this forum saved me from being scammed $5000

[khaluk]

2000 Boxster

After a nightmare of trying to diagnose billowing white smoke, and my car being towed to mechanic after mechanic I finally found out what was wrong.

The last mechanic that had my car was referred by another very trustworthy mechanic, as "the Porsche expert" I told him about the experiences of the members of the Forum, and it sounds like the AOS (Air Oil Separator) - which seems to be a common problem with Boxsters.
He seemed to ignore my suggestion, and after having the car for a week, and charging me $226 for the diagnosis, he said it was a blown head gasket and it would cost $5000 (but he'd put the $226 towards the repair cost!!!).

Something told me that I shouldn't trust him and I had it towed for the third time to the Porsche dealership. They said that it was the AOS and it would cost $850 which was more than usual for that repair because of the excess amount of oil - so they had to take off the manifold to clean it out.

I appreciate all of the people that post their experiences here, because I probably would have taking the scammers word and got the work done. I'm no mechanic by any means, but it's really important to learn as much as possible to prevent being ripped off.

BEWARE OF: Evolved Auto Recyclers, 604-944-3800, Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada

[djomlas]

so did you get your money back from that guy for giving you a bad diagnosis?
$226 for bad diagnosis is not a deal

[Adam]

Originally Posted by djomlas

so did you get your money back from that guy for giving you a bad diagnosis?
$226 for bad diagnosis is not a deal

True, but $226 doesn't hurt as bad as 5k You really think they would refund him the money? They sound very shady; I doubt they would happily hand back the 226.

[djomlas]

well the 226 would be worth it if they gave him the right diagnostic, but since they were way off, and on top of everything wanted to charge him 5k for a problem that didnt even exist, and when he would drive that car out of there, it wuld still smoke, and then he would have to pay to get that fixed again.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by djomlas

well the 226 would be worth it if they gave him the right diagnostic, but since they were way off, and on top of everything wanted to charge him 5k for a problem that didnt even exist, and when he would drive that car out of there, it wuld still smoke, and then he would have to pay to get that fixed again.

\

I agree with you, but I'm just being realistic. They would probably tell him to take a hike if he went back there and asked for the money back....and nobody except the people on Judge Judy are going to court over $226. Obviously, he wasn't dealing with rational or honest people to begin with.

[djomlas]

yeah i agree, that is very true.
but you never know