[heliguy]

Today, after 2 years and 2 months, I heard the most glorious sound ever. That of course was the sound of a 3.2 liter flat six Porsche engine barking to life after being installed in my 2003 S.

Two years ago my AOS went out suddenly with 105,000 miles on my car, causing excess oil to enter my number 3 cylinder and since oil doesn't compress, my engine was totally destroyed. I took the car to my local mechanic, Mark at Mark's Autowerks in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Mark told me the estimate could be as much as $7,500.00 for a replacement engine and the installation.

I talked it over with my girlfriend and we both agreed that, although that was a lot of money, I loved the car, had customized it to my liking over the previous 6 years and where could I buy another with that level of personal customization for that price. After all was said and done, I would have an almost new car and if I got another 105,000 miles out of it I would be happy.

I told Mark to go ahead with the repairs and he located a 2003 S replacement engine with 30,000 miles in south Florida for $4,500.00. I told him not to hurry doing the install because I would need to save the money for the engine and the labor. So there the car sat on the lot, covered while Mark worked on other Porsche's of all eras. After quite some time, I managed to save enough money to pay for the engine and the installation began. I would stop by from time to time to shoot the breeze and check on my car. It would be on the rack with the old engine out one week, a few weeks later the new engine would be on a lift under the car, then the engine installed a few weeks later...slowly progressing. I was really in no hurry because I knew the install would cost lots more money, which I was saving for. Just a few days before the catastrophe, I had heard something pop while my convertible top was being stowed, whick rendered my top inoperable. My AC had also been blowing hot air all summer before the fateful disaster. My rear wheel bearings had been humming for about a year also so I asked Mark to look at each problem and diagnose.

I also purchased an underdrive pulley and secondary cat delete pipes to have installed while the engine work was being done. Mark told me he discovered that my clutch was in need of replacement and also found that I needed a new clutch fork. Mark replaced my torn axle boots and repacked my axle joints. Because my car had been sitting for so long, it needed a new battery.

Finally, the day came when I got the call that my car was completed. Imagine my shock when Mark told me the remaining balance on my car! When I saw the invoice though, I realized that a tremendous amount of work had been done to my car. I also saw some things missing from the invoice...Mark told me that my AC was blowing hot because some heat levers were stuck to the open position under my dash, however I saw no charge for troubleshooting the AC system, only charges for 3 cans of Freon. I didn't mention that for a year prior to the destruction, my radio had been working sporadically (which I didn't really mind because a 3.2 liter flat 6 sounds sweeter than my Bose). Mark diagnosed the problem to be a faulty amplifier. He bought a used amp from eBay and replaced my bad one. He charged me the $200.00 for the amplifier but I can see no charge for the troubleshooting and repair/installation of the amp! He also told me that he replaced my dual mass flywheel because he noticed that my original one had too much play in it, and that it would cause too much driveline lash when I engaged the clutch. He didn't charge me for the new flywheel, or for the installation. Mark said to me "I have gone over everything and there is nothing broken on this car now, the driver's side window regulator may need replaced in the future, but it clears the top when you pull the handle, so I didn't replace it." I think I can live with that.

I handed Mark $3,500.00 cash which left my remaining balance $2,916.83, to which he said to me, "Bring me $2,000.00 when you can and I'll forget about the rest of the balance."

Who does work like this and treats customers this well? Thank you for all you have done, Mark. You will be my mechanic for life!!!