Just received this bill...

[Jaime_73]

Just received this bill...
Have no idea if the labor cost is right, but for sure is high. Higher than I can afford.
The car is a 1976 911S.

Please, share your thoughts.

[McLaren-TAG]

You've had no conversations with your mechanic before this?

[TimT]

What sort of work did you authorize the shop to do?

Where is your signed copy of an estimate of work to be performed.

[steely]

Originally Posted by McLaren-TAG

You've had no conversations with your mechanic before this?

Really - did you not have an estimated value or scope of effort in mind before the job started?

You are not painting the whole picture for us.

It is certainly high, but for all I know, you may have been expecting $20,000.00.

[grizzfan]

Sorry to see that, but welcome to the "Black Hole Club".

Tom

[uwanna]

WOW, I would definitely consider the receipt of that bill an OMG/WTF moment!

If Porsche sold new "crate motors" like some companies do, they would probably be cheaper than your bill!

[Jaime_73]

Bought the car from another state, sent it to the shop because the PPI showed it was not ok.

Just had one chance to talk in person, before the car arrived.

After that, a lot of emails sent, a few received, but not a single one about an estimate cost.

No papers signed.

[McLaren-TAG]

Not the way to do it, as much as I hate to say it, it's your responsibility to not get screwed like this as much as it's the shops responsibility to not proceed with work that hasn't been approved. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

I see some legal bills in your future. Best of luck and I'm sorry your experience started out like this.

[timmy2]

$24.000 to R&R the engine, replace the intermediate shaft, have the rockers and cams reground, install hydraulic chain tensioners and reassemble engine.
Then send the fuel system out for a rebuild.
Crazy price.
You could buy a lift, all the tools and parts, go to college and learn to do it all yourself for that price...




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[NYNick]

Wait…
You bought the car in another state, after you received a bad PPI? Um why?
Then you had the car repaired by the PPI shop without an estimate? This all before you even knew what was wrong with the car, or had even taken delivery? Is this how it went?

So now you have possession without having paid the repair bill? If this is true, that's one either foxy or really dumb mechanic.

The repair bill exceeds the value of the car, just about. Even if they have your CC number, I'd be screaming bloody murder.

[Jaime_73]

I won't argue about the parts, I just accepted.
But I really can't believe they would result in so much service time/cost.

[47silver]

Very odd. Who recommended the mechanic? Is the shop known on pelican? They split the mag case and did not do any machine shop work? Is that normal for a mag case?

[NYNick]

Let the yelling and screaming begin…$16,000 for "R&R Engine and Transmission", yet you never signed any papers authorizing any repairs?
Who has the car?
He who has the car has the upper hand.

[otto_kretschmer]

Originally Posted by Jaime_73

Please, share your thoughts.

did you tell the service manager to gold plate everything?

this could be a way that unscrupulous shops "steal" a car from an unwary customer

run the cost into orbit and try to bully or coerce the owner to abandon the car


$1395 for a tensioner kit?

this is one reason I try to do all the work myself and if I do take it in, I only take it to a shop that I have already vetted

I only have two shops on my go to list. They're expensive but I trust them.

[Uncle Enzo]

This makes no sense. The car gets a bad ppi and is still purchased. The car is then taken to the undisclosed shop and repaired at the tune of 25 large? I just can't imagine a shop doing that sort of work without explicit preauthorization.

[Jaime_73]

Originally Posted by NYNick

Wait…
You bought the car in another state, after you received a bad PPI? Um why?
Then you had the car repaired by the PPI shop without an estimate? This all before you even knew what was wrong with the car, or had even taken delivery? Is this how it went?

So now you have possession without having paid the repair bill? If this is true, that's one either foxy or really dumb mechanic.

The repair bill exceeds the value of the car, just about. Even if they have your CC number, I'd be screaming bloody murder.

The PPI showed a strange noise from the motor. I intended to take the motor out and perform a swap.

The service was done on another shop, were they said it would be worth to fix and maintain the original motor.

The car is still on the shop.

[RSBob]

The mere fact that they ran up such a bill without consulting you along the way is irresponsible and unforgiveable. If you told them to do what it takes to make it a sound motor thinking they would keep your expense in mind, you now unfortunately know that you need to put constraints on any Porsche shop since they are used to very expensive repairs. I would tell them my budget and have them call me when approaching that amount to decide what to do. Very sorry to see what you are going through.

To the people who enjoy shaming this poor guy, it might make you feel good, but this guy is asking for constructive help and no doubt feels bad enough. I'm sure if he placed a Kick-Me sign on his back, then it would be justified. Carry on

[LJ851]

It would be interesting to hear the other side of the story.

[The cap'n]

As a retired shop owner with 40+ years of Porsche experience, I think I can safely say that the labor bill is obscene (and some of the parts prices are way out of line, even in a retail setting). If the case was split to change the intermediate shaft, where's the engine gasket set? Where's the top end set? The bearings? Something's not right ............... Even at the full book time of 50-55 hours, the labor rate would have to be upwards of around $300/hr. I've never heard of a normal Porsche repair/service facility (one that mostly street work, not a race car shop) charging much more than $120-150/hr. Maybe start with the state's department of consumer affairs and go from there. In CA, no signed AND documented repair order means the shop CANNOT collect nor can it hold the car. The rest of the country may think our laws are overreaching BS, but they protect both the shop and the consumer. See if the state where the work was done has any kind of consumer protection in place. Beyond that, I'm not a lawyer, but I suggest you consult one.

The Cap'n

[Jaime_73]

Well, I think the service is overpriced, then?
Is it possible to do an acceptable estimate based on the parts list?
I intend to talk about it on monday.