Been there done that... in the last 13 years of Porsche ownership I have used the following.
Chapplegate Porsche (main stealership) in Ferndown, Dorset. Was never very pleased with them, but also never completely unhappy with them, although over the years they did cost me a fortune in mis diagnosed stuff, diagnosing something costing £2k+ when it turned out to be a £50 part that was really at fault happened several times! Plenty of free coffee, but I guess over the years that free coffee actually cost me about a grand per cup!
Ray Northway Porsche (independent) in reading. Knows his stuff, but unfortunately its rarely the honcho who touches your porsche and I didnt like how they left my car a few times (oily finger prints, things not 100% buttoned down.
Lancaster Porsche (main stealership) in Cambridge. Jeeeezus.. did they get me wild!!! hit a pot hole while visiting friends up there, was a bit nervous that I may have miss aligned something.. They put the car on their alignment lift, then rather than use the proper adjustment tools, they proceeded to use crow bars and eventually a ratchet strap and a scaffold pole to pull on a rear suspension arm!!! I asked if it was bent, if so I wanted a new one, they told me it was not bent, but its how they always do it!!!!! Needless to say, I could not get out of there quick enough!
JMAutos (independent) london. Very very very bad. Paid them to check my brake disks out while I was on holiday (they are not very far from Gatwick, so I dropped off the car there), when I came back they billed me for a complete brake overhaul (disks, pads, caliper rebuild) and billed me for about £2900.. fair enough, I asked them to do it, and didnt think it would be cheap... but on the way back to bournemouth (about 100 miles down the road) I realised that my brake pad wear warning light was on, kept going and called into Chapplegate back in Bournemouth, only for them to say the disks and pads had not been changed and they could see no sign of the calipers being touched!!!.. Tried trading standards (what a joke!), then some bull happened where apparently the owner had emigrated, even though the place is still trading with the same staff... Anyway, an expensive mistake.
Porschembri (independent) London. Used Patrick at Porschembri, while I was in London on Business, to double check some work Chapplegate had done for me.. he was honest, didnt charge to much, and seemed ok all round
Steve Bull (Independent) Somerset. Not a bad chap, seems ok, but does like to keep your credit card number in easy reach.. First thing he asks for is your credit card number, and while the car is with him, its getting a bit of a pasting every day! but still cheaper than a main stealer.. Just does not seem comitted or very interested.
JZMachatec (independent) London. All good, used them when they were RUF-UK.. Seemed much better as RUF, but still good.. Consider them the KwikFit of the Porsche world, cheap chearfull, but your just one of many customers to them, they forgot who you are the second you turned your back
Hartech (independent) london. Fantastic for gearbox rebuilds, so so for everything else.. Another kwikfit Porsche outfit..
Jon Mitchell (Independent) Bournemouth. Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic.. Too cheap at times, but dont tell him that!! Normally in the workshop from about 9am until anything up to 7 or 8pm! Even on saturdays!.. His workmanship is good, and have not put a foot wrong in 3 years.. After my disasters above, I had given up on finding ANYONE who I could trust.. Then I called the independent Porsche club, who recommended Jon, Chapplegate could not diagnose a problem on my car, even made out like I was imagining the 3 times it had broken down, Jon worked out the fault over the phone (DME Relay) and fitted a new one the same day (even only charged me for the relay and nothing for fitting). Its also always amazing to see what he has in the workshop.. One week it could be a 924, the next it could be a 959! I dont have his number to hand, but his website is at
www.9xx.co.uk
Chris Turner... Now thats a name I have not heard in a few years! is he still going?? He must be the ORIGINAL Porsche specialist... Is he still a one man band?
There is some place on the road to Salisbury from Bournemouth.. Something or other sportscars.. AVOID THEM, they know as much about Porsches as I know about sub atomic physics (nothing)
There is also a specialist in Poole in Dorset, he knows a little about Porsches, but is a hatchet merchant.. The business is call Quatro, Porsche VW and Audi specialists.. I think that says it all!
Strasse in Leeds are supposed to be excellent, but I have never used them.
I did find one OPC which was OK.. but cant for the life of me remember the name or the town, they are the one just to the north of the M25, I think just off of the A1 or A1M... I visited them on the way to Bedford Autodrome for a track day.. I needed a couple of odds and ends, and they could not have been more helpful, and not at all like the other OPC's I have been to, it was a busy saturday morning, and yet the parts guy was more than happy to talk to me to make sure I had the right parts, gave me a little advise on fitting them (only bits of trim, but still!) and even showed me around their ex-lemans car 915(?) and let me sit in it!!.. Damn fine bloke.
My advice would be to find a good specialist and treat him well, there are very few good ones out there.. even if I moved away, I would probably still use Jon Mitchell if I were within a couple of hundred miles!!! again, check out his site at
www.9xx.co.uk
for his contact details.
Paul
Migration info. Legacy thread was 18078
