Repair Quote

[Boxer boy]

Could you get a male to accompany you ? Pref one not to dissimilar in appearance  to Vinnie Jones and knows a bit about cars .

Not wanting to get tangled up in woke nonsense it feels to me they saw a woman coming .

[K.I.T.T.]

@Photogirl pardon my French, but some (all - maybe with the exception of MOT) of the prices you've been quoted sound absolutely batsh!t crazy.

I have a spreadsheet of all parts / labour for my car over the past 22 years, and have included some comparisons below.

 

 

Quote

Remove engine to gain access , replace front sections of rear brake lines, replace rear sections of rear brake lines, replace hoses as required , refit and bleed system £2100 inc VAT

 

Quote

With Engine removed additional cost to replace water pump £382 inc VAT - (has not failed, purely pre-emptive quote)

Just for some perspective, in 2021 I paid sub £1200 at a Porsche specialist to:

Remove / refit engine
New AOS supplied and fitted
New waterpump supplied and fitted
New plug and tubes
Brake pipe over engine

 

 

Quote

Front Shock Absorbers, Top Mounts, Bump stops and associated fittings £1440 inc VAT Pair

Quote

Replace Coffin Arms (x3) £950 inc VAT

I find it odd to replace 3 x coffin arms - may as well go the whole hog.

Now parts prices may have increased a bit since I did this (parts bought in 2020, fit in 2021), but again for perspective:

Parts

4 x Koni Special Active shocks - £540
4 x H&R -10mm spring - £125
4 x Spyder Performance coffin arms - £190
2 x front top mounts (Sachs - OE with pn ground off), bearings (OE), dust covers and bump stops (OE) - £180

 

Labour

£500

For all the above (and some other arms / TREs / etc not included in my list), IE a full suspension refresh and geo at a Lotus / motorsports specialist.

 

 

TLDR: <£1,600 parts and labour for a complete suspension overhaul

 

 

 

 

 

I would urge you to shop around and find somewhere that won't commit daylight robbery. Most of the things you've mentioned don't need a Porsche specialist. The brake pipe is possible to do with the engine in situ with kunifer pipe - my engine was out anyway, but there is no reason to drop the engine just to do the brake lines.

A specialist in Yorkshire has been suggested by name earlier in the thread - personally, I cannot recommend them. Have a few other folks that I know who feel the same.

There's another specialist in Westhoughton who I would steer very clear of.

[bally4563]

Just now, Boxer boy said:

Could you get a male to accompany you ? Pref one not to dissimilar in appearance  to Vinnie Jones and knows a bit about cars .

Not wanting to get tangled up in woke nonsense it feels to me they saw a woman coming .

That would be me then!! I think the premise of this thread is that you are being overcharged  and do some due diligence before you part with any folding

[Photogirl]

9 minutes ago, Boxer boy said:

Could you get a male to accompany you ? Pref one not to dissimilar in appearance  to Vinnie Jones and knows a bit about cars .

Not wanting to get tangled up in woke nonsense it feels to me they saw a woman coming .

I did take one with me but clearly he didn't have the desired effect - possibly a little too slim and groomed.

You may be right!

[Photogirl]

17 minutes ago, K.I.T.T. said:

@Photogirl pardon my French, but some (all - maybe with the exception of MOT) of the prices you've been quoted sound absolutely batsh!t crazy.

I have a spreadsheet of all parts / labour for my car over the past 22 years, and have included some comparisons below.

 

Just for some perspective, in 2021 I paid sub £1200 at a Porsche specialist to:

Remove / refit engine
New AOS supplied and fitted
New waterpump supplied and fitted
New plug and tubes
Brake pipe over engine

 

I find it odd to replace 3 x coffin arms - may as well go the whole hog.

Now parts prices may have increased a bit since I did this (parts bought in 2020, fit in 2021), but again for perspective:

Parts

4 x Koni Special Active shocks - £540
4 x H&R -10mm spring - £125
4 x Spyder Performance coffin arms - £190
2 x front top mounts (Sachs - OE with pn ground off), bearings (OE), dust covers and bump stops (OE) - £180

 

Labour

£500

For all the above (and some other arms / TREs / etc not included in my list), IE a full suspension refresh and geo at a Lotus / motorsports specialist.

