Help me with "dealership repair" and "book rate"

Gogar · 09:42 AM

Ms. Gogar's panamera was losing suspension air when sitting,

Sat for a long time, the fancy Porsche closed system tank is empty and won't pump up anymore.

She -never- drives it and wants it gone anyway.

My local indy wrench buddy doesn't really want to touch it. He can't refill the tank with nitrogen and he's afraid if we buy aftermarket bags and swap them out and then take it to the dealership they won't repressurize it for us.

The dealership book quote is $5K, and I'm just sure that they will get in there and find a leaky fitting and tighten it up and charge her $5K anyway.

At this point just repairing the car to sell or trade.

What's my solution here? Repair the car with my buddy and sell private? Repair with my buddy, using Porsche parts if we need them? Suck it up and let the dealer fix it and then immediately trade it in? Sell the unrepaired car to the dealer?

It's not like my BMW where you throw in an Arnott bag for $150 and get back on the road.

I don't know. Thanks for your ideas.

pwd72s · 07-23-2018, 10:12 AM

Two ways to look at it.

Dollars and cents...car value & cost of repair. If doing that keep in mind your time is worth something to you.

OR

Emotional aspect...how badly do you wish this car to be gone? That could also be worth quite a bit.

KFC911 · 07-23-2018, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

....
I don't know. Thanks for your ideas.

How much do ya love this woman

?

I dunno either...next!

Gogar · 07-23-2018, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC911

How much do ya love this woman

?

Lol!

the answer is "enough that I don't want to see her get annihilated on a car deal."

Which is exactly what will happen if she does it herself.

greglepore · 07-23-2018, 10:27 AM

It doesn't look like its all that difficult to fill the system, any welding shop can like get you a tank of nitrogen, a regulator and the right fittings and hose for $250 bucks or so, if you're brave enough. Suncore has replacement suspension parts, listed as out of stock at the moment, but they might be able to point you in the right direction.
Race guys charge nitrogen shocks trackside.

flipper35 · flipper35's Garage

If you are trading it in you will probably get more back if it is a dealership repair.

Paul_Heery · Paul_Heery's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipper35

If you are trading it in you will probably get more back if it is a dealership repair.

I doubt that. If it is fixed then when trading it in they may check if the air suspension is working. That's all they care about, not who repaired it.

Gogar · 07-23-2018, 11:17 AM

Is there any way to get some truth and troubleshooting with this $5K dealer repair?

I don't want them to replace all four corners (or pretend they did) and replace a $10 check valve and pay $5k for it.

Or that's just the classic way it works?

VincentVega · 07-23-2018, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greglepore

It doesn't look like its all that difficult to fill the system, any welding shop can like get you a tank of nitrogen, a regulator and the right fittings and hose for $250 bucks or so, if you're brave enough. Suncore has replacement suspension parts, listed as out of stock at the moment, but they might be able to point you in the right direction.
Race guys charge nitrogen shocks trackside.

This is what I would do. Fill then check with soapy water at fittings and other leak points. I've seen similar systems replaced because 1 fitting leaked.

DanielDudley · 07-23-2018, 11:33 AM

DanielDudley · 07-23-2018, 11:37 AM

These guys are the go to for indie repair parts and tech. ''Pinnuo Auto Parts Co.,Ltd, a professional manufacturer supply the Air suspension shock, air spring, air suspension compressor, as well as the Crimping machine for repair/rebuild the Air suspension shock/Air spring, we also supply necessary free training for this. Welcome to contact us.''

Other aftermarket complete air suspensions run around 2600.00, A to Z.

John Rogers · 07-23-2018, 11:55 AM

Flat rate for dealers and now all repair shops has been around for many years. It was started as I remember to cover a dealer that had a mechanic who was slow and the rule in the beginning was the repair time was set, no matter what. As an example we had a VW Eurovan when they first came out and the clutch disc was failing. The VW dealer quoted some amount which seemed really high for both parts and the labor time. The manager told me it was set and that was it. I finally called a small shop in San Diego that said they used a pp/disc that was made by a racing shop locally and half the price of the VW items and the time was 30% of the VW dealer time. Guess who I went with??!!

908/930 · 908/930's Garage

If it is a nitrogen pressurized system a hydraulic's shop should be able to pressurize for you, but you would have to know the specs. That is if Porsche uses a standard type valve.

asphaltgambler · 07-23-2018, 12:21 PM

Answering your first question, I would try to find an indie shop experienced in late model Porsche near you. Task them to find the leakage. Like anything else, you need to find exactly what is going on before deciding the next step.

It's not very likely you'll find that at a new P-car dealership.

As for 'book time'............that's a whole 'nother thread

Eric Coffey · 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

Is there any way to get some truth and troubleshooting with this $5K dealer repair?

I don't want them to replace all four corners (or pretend they did) and replace a $10 check valve and pay $5k for it.

Or that's just the classic way it works?

Maybe option #3 would be to get a second opinion from another reputable (P-car only?) indy. I am sure there is someone out there that is familiar with the most probable culprits, and is familiar with how to efficiently diag. things.
For instance, if it's a single leaky strut you can probably replace it with a rebuilt OEM unit for 1/5 of the cost of that dealer estimate (or cheaper). YMMV...

EDIT: Looks like AG beat me to it...

pwd72s · 07-23-2018, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

If I were going to keep a car, that's probably the way I would go...back to the tried and true. But if planning to dump it? Hmmm.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

Have you callled Zach or Stefan at Poudre Sports Car yet?

Be up front and tell them what you want done? I know they work on the later stuff too and have always had good luck with them.

javadog · 07-23-2018, 03:28 PM

Go have a chat with the dealership. I can't see them quoting you a flat fee for something they haven't even diagnosed. I'm sure they have an hourly rate and I would charge you for the time spent in diagnosing and repairing it.

Yes, they have a flat rate system, but without knowing what exactly the repair is, they cant quote you a number of hours to do it.

Gogar · 07-23-2018, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BSiple

Have you callled Zach or Stefan at Poudre Sports Car yet?

Be up front and tell them what you want done? I know they work on the later stuff too and have always had good luck with them.

Thanks but I don't think I want to drive it up there at hooptie-height.

speeder · 07-23-2018, 04:23 PM

There have to be independents w ex-dealership guys who work on that newer crap. There is just too much $$ in it for it to be otherwise. And JR is right, you could take it to the dealer and get a diagnosis. Sometimes that’s worth a couple hundred bucks, in a situation like this. Who knows, they might quote you a price to fix it and you just say, “yeah.”

And you worried for nothing.