Bob Farmer (Indiana) Porsche Mechanic

[e p slick]

I am taking a moment to recommend Bob Farmer, in Greenfield (Indianapolis) Indiana as a very fine 930 builder. I just got mine back yesterday and was very impressed with the performance of the car. He did a total freshen up of the engine and transaxle and made the car perform better than I ever thought it could. I'm old, have had a lot of cars in my life so have a pretty good lifetime of experiences by which to gauge this car's preformance. I'm frugal but can say that I believe the costs involved were fair. He settled up with me at the end of the project for the amount he originally estimated. No surprises. He will have my business as long as I own a Porsche. EP Slick - Indianapolis

[Tedfromohio]

I know this thread is over 5 years old but I just had Bob work on my ‘77 930 and feel I must comment. My car had rust in the front pan, the result of leaking battery acid. My local Independant Porsche Mechanic (who I am very happy with) said that the pan needed to be replaced but it want something he could do. He checked around with his resources and the was getting estimates in the 10’s of thousands of $ and no promise of the actual end cost or time to complete.

I kept looking as I couldn’t afford that kind of repair. A friend told me about Bob Farmer and suggested I call him. Bob is a little over 2 hours from where I live but he gave me an estimate over the phone that was a fraction of what I was being told and agreed to meet me on a Saturday morning. He liked over the car, confirmed the estimated price and I left it with him - he estimated he would have it 2 weeks.

It took a little longer as there were some other issues that needed to be addressed and Bob contracted Covid in the middle of all this, but we stayed in touch and he kept me appraised of what he was finding. We figured out what needed to be done immediately and what could wait as he understood I was on a budget. Bob and Chris completed the work by the time I needed it done, and stayed to the budget expect there was one item that he couldn’t let go. There was a problem with the fuel lines that we agreed to wait on but when I came to get the car Bob said he went ahead and fixed them as he just couldn’t let the car leave his shop in what he considered an unsafe condition- the price was more than fair and I appreciated that he cared enough ti take care of it. The car runs and drives great and I am a very satisfied customer. Thank you Bob.

[onboost]

Originally Posted by Tedfromohio

My local Independant Porsche Mechanic (who I am very happy with) said that the pan needed to be replaced but it want something he could do. He checked around with his resources and the was getting estimates in the 10’s of thousands of $ and no promise of the actual end cost or time to complete.

It took a little longer as there were some other issues that needed to be addressed and Bob contracted Covid in the middle of all this, but we stayed in touch and he kept me appraised of what he was finding. We figured out what needed to be done immediately and what could wait as he understood I was on a budget. Bob and Chris completed the work by the time I needed it done, and stayed to the budget expect there was one item that he couldn’t let go. There was a problem with the fuel lines that we agreed to wait on but when I came to get the car Bob said he went ahead and fixed them as he just couldn’t let the car leave his shop in what he considered an unsafe condition- the price was more than fair and I appreciated that he cared enough ti take care of it. The car runs and drives great and I am a very satisfied customer. Thank you Bob.

Tedfromohio,
Thanks for your post and good to hear Bob Farmer is still around... he's been quiet lately. I've not had work performed by him but have spoken with others that have, and I have bought parts from him several times in the past, always a good experience with reasonable guy and a straight shooter in the world of jokers that have infiltrated our hobby!

Additionally, regarding the pan replacement, the statement (estimates in the 10’s of thousands of $ and no promise of the actual end cost or time to complete) is an example of the infiltration of our hobby... the gouge! I remember a straight pan replacement being $2500, might creep up a bit if the tub sides needed some fab work. Pan used to come in around $250 -$300 and your $2500 price might even include that.. you were gonna be know more than $3k max. So, parts cost hasn’t changed that much, and there ar more suppliers, I remember when it was just Porsche. However, the “Porsche-Tax” has gone way-up! I mean, the process and required level of effort has not changed to install. It just the old car gouge in full affect, where some shops want to charge for repair, a percentage of what they think your car is worth after being done.

Ok, sorry for the rant.. but I’m just say’n! Good to hear Farmer is still around perkin & workin and treatin people right!

[Jeff Alton]

Good things always spoken about Bob Farmer. Seems like a great option for those in the area.

As a side note, front pan replacements all vary in cost depending on what is found. We do this job often and are in the middle of one on a 67 911. It all depends on the scope of rust, collision history and previous repair quality (if done once before). You don't really know until you get into the removal process. Plenty of hidden areas. This current one will be 40 hours of work (car drives in to car drives out) But 10k is a bit over the top...

Cheers

[1Bad86]

I've never met him but if it's the same guy he's been around forever. I first heard about him when I was in my early teens and had a cousin with a 911 who had Farmer service his car. Geez time flies!