 

TLDR: <£1,600 parts and labour for a complete suspension overhaul

 

I would urge you to shop around and find somewhere that won't commit daylight robbery. Most of the things you've mentioned don't need a Porsche specialist. The brake pipe is possible to do with the engine in situ with kunifer pipe - my engine was out anyway, but there is no reason to drop the engine just to do the brake lines.

A specialist in Yorkshire has been suggested by name earlier in the thread - personally, I cannot recommend them. Have a few other folks that I know who feel the same.

There's another specialist in Westhoughton who I would steer very clear of.

Thank you very much for that breakdown, greatly appreciated. A huge difference, as you say. 

I think it must be a combination of things - the workshop uses Porsche parts instead of the alternatives which would be a lot more affordable. I suspect being in the south-east also adds a loading. They will also be including the time taken to remove and properly refit the Zeintop - which apparently is traumatizing.

I'm not looking forward to talking to them in the morning  😆

Oh - the three coffin arms is because I had one done last year (it had failed). I had that done at Mortimers, and they also did two coffin arms on the Cayman for around £600 (as I recall they were non-Porsche parts too). 

My local ordinary garage is no cheaper and at times more expensive. 

[K.I.T.T.]

3 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

the workshop uses Porsche parts instead of the alternatives which would be a lot more affordable. I suspect being in the south-east also adds a loading.

I'd agree with this, however the price delta is simply ludicrous.

I feel there's a time and place for genuine parts, however, in your case most of these could be substituted by OEM or aftermarket upgrades.

For example, Porsche don't make shock absorbers. They're Bilstein B4s, put in a box with the Porsche logo which you are charged Porsche tax for the prvilege. B4s are a similar price to the Konis on my car.

 

The top mounts - again, these are made by Sachs, and boxed by Porsche. I kid you not, you can buy these exact same parts aftermarket and they have the Porshce part number grounded off. They're the exact same part!

Top mounts - note ground off part number:

 

Same with suspension arms:

 

 

A difference in labour costs would not surprise me, however, even doubling prices from up north, what you've been quoted sounds ridiculous.

Any decent independent garage (specialist or otherwise) worth their salt would be using OEM parts over OE where justified - in your case, for a bulk of the work.

[Menoporsche]

18 minutes ago, Photogirl said:

I had that done at Mortimers,

Pretty sure they're known for high quality and prices to match.

[Photogirl]

6 minutes ago, K.I.T.T. said:

 

Any decent independent garage (specialist or otherwise) worth their salt would be using OEM parts over OE where justified - in your case, for a bulk of the work.

Thank you again - that really is so helpful.

I wonder if in the morning they'll tell me the quote is for OEM not OE!

[Photogirl]

7 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

Pretty sure they're known for high quality and prices to match.

I got the Cayman there, the suspension started groaning badly a couple of weeks later hence having to get two coffin arms replaced (and I believe they gave a bit of a discount because of the recent purchase). 

There's nowhere affordable in my locality, they are all pricey. I suspect if I got the quotes done somewhere else (within an hour's drive) they would be similar to this one. It's quite disheartening given it's not a high value car. 

I'm going to have the parts discussion in the morning and see what they say. 

[Menoporsche]

Eporsch in Surrey have a good reputation here. I don't know how much they like OEM rather than OE parts.

[map]

@Photogirl - one option would be to get the car to the point it is MOT'd then shop around with a trailered service in mind.

For example I had my car collected from Beverley (East Riding of Yorkshire) and delivered to SVP in Worcestershire.  That's a long way and it cost me around £300.  For comparison: I reckon £70 in fuel and around £120 in train fares plus a lost day and who knows what aggro from delays/missed connections.

You needn't go that far but a round trip of even £400 could well still be a saving.

The other option is a Trade Plate Driver - you see these red and white plates in vehicles all the time and all you're hiring is the driver's time.  A service like this could also be useful - find a reasonably priced place to do the work and get the driver to deliver the car for you - here's a website (never used them and cannot therefore recommend):

https://www.shiftacar.com/car-delivery-questions/what-trade-plate-driver

[Photogirl]

Thanks @map that's how I'm thinking - get the MOT necessaries out of the way and rethink the rest. I hadn't thought of getting a trailer to transport the car so thank you for much for the suggestion.

