Rear wheel bearings

[Brad Roberts]

Dude Brad it's GREAT to see you around here!

Been busy building Boxster''s and working on a LS1 conversion for Boxster's



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[gstoli]

Brad, really great posts!

I don't fully agree about the overhead charged by repair shops, but it is what it is...

For instance, I disagree with the warranty issue... Things fail, computers, appliances clothes, furniture... almost everything can be broken and fail. If focus on electronics you can take crutchfield and amazon as examples. Amazon offers the same electronics for a considerably better price. Should something fail, you can always return it and get your money back (it's exactly the same procedure with crutchfield and it happened to me with both shops; returning something). So why do you pay extra in crutchfield? For all the technical support they give you, for the amazingly good technical info/harnesses/cables etc that they provide for free, for the fact that when I was installing my aftermarket HU in my car (2 pm in the morning) I called them and someone was there to answer my call and help me!

So back to the repair shops... Can you call them after 5? No... Are you allowed to be there and be guided through what they are doing? No... Can you ask for receipts, old parts, finding a less expensive option etc? No... What you can do is go back several times and ask them to get it right (if you are not satisfied with what they did). But this costs me the $100 an hour I should be making, while I wait in the shop...

Nonetheless, business is business... things may go wrong... a replacement part may fail... the mechanic might do something wrong... Just don't charge me for what is your business and your risks... They same way everyone else is taking their risks in business....

The point made by roadracer311 was a really good one...

If I wasn't doing all of my own wrenching, I would definitely try to develop a good relationship with a local indi mechanic. That way, when you have a problem, you just take it to them and get it sorted, and feel good about it. The time saved shopping around each time will be worth the investment in getting to know a shop you can trust.

My problem is that I haven't been able to find someone I can trust and work with...

After all, it's a Porsche and I guess the majority of Porsche owners (obviously not the members of this forum) just want the job done and get back with their lives/business. Since, I don't belong in this category I will be doing my own wrenching if I can. Not this time though :-). Time is what can't afford right now, so I may get lucky and develop a good relationship with the local mechanic

[Kirk]

I agree with Brad's analysis of the impact of overhead on shop costs. You have to realize that the mechanic without your level of education is certainly NOT getting paid the $100/hr that you pay for his service. Most of that is absorbed into the overhead costs and the cost of capital to even have the shop in the first place!

Still there is NO question that when it comes to Porsches the labor rate can sometimes become unreasonably inflated, especially by the dealerships. When I recently purchased a Carrera 4S I was also strongly considering a Ferrari F355. The ridiculous labor and parts costs are what scared me away from that though.

In the end, if you don't want to pay the price, then fix it yourself. I just tore the transmission out of my 914 to replace a $1.75 seal. The labor would have been 500X the cost of the seal at a shop. In the end though the work was pretty easy and only required one $10 special tool. Most jobs really just come down to turning wrenches (and banging knuckles). So if you don't want to pay or you want to be more meticulous about the work done (as I am), then do it yourself. But do yourself a HUGE favor and have at least two cars. I've got three Porsches I can switch between, so while one is on jack stands (I have one like this now) I've got another one to get me back and forth to work.

In your case, if you're moving and can't do the work yourself now, then find the best price and just get it fixed! You can do the next big job DIY.

BTW - Brad does make a good point about the torque wrench for the axle nut. I'm lucky in that I have access to one of these through my work, but yes they are around $500, I've looked. Sometimes you may just find that it makes more sense to take it to a shop then to buy a tool like this. Personally I bought the SIR tool as I felt it made more sense for me to do the job and I'll need the tool for other cars in the future....

Kirk

[Brad Roberts]

Eric Madsen is outside of Boston and can help you with the Boxster. He is a head honcho with Aprilia motorcycles and has worked side by side with me on PRO teams. He placed second (first loser LOL) at the SCCA Runoffs in E-Prod. He can drive and he can wrench. He builds his own cars and is my "goto" guy for the NorthEast.

You are correct. So far.. what you have listed would not fly here in CA or TX. We are required to show you the parts/give them back to you and 99% of the shops I work with ALWAYS go over and show you what we did and how. 99% of them will also pick you up from train stations or