Independent shop in the Princeton NJ area?

JasonF · 10-15-2007, 11:24 AM

Although I'm planning to DIY as much as possible on my '95 C4, it's always nice to know of an independent shop where you can take (or tow!) your car when you get over your head.

I think Ed Varga left the area and Autotechnik went out of business. Are there any independent shops in the Princeton area left?

Thanks in advance.

wnsgc · 10-15-2007, 11:53 AM

Greetings,

I also live in the Princeton area, Kendall Park to be exact. I have used Complete Auto Care Center (609-586-8454), as they were recommended by Dan Petchel (pres. of the south jersey Porsche club). They may answer the phone as Elite Auto Sales, because both businesses work out of the same building. Carmine, who runs the place is an excellent mechanic, reasonable and fair. As for Ed, he is still in Rocky Hill, working out of Rocky Hill Automotive on Rt. 206. Ed will be working on my 911 in two weeks, to lower it, corner balance and replace some old suspension parts.

Good luck.

Mysterytrain · 10-15-2007, 12:13 PM

South brunswick here also...Scott, I don't know the shop you are refering to.
I have used VCI..an hour north. Excellent service and Doug is a great guy. I have also just had a great experience with Bodymotion, Ocean, NJ..another hour away shop. Locally, other then the dealer I wasn't aware of anyone.

JasonF · 10-15-2007, 01:28 PM

Thanks guys.

I just had a nice chat with Ed. He gave me a quote to install a new suspension on my 993 that I thought was fair. He has a good rep in Porsche circles, so I will be using him.

Cheers, Jason

wnsgc · 10-15-2007, 02:55 PM

Ron,

I'll have to look out for you around the streets of South Brunswick. Carmine's shop is in Ewing, by the intersection of i295 south and Rt. 33 west. When you get off 295 onto Rt. 33 west, you'll see 10 - 15 Porsches on the right side, most of them owned by Dan Petchel. Although I've been doing most of the work myself, Carmine did my PPI and as well as some other work. I'm about to use Ed Varga to install my new turbo tie-rods, front & rear torsion bars, a-arm and spring plate bushings, and then lower, corner balance and align the car. Ed was recommended by neighbor, who has a 911 and 912, the former which is set up for DE events only. Ed did the suspension work on his 911 10 years ago and it hasn't needed to be changed one bit since. I've met with Ed a couple of times now, his pony tail and attitude are interesting to say the least, I like him as he appears to be a genuine guy. I'm looking forward to getting this work done in two weeks.

Regards.

Mysterytrain · 10-15-2007, 03:18 PM

Scott..thanks for the info. I've often wondered where Dan's keeps his stash. I knew Ed Varga years ago when he had the 'Little Foreign Car Shop' on Rt 518 in Blawenburg. Actually, another place to check out is the shop in the center of Hopewell. They sell Lotus but restore exotics, lots of eye candy in the windows.
http://www.princetonlotus.com/

wnsgc · 10-15-2007, 03:26 PM

Ron,

Thanks for the info. I'm in Hopewell all the time, as my sister lives two blocks away from the Lotus dealership. I love cruising up and down the hills of the Sourlands in my Targa sans top this time of year. As for the dealer itself, I've just assumed them to be very very expensive due to the type of cars in their coral, i.e. many Aston Martins, Lotus's, Rolls, etc. They currently have a nice white 911T in the showroom.

JasonF · 10-15-2007, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnsgc

They currently have a nice white 911T in the showroom.

Scott,

I actually checked out that white 911T at Princeton Lotus a couple of months ago. I was flirting with going with older 911s until I settled on another 993. The 911T is definitely a 10-footer. Some areas have been restored quite well, while others (such as chrome trim, headliner, etc, etc)...need a lot of work. I didn't look at the engine bay as I knew pretty quickly it wasn't for me (especially for the $30k asking price).

I went to that shop in Ewing (Carmine's/Complete Auto Care) briefly to check out one of Dan's cars. I thought they did mostly work on Japanese cars....how would you rate their p-car abilities and experience?

wnsgc · 10-15-2007, 04:30 PM

Jason,

I agree with you about the 911T at the Lotus dealer. Regarding Carmine and the shop, the shop has a combination of expertise, either the Japanese tuner crowd, which is Carmine's younger brother and the P-car crowd, which is Carmine himself. According to Dan, he is extremely knowledgeable. Even Ed knew of him and mentioned good things. The other part of the business is car sales, and as you know, Dan keeps many of his P-cars there.

Mysterytrain · 10-15-2007, 04:44 PM

Another shop is 'I service Imports' He runs an ad in the Schattenbaum news letter. I think he is down in Cherry Hill.

crater64 · 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonF

I think Ed Varga left the area and Autotechnik went out of business. Are there any independent shops in the Princeton area left?

Quote:

Originally Posted by wnsgc

Greetings,

I also live in the Princeton area, Kendall Park to be exact. I have used Complete Auto Care Center (609-586-8454), as they were recommended by Dan Petchel (pres. of the south jersey Porsche club). They may answer the phone as Elite Auto Sales, because both businesses work out of the same building. Carmine, who runs the place is an excellent mechanic, reasonable and fair. As for Ed, he is still in Rocky Hill, working out of Rocky Hill Automotive on Rt. 206. Ed will be working on my 911 in two weeks, to lower it, corner balance and replace some old suspension parts.

Good luck.

Happy to find this thread and the news. I live in Bucks County, PA just over the river but Hopewell/Pennington are nearby and I'm through there often. I'm hoping to get into P-cars in the next year or so and would be asking the same Qs as the OP. I noticed Autotechnik's closure with some disappointment as I'd heard good things about Ed, so it's good to know that his expertise - and others' - are still readily available.

FWIW I also checked out the longhood T at the Lotus dealership and drew similar conclusions.

Ed (not the Ed in question, just a coincidence)

edit: Sorry to have killed the thread.