PPI in Baton Rouge

mcholar · 11-16-2005, 02:51 PM

Can anyone suggest a shop or person that can do a PPI on a 1988 911 in Baton Rouge? I am in the process of buying one from Brian Harris Porsche and would like a second opinion on the condition. Sure appreciate the assistance...

mcholar · 11-16-2005, 04:03 PM

Has anyone had experience with Brian Harris Porsche in Louisiana? thanks

BRPORSCHE · 11-16-2005, 04:56 PM

Paul Loupe is a very good tech. He owns loupe European. Located right off of the industrialplex. Not that far away from brian harris. I have never done business with him, but heard nothing but good things.

Porsche Doc · Porsche Doc's Garage

Hey Man,
Get a hold of Shuie here on the board. He is a good guy!

He lives in Baton Rouge.
He will put you on the right track!

BRPORSCHE · 11-16-2005, 05:05 PM

yes shuie is a great guy.

chuckr · 11-16-2005, 06:20 PM

Brian Harris is a good dealership.... however, very low volume
when I lived there 6 years ago they only had one Porsche tech.
Good Luck
Chuck

mcholar · 11-17-2005, 05:28 PM

Well, Ive booked my flight to Baton Rouge to pick this car up and drive it back to Springfield, Illinois. The effort to get a independent PPI has been a complete exercise in frustration, so I'm praying that the Porsche tech at Brian Harris (ken Coleman?) is straight up, and the car checks out. I asked the service writer about doing a leak down, and he said it would take two weeks to get that into a schedule, but they could do an hours labor (at my expense of course) and check out what ever I wanted tomorrow. My main concern is that running gear is good (they state it has been thru their inspection and is in "good" condition) I'm not sure how many thou "good" pads are or how many 32nd's "good" tires are..And that it's not a oil sucker with a worn out top end..

But a 3.2 with a G50 for $13,800 is a pretty good deal, and I suppose I can drop some into it when I get back to sunny Illinois...
Can anyone recommend a route from Baton Rouge up to Illinois that will make a nice drive

jbrinkley · 11-17-2005, 05:37 PM

anywhere north.... or out of Louisiana is a good route.

mcholar · 11-17-2005, 06:28 PM

LOL...thats good, I hope spreading a few bucks down there helps a little..

Shuie · 08:28 PM

Sorry for the late response.

$13,800 is cheap for a G50 car. There are no free rides in this game. get it checked out before you have to get it towed from Shreveport to Illinois. There is no way I will ever buy one of these cars without the studs and leakage numbers being checked at a minimum.

Paul Loupe's shop is right around the corner from Brian Harris if you want an independent inspection. He is a real meticulous guy who will tell you everything the car needs. If its a local car, chances are very good that he already knows the car and has maintained it.

Brian Harris will probably not have a problem with Paul checking the car out, but dont expect them to budge on the price if it needs $5k worth of work. Ive already been through this entire process with them before and I wouldnt blindly trust them to put me a in a used car that was supposed to be ready to make a 1000 mile drive.

Im happy to help in anyway I can. Im here all weekend and Id be happy to call Paul for you or to help out however I can.

mcholar911 · 11-18-2005, 05:50 AM

Sherman,
Thanks for the offer, This was an ebay deal, they were asking 18,000 in local advertising, so I'm not sure what to make of it! I've been leaving messages for Paul over the last couple days, no return call, and I can't get through the answering machine..I did set up an appointment at Wedge Kyes, are they a good shop? No one has mentioed them, they said they could pick it up on Monday am and check it out. I need to confirm the tickets by Monday afternoon the latest to keep this on track, and Pay Harris Monday also or lose 1000.00 good faith deposit..

Shuie · 06:19 AM

Paul can be difficult to get a hold of. He basically runs a one man shop and has more work than he can handle. Super nice guy, great rate, and very meticulous.

Wedge has a bigger shop. They are within a mile or two of Brian Harris. Wedge is probably the only guy in the shop that remembers how to work on a 911 so ask for him specifically if you deal with them.

Call Mike Ballard also. He probably sees almost as many of the air cooled cars as Paul. The shop is called Ballards, I'll see if I can find his number

None of these guys are really terrible, but there just isnt much of a market for this stuff around here.

Demand the deposit back from Brain Harris if it doesnt work out. BTDT with Brain Harris. They cannot just keep the deposit if you have the car inspected and decide you dont want it. You have an obligation to them becuase of ebay, but they cant just keep the deposit.

mcholar911 · 11-18-2005, 06:23 AM

Thanks,
I have been speaking with Wedge, they seemed verrrrry busy. I spoke with Mitch, the shop foreman? about 15 minutes ago, and let him know that my main focus was getting a leak down. He said "no problem", but I believe Wedge is gone thru tuesday..aarrg

Shuie · 11-18-2005, 06:29 AM

call Mike Ballard. Hes a few miles down the road, but he knows these cars. 225-751-1153

mcholar911 · 11-18-2005, 06:36 AM

I'll try him right now, I appreciate the number..
Mike

mcholar911 · 11-18-2005, 06:54 AM

Sherman,
I just called Mike and he can look at it right now!, I mean drive over in the next half hour and check it out, that is incredible..You are a life saver, now I just need to make sure evrything on the car checks out. I'll keep you updated,
Regards,
Mike

Shuie · 11-18-2005, 06:56 AM

Good deal. Good luck.

mcholar911 · 11-18-2005, 07:17 AM

Sherman,
Just got the call from Nick, the sales guy at Harris, and Mike just picked the car up. I've got my fingers crossed, he's not able to do a leak down either, but he said he could tell if we had a problem by driving it for a while. ;-))

BRPORSCHE · 11-18-2005, 08:48 AM

Mike I hope the car turns out to be just fine.

mcholar911 · 11-18-2005, 10:43 AM

Well it's decision time. Mike just called me and here's what he found.Here's the major stuff.
1988 Targa 3.2 w/ G50 130,000 mi from Santa Barbara, CA.

Paintwork on both front fenders, hood, and LR fender behind the wheel, no evidence of frame damage or major body work. (advert described as original paint).
Dash crack between the speedo and the clock. (not disclosed)
Front wheel bearings need adjustment.
Front wheels scalloping inside edge, probably needs alignment.
CV boots split (both).
Rear tire sidewalls cracked (P7000's) but at 60%
Upper steering shaft bearing bad, about 1/2" of slop.
Motor/tranny good.
Brakes good.
Clutch good.
Seats good.
No evidence of body work.
Clean pan/good suspension.
Needs a little cosmetic stuff/targa seals/door stops/ hood struts.
He thought that in Louisiana this would be a 12K car, What does everyone else think?

Thanks,