[Unobtanium-inc]

The Vintage Porsche business is a classic supply and demand issue, demand is huge, while supply is limited. This leaves those in the business with a lot of leverage, they can decide who to do business with and who not to. They can also take their time and work at their own pace, because the business is forming a line out the door. They can also in the worse circumstances fall back on lax customer service, which is normally what pops up in the forums. Rarely is someone an out and out cheat, but there are common complaints of taking too long, bad or slow communication, etc. Basically there are too few restorers and parts people compared to the demand. In the 356 world the job of restorer has gotten a lot harder because what used to be "parts cars" are now restorable. But the rougher the car, the longer is takes. Guys who had cars restored in the 80s and it took 1-2 years are now seeing 5+ years. What they don't understand is the restoration of the 80s was not as comprehensive as it is now and the quality of the cars is much diminished from what it once was, meaning it takes longer and costs a lot more.
My advice to anyone doing a full restoration is this.
1. Avoid shipping your car out of town, try to find someone somewhat local to you. You have to be able to stop in regularly and stay on top of the restoration.
2. Have very clear goals in writing with your restorer, level of work, time and money, etc. If you don't want the steak dinner don't get stuck paying for it, and the reverse is true too, if you want the best make it known.
3. Be ready to pull the car if you don't like what's happening, even if you take a money hit.

Take all this from a guy who has bought many a car after a failed restoration, meaning I've heard many horror stories of how a restoration goes very bad. I've also had my own share of bad shops with my cars.

My last piece of advice is if you aren't ready to partner up on a restoration and stay on top of it, then you should go to the Porsche dealer, buy a new car and have it serviced by the dealer. If you do that you won't be disappointed with the car or the service.

---Adam