986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - My friend and Pcar tech died this week :(

Some of you Houston members may have used or known Hans Kohn. He was a tech at West Houston Porsche for 25+ years.

I met Hans the first week of Boxster ownership. My horn pad grommets were all but missing from top-down UV exposure (horn sounded every time I hit the brakes hard). I took it to the dealership service area and for just $345 they popped a new one in the steering wheel.

Hans followed me out to my car after checkout and said, "There's two kinds of Porsche owners that come into the service area. Those that can afford it and those that can't. I'm guessing you're the kind who can't afford to pay over-retail for parts and book rate for service. Right?"

Because Hans was German, hurting my feelings with a question like this was definitely not first and foremost in his mind! I told him I was definitely the latter, and asked him why he would ask the question.

He said, "I help guys like you evenings and weekends out of my garage at home. You can bring me parts and I'll do the repairs for $100 an hour and it will be actual time used, not a book rate. It's not cheap, but it's cheaper than the dealership."

That was back in 2004. Over the course of the next years, Hans would replace my transmission, suspension parts (too many to list), coolant overflow tank, fuel sending unit and fuel pump, coolant hoses, wheel bearings, and the list goes on and on and on. I bet I paid him no less than $8,000 in cash through the years to keep my old beat up Boxster on the road.

We related on a personal level as well and went to dinner a number of times with our wives.

All I can say is that if you have a good relationship with your mechanic, give the guy a hug next time you see him. It might be the last time he helps you with your Boxster. Life is precious and no one knows how long the good Lord is going to let you drive around on this planet.