[AndyM001]

I've not used Paul at Purely 9 in Yateley, Surrey, so can't recommend him personally, but he seems to get some good reviews on forums. Maybe there are some members here that have had dealings with him can confirm?

About | Purely9 Motors Ltd

 

[edc]

If you are near Mortimer's are your quotes from Parr or Paragon? Maybe try Addspeed. 

[Boxob]

6 hours ago, Menoporsche said:

Yes, with the clutch expect to change the flywheel also (assuming it's same as a 987). Another few hundred for the part, I think.

@Boxob your car is of similar vintage, any comments?

Yes my car is of the same vintage but like @Photogirl's car it too has had a charmed life and has needed little expenditure. As a consequence I have no comparison quotes.  My only comment is my gast has been well and truly fabbered by the quotes.  I would be going elsewhere.

 

[The Caped Crusader]

I would just get the car trailered to @TROOPER88 and get everything sorted by him. Job done!... And go on holiday with the savings!... Maybe the Maldives! 😂

[Photogirl]

Interestingly a bit of phoning around and the quotes were in a similar ballpark. Looks like all the indis are expensive around here.

I looked up the cost of the Spyder-performance suspension refresh kit (about £1100 inc VAT), not including shocks and labour.

The garage confirmed the quote for the front shock absorbers was for Bilstein B4 (not Porsche branded).

The technician confirmed they are using Meyle coffin arms - I've asked them to double check the price (a set of 4 I think is cheaper than 3 on their own).

The quote for the ignition coils was for OE, I have asked them to quote for Beru.

Regarding dropping the engine, I believe this was to do with making the brake pipe jobs more straightforward, and the cost would be partly offset if I did the clutch, water pump, anti-roll bar at the same time.

I can elect to just get the MOT points done and leave the suspension related points until another time. However since the brake pipes will have engine out it would probably make sense to get the clutch done (I'm undecided about the water pump, it would save a small amount of money doing it this way as the job is a bit quicker with the engine out). No commentary on replacing the IMS bearing.

[Photogirl]

Can I ask again why the advice is to leave my IMS bearing alone if doing the clutch. It seems it would be fairly inexpensive to do at the same time?

I've got the impression it would also be a selling point if I had to part with the car.

 

[Menoporsche]

It's a catchphrase on the Boxster, but because of the 2001-2005 cars' weaknesses. It simply doesn't apply on the 2.5. There's no reason to change that more than any other part of the engine internals.  Which you could also worry about, I think we've seen a few here implode due to chain guides, worn shells etc.  You could change it, but there have been the (rare) horror stories of cars where the mechanics didn't install the new one well and it went.

Perhaps you're right, for the price of the part (I think well under £100) and a pathetic amount of labour in real life, like half an hour, maybe it's worth doing. But we hear a cared-for bearing just carries on spinning, and energy and worry is just as well focussed elsewhere.

[ATM]

12 hours ago, The Caped Crusader said:

I would just get the car trailered to @TROOPER88 and get everything sorted by him. 

This

[bally4563]

There have been instances where the IMS has been changed because of whilst you are in there and no other reason other than that , only to fail due to a poor installation, myself personally on a early 2.5 leave alone, the reputation for failure came later

[The Caped Crusader]

I don't understand why you're even bothering taking the car back to them. MOT or not, get it trailered to @TROOPER88 for a few hundred and get it all checked and sorted for a reasonable sum.

 

Is it just me that's getting frustrated with this thread? 🤔

[bally4563]

4 minutes ago, The Caped Crusader said:

I don't understand why you're even bothering taking the car back to them. MOT or not, get it trailered to @TROOPER88 for a few hundred and get it all checked and sorted for a reasonable sum.

 

Is it just me that's getting frustrated with this thread? 🤔

+1

[Scubaregs]

I think @TROOPER88 may be diplomatically staying out of this thread rather than appear to be "touting" for business so to speak.

@Photogirl, surely it must be worth your while sending him a PM referencing this thread and asking if he would care to give you a quote/advice or both?

[hopz121]

I am still intrigued to know who the specialist is who's quoted the work. I am fairly local to you and would like to know where to avoid.

I plan on travelling to Cotswold for the majority of work on mine, his prices are exceptionally good to make the trip very worth while! I have had quote recently to do some basic stuff locally and the price quoted by cotswold was a good 40% cheaper!