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Originally Posted by mts
Everyone, just wanted to give a quick update on where things stand. An the various options I considered. I wanted to throw praise in a few directions and a little less flattering info in others.
1) Flat 6 Innovations - They've been great, they've answered my questions and I can always get them on the phone or via email. Jake will even set up a phone discussion appointment with you to help work around his (and your) busy schedule. Really a top notch organization. I've been very impressed. The downside is they are REALLY busy. They were booking almost 2 months out to even look at my car and if it needed a fully rebuild were quoting some pretty lengthy completion times. This was definitely the way I was heading though despite being without the car for quite possibly a lengthy period of time.
2) RUF in Dallas - What a joke. As far as I can tell they do not take phone calls of any type EVER. After leaving multiple messages over a couple week period and a few emails as well (through their website) I got nothing. I posted something on Rennlist that perhaps they had closed their doors and got multiple posts back that they didn't answer their phone and you needed to physically go over there to speak with them. Since I'm about 1,000 miles away that really didn't work for me. I did get a suggestion to post something in a specific forum on Rennlist as they did check there from time to time. I sort of blasted them in that sub-forum and shortly after did get a return phonecall (which I missed of course I have to work too). Anyway I never did get to speak with them, but did correspond with Hans through Rennlist PM's. Basically they don't even do the RUF conversions on Boxsters anymore. I asked why they still listed it on their website to which I got no response. He did indicate he could do an FVD 3.8L conversion for me for $30k, but never responded to my timeframe question or what was involved, nor did he respond to my suggestion for him to give me a time he would be available for a call. No way would I ever consider doing business with these people.
3) Porsche Goodwill - After seeing how long it would be to get in with Flat 6, I decided to take a shot with Porsche goodwill in the meantime. My car is a special edition car with 20k miles, immacuate maintenance records, and has been out from under warranty for a year. Unfortunately my local Porsche dealership closed in January so I was basically dealing with strangers on this deal (not giving me too much hope). I tried 3 dealerships: Bluegrass Porsche in Louisville, Kings North Porsche in Cincinnati, and Porsche of the Village in Cincinnati. Of the 3, only Porsche of the Village in Cincinnati seemed willing to got to bat with me with Porsche so I took the car to them. They've had the car for over a month and I just got word that Porsche goodwill is covering 100% of the cost of a crate motor.
I think I got very lucky on this deal. Obviously my opinion of Porsche of the Village is pretty high right now. I wasn't sure I would have much luck going this direction so I'm quite pleased. I should get the car back next week.
Absent this help I was looking at a very extended period without the car.
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MTS,
What you are experiencing with RUF in Dallas is nothing new. I had the same communication problems with them 2 years ago when I was looking into purchasing their 986 body kit. In fact, I was so annoyed by them, that I contacted RUF in Germany and expressed my frustration. Surprisingly, RUF was very attentive to my concerns and subsequently had their affiliate in Dallas contact me directly. Upon speaking with them, I could detect that someone had gotten a "slapping" from Germany regarding their poor customer service. In any case, judging by your recent experience with RUF in Dallas, it suggests to me that they are still a bunch of disorganized jackasses. Which is a shame, since RUF offers some really nice products. For what its worth, I would recommend that you send RUF in Germany an email and let them know about your bad experience.