Maintenance advice on my first 911 !
Discussion
Hi
I have just purchased my first 911 (1998 996) - having chopped in my Lotus Esprit Turbo.
My 911 needs a service (48k including polly belt and brake fluid) as well as new disks and pads on the back.
I am suprised that the service doesn't appear to be any cheaper at a specialists????, so I may as well get it done at official porsche? (£560 all in and I get an "official" stamp)
However porsche quoted my £564 for the rear disks & pads, and specialist quoted me £327 !! (using official porsche parts??!!)
JZMachtech is the nearest specialist to me. Has anyone got any experience of them?
I have just purchased my first 911 (1998 996) - having chopped in my Lotus Esprit Turbo.
My 911 needs a service (48k including polly belt and brake fluid) as well as new disks and pads on the back.
I am suprised that the service doesn't appear to be any cheaper at a specialists????, so I may as well get it done at official porsche? (£560 all in and I get an "official" stamp)
However porsche quoted my £564 for the rear disks & pads, and specialist quoted me £327 !! (using official porsche parts??!!)
JZMachtech is the nearest specialist to me. Has anyone got any experience of them?
Experience of Machtech (Steve and crew) before their link-up yes, and that was fine, haven't been back since they became JZM. Personally I'd go to an independent - apart from the same parts at more realistic prices you're likely to get better one-to-one service, and I wouldn't rate the quality of work at the leading independents as below OPCs for most stuff. If JZM are keeping their waiting times down these days you could do a lot worse. Key question, can you do without the posh cups for your coffee?
Until last year I've been using OPC and then an independent near where I live for services and repairs. Last year I went to the inde and ask about alignment check, and found out that they send the car somewhere else to have it done (probably OPC) I then decided to take the car to JZ, 2 hrs drive away.
They've had very good feed backs from other 911 owners and everytime I speak to Jonas or Steve, they seem to know exactly what they're talking about.
The quality of work has been very good, and they passed my "by the way, can you also take a look at this trivial problem while you're there" test, which most other places would've completely ignored / forgotten about it.
They've been looking after my car ever since and wouldn't even consider taking it anywhere else now.
>> Edited by Butzi on Sunday 9th January 22:24
They've had very good feed backs from other 911 owners and everytime I speak to Jonas or Steve, they seem to know exactly what they're talking about.
The quality of work has been very good, and they passed my "by the way, can you also take a look at this trivial problem while you're there" test, which most other places would've completely ignored / forgotten about it.
They've been looking after my car ever since and wouldn't even consider taking it anywhere else now.
>> Edited by Butzi on Sunday 9th January 22:24
I've used JZM for both my cars these past 6 years and thoroughly recommend them. They are not the cheapest Independant but they know what they are doing, use official Porsche parts and allow the correct amount of time to do the job without any little extras creeping in to surprise you 
Hi, I use JZM on a regular basis and fully recommend them. Their level of personal service is excellent. When they say that they will phone you back they do. The person on the other end of the phone will know your car inside and out.
One instance of exceptional service was when my brother had his 911 3.2 in for some routine stuff and when the car was parked in their carpark a huge branch fell out of a tree and landed on the near side front wing making a sizeable dent just in front of the filler cap. They phoned my brother immediately and told him the bad news and that they would be getting it fixed ASAP. The car went down to the nearby bodyshop (Langley Autocraft) and spent about 5 days being repaired - as the car is black they found it hard to get a good match between the new paint on the repaired wing and the bonnet and so in the end they ended up painted the whole of the front end - about £600 worth. My brother got the car back a week late with a gracious apology and a bottle of champagne on the passenger seat
. Can't say fairer than that.
One instance of exceptional service was when my brother had his 911 3.2 in for some routine stuff and when the car was parked in their carpark a huge branch fell out of a tree and landed on the near side front wing making a sizeable dent just in front of the filler cap. They phoned my brother immediately and told him the bad news and that they would be getting it fixed ASAP. The car went down to the nearby bodyshop (Langley Autocraft) and spent about 5 days being repaired - as the car is black they found it hard to get a good match between the new paint on the repaired wing and the bonnet and so in the end they ended up painted the whole of the front end - about £600 worth. My brother got the car back a week late with a gracious apology and a bottle of champagne on the passenger seat
. Can't say fairer than that.simonharrod911 said:
Hi
(£560 all in and I get an "official" stamp)
Menu pricing is rediculous. How can they possibly know what needs doing in a 48k service before seeing the car?
Menu pricing just covers the parts that they replace as a matter of course at that interval, whether they need doing or not (you could probably reuse oil filter or plugs but why not through them away just to be sure?). You can order extra work that needs doing a la carte at the same time, should other bits require attention.
Menu pricing is a step in the right direction as it protects consumers from one garage charging 50 hours labour to change the oil, and another one 50 minutes. It also allows easier budgeting when running the car. However, it doesn't take account of stripped threads, seized nuts etc. and so some garages don't like it. The transparency also lets the consumer choose the cheaper place to get their car serviced. This increases competition, but can mean hidden costs as companies try and outmarket each other (I have seen cheaper oil used as standard, for example, with a surcharge for the Mobil 1).
domster said:
tobyintheuk said:
Hi
(£560 all in and I get an "official" stamp)
Menu pricing is rediculous. How can they possibly know what needs doing in a 48k service before seeing the car?
Menu pricing just covers the parts that they replace as a matter of course at that interval, whether they need doing or not (you could probably reuse oil filter or plugs but why not through them away just to be sure?). You can order extra work that needs doing a la carte at the same time, should other bits require attention.
Menu pricing is a step in the right direction as it protects consumers from one garage charging 50 hours labour to change the oil, and another one 50 minutes. It also allows easier budgeting when running the car. However, it doesn't take account of stripped threads, seized nuts etc. and so some garages don't like it. The transparency also lets the consumer choose the cheaper place to get their car serviced. This increases competition, but can mean hidden costs as companies try and outmarket each other (I have seen cheaper oil used as standard, for example, with a surcharge for the Mobil 1).
Anyone who works in the industry knows it's just a marketing con. The writer of the article said "All in.", which highlights his belief that you can service a 996 with £560. I know many people who try to buy Porsches on a budget, and use these 'quotes' to cost ownership. One of the reasons most porkers have lots of owners on the V5.
Yes, it was certainly a creation of the marketing department. No mechanic really likes working to fixed timescales. It is a good idea in theory, but in practice you are right that the marketing often overtakes reality. Hence lots of asterisks everywhere:
Porsche 996TT full service 48k miles* - 499 GBP**
*using cooking oil; replacement air filter may be tech's old sock
**excludes VAT
As always, get your car serviced by someone you trust and who knows what they are doing. Never go on price.
Porsche 996TT full service 48k miles* - 499 GBP**
*using cooking oil; replacement air filter may be tech's old sock
**excludes VAT
As always, get your car serviced by someone you trust and who knows what they are doing. Never go on price.
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