How much has Pelican Parts saved you?

[brock911]

Hello All, greetings from Ontario, Canada.

I'm a new member here (September 2012) and really enjoy frequent visits to the site. I visit several of the areas to expand my knowledge and to learn more about the cars that are so special to us.

I, like so many of you find great satisfaction in tinkering and caring for our cars, and when we experience a problem we look to and often rely on the brotherhood here at Pelican Parts for help.

It is such a valuable resource to know that if I experience a problem that may appear to be unique to my car I can post a question and often times within minutes have a complete stranger share his or her experience with me providing a solution that relieves stress and saves time and money.

The knowledge that is shared freely is extremely valuable, however, I'm very curious to know just how valuable?

So, if you had to calculate how much this site has saved you over the course of your membership in information that was exchanged that saved you a trip or two to your favourite tech, the purchase of parts at a discount from our host or other members or some other value received what would it be?

To make the calculation easier if you could simply state how the savings was experienced and what the value was to you?

I will start... since becoming a member in September I have purchased a 1976 912E advertised on the site and parts from our host with a total value in savings to me around $2,000.

How much has Pelican Parts saved you?

Let's have fun with this.
Mike

[tonythetarga]

Hi Mike,
I'm an ex-Wellander and so I'll jump in with my take. Having been on the site about 12 years and 4 different Porsche's later, I'd say between buying parts here vs going to the dealer and getting help from members, I have easily saved 2-3K in labor, maybe more. On top of that the feeling of doing something and getting it right is priceless...and all thanks to the group of members Wayne has assembled here. Even when I was carless, for a year or so, I was still on the site every day to get my fix and give back where I could.

[brock911]

Thanks Tony, I'm from St. Catharines so we practically grew up neighbors. The value from this site is truly priceless, hence the thread.
Stay well,
Mike

[Craig_D]

Pelican Parts hasn't saved me a dime! ...I spend every dollar I can, on parts from PP and from the members on the classifieds! Without it, I never would have found the awesome parts! LOL

- Craig_D

[Dave Colangelo]

As for the cost of the parts here im not sure, they for sure have competitive pricing on most every thing I have ever looked at and they always have those hard to find parts.

As for knowledge and help thousands upon thousands, I do all my own work and visit this site all the time to post projects and questions. I have also made many local friends though pelican who are always more than happy to come over and lend a hand.

Regards
Dave

[brock911]

Originally Posted by Dave Colangelo

As for the cost of the parts here im not sure, they for sure have competitive pricing on most every thing I have ever looked at and they always have those hard to find parts.

As for knowledge and help thousands upon thousands, I do all my own work and visit this site all the time to post projects and questions. I have also made many local friends though pelican who are always more than happy to come over and lend a hand.

Regards
Dave

Very well put Dave, so the true value is not just dollars saved but friendships and knowledge. Still it will be interesting to see how others respond.

[CountD]

I don't think I can put a monetary price on this question as it seems a little undignified. I suspect that the parts (both new and used), know-how, positive reinforcement, interest and piece of mind make it invaluable. I hate to not post a number though as that would also lead you on and make my post even more undignified but I would say one rock.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by Craig_D

Pelican Parts hasn't saved me a dime! ...I spend every dollar I can, on parts from PP and from the members on the classifieds! Without it, I never would have found the awesome parts! LOL

- Craig_D

+1 I save more when I stay away from the forum...

[Dave Colangelo]

I will offer up 2 stories to show how great pelican is (mostly because Im avoiding studying for finals),

Story 1:
Over the summer I had a bit of a scare, my transmission linkage in my 944 had some problems and I thought the whole trans-axle was busted. For various reasons I was not able to work on the car for about a week and merely assumed the trans-axle was bad. Thanks to my friends here on pelican and the great classified section I had 4 separate transaxle's lined up ready for purchase no less than 48 hours after I first had the issue. Although it only turned out to be a small e-clip on the shift rod it was great that every one was so eager to help. I even had friends willing to to help me with the swap since I had never done one before.

Story 2:
Over my past few years I have used pelican to set up many group drives in my local area. Over the years the group has grown and many of the men have become good friends of mine. I have been setting up a yearly thanksgiving run though NY and this year was a true blast. We had 32 different cars out for the day and many great people. The highlight was that with the exception of the 914 we had one of every production Porsche made from a 356 all the way to a GT3 as well as turbo models. It was an awesome sight to see all the cars taking up the entire road. Here is my 944 leading the group,



Regards
Dave

[Tippy]

When I did the "money shift", I tore the engine down without any prior knowledge of how the engine is put together (no manual for disassembly either). As I approached hours 12+ (bagging/tagging/pictures) and I still didn't have it down to the crank, I knew I was going to need to do a lot of reading and research to get it back together. This ain't your daddy's Chevy!

That's where Pelican saved me a ton.

With a Bentley manual, Wayne's book, and the guys here, you could say I saved many thousands of dollars rebuilding the engine myself.

[brock911]

Thanks again for the input, aside from the value experienced by the members it's nice to hear the stories associated with those experiences.

[nettles503]

I'm just wrapping up a brake job; all I have remaining is the bleeding. I've probably spent $600 on parts and shop supplies, but I'm saving nearly $1,500 or so in labor costs, thanks to all of the advice and guidance from Pelicaners and Wayne. Thanks!

[911SauCy]

$550 on a tail light housing just last week

[Reifle]

It is relative - living in Canada it is difficult to find the parts at a good price. Used - lots of dismantlers in the area. New - dealership mostly - very expensive! I have relied on Pelican for good prices and great advice... Probably spend more since I know a good deal is coming and the knowledge to do the job is at my fingertips. The quality of the parts have been great and the advice over the phone when ordering something is also the best! The used section is a very busy place and if you are looking for something specific you do have to be diligent and watch constantly to see if it should become available... Yes I probably saved money.

[aston@ultrasw.c]

Pelican has cost me a bloody fortune

[88911coupe]

If it weren't for Pelican, and Wayne in particular, I would have spent THOUSANDS of dollars more than I needed to to rebuild my engine by having to pay someone to do it. His book and the help from fellow Pelicans is the only reason I was able to successfully take on a job that extensive.

[PorscheGAL]

I am not sure Pelican has saved me money. It has gotten me to spend on a more thorough a job. For instance: I am currently rebuilding the Targa's engine. I could have taken it to a shop to rebuild and it would have cost me about the same $ amount but when I do the labor I spend that money on upgrades like new Mahle pistons and cylinders. Plus the shop may not have rebuilt my starter and alt as a while you're in there or replaced all the sensors (some are not required but I figure with a 25 year old car, why not?)

[ivangene]

If I "save" any more money my family wont be eating 3 square / day

I cant afford to "save" any more!!!



(I use that when my sweety comes home with a new pair of shoes and tells me how much she "saved me")

[DaddyGlenn]

Thanks to these forums, I have taken on projects I would have never touched. I have eagerly gotten in over my head, knowing that this group will bail me out with its collective knowledge.

But that has come at a huge cost. No, there have been no "savings." But there has been much joy.