[sfclimbfish]

Any experiences with these guys...thanks

[realroadrage]

Originally Posted by sfclimbfish

Any experiences with these guys...thanks

Yes, except their best Porsche mechanic left to start his own shop.

[catron1]

Seconded, Taylor is the man!!

Also his shop foreman Andrew Goodknight is very, very talented as well.

Best shop in the metro area hands down IMO.

[max_stirling]

I just completed my first service experience with GAG on my first Porsche and I can sum it up as terrible and I would never go there again.

Here are indisputable facts: I bought my car in (under warranty) when I had to add 2 quarts of oil over 4K miles of use and a few other minor things. They diagnosed the problem as the turbos were leaking oil.

They ended up replacing the turbos, the rear air shocks for a worn out bushing and other related work.

It took them 5 weeks + 1 day to perform all the service. Within the last three weeks, over half a dozen times, they would give me a completion date, I would call them on that date and they would say that it'll be done in two days. Their excuse was always someone else's fault.

The final total bill was over $11K which they said I owed them over $2200. The deductible on the warranty is $300 and I told them specifically not to perform any work that was not covered under warranty without my approval first and letting me know how much it would cost. A reason request. They never once updated their original estimate from the out of warranty cost of $900-1000.

Adding insult to injury, when I finally took delivery of the vehicle, the brakes barely worked. They ended up re-bleeding the brakes, but they told me at least three times that they test drive the vehicle before releasing it to me. Really?

Though this is my first Porsche, I've owned many other luxury German marks and I've never experienced such poor service. I'm currently looking at other Porsche shops in the area.

I would be happy to share more details with anyone via PM.

[VaSteve]

Interesting. What kind of Porsche? What kind of warranty?

[BlackTalon]

Please introduce yourself, as it's always a little questionable when someone makes a post like this as their first, and remains anonymous.

Curious about the warranty... Was it from them for work completed earlier?

2 quarts of oil in 4k miles is not all that high for a turbo. Unless you were blowing out a black smoke cloud, it would have been much, much cheaper to just add a quart every couple of months.

As far as shops proceeding with work without calling the car owner first, unfortunately that is SOP for most places. The bill when you go to pick up your car is often 2-3xs what they estimated, and they almost never call to discuss before proceeding with the additional work. Once they have you car up on the lift, they pretty much tear through it until it's done; they don't want to stop and wait for approvals, possibly offload the car from the lift and bring in another, etc. It is a frustrating thing, and far too widespread.

Also curious why they touched your brakes for an oil leak issue...

[smdubovsky]

Originally Posted by BlackTalon

As far as shops proceeding with work without calling the car owner first, unfortunately that is SOP for most places. <...snip...> It is a frustrating thing, and far too widespread.

I was told by a mechanic that its illegal (at least in VA.) He said they weren't allowed to exceed the written estimate by more than some (small) % w/o owner approval. Now if there was no written estimate given...

[Trak Ratt]

Originally Posted by smdubovsky

I was told by a mechanic that its illegal (at least in VA.) He said they weren't allowed to exceed the written estimate by more than some (small) % w/o owner approval. Now if there was no written estimate given...

True for written estimates (think it's like 10%). Not sure I'd argue to much though if 1) I trusted the shop and 2) I trusted the shop.
But then most here can/should be able to tell when someone is blowing smoke up their kilt

[Vicegrip]

Originally Posted by Trak Ratt

True for written estimates (think it's like 10%). Not sure I'd argue to much though if 1) I trusted the shop and 2) I trusted the shop.

Originally Posted by Trak Ratt

But then most here can/should be able to tell when someone is blowing smoke up their kilt

I disagree. Many, myself included, can be suckered into what sounds like reasonable things that truth be told are not. Trusted shops mess up, trusted shops fail to return calls and hold cars far in excess of real or carefully implied ready dates. All Shops, 100% of them, are run by and manned by humans. The trusted shops do less of the iritating things and less to none of the very bad things.


A good review is a data point just as is a bad one. The good one might be BS and so might be the bad one. The OP would do well to flesh out the details a bit more.

Sounds like he was working within the confines of an extended aftermarket warrantee. they can be spotty in what is and is not covered.

[Patrick3000]

Originally Posted by smdubovsky

I was told by a mechanic that its illegal (at least in VA.) He said they weren't allowed to exceed the written estimate by more than some (small) % w/o owner approval. Now if there was no written estimate given...

X 2 Maryland is $25.00 over the written est.