its good enough for me, now ive invested into the car, i just want to drive the bollocks off of it. literally everybody looks at it, young and old.

when i get it back on friday, i will upload some pictures. You will like the pascha.
 

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
124,354
Messages
1,439,454
Members
48,710
Latest member
Silage
Back
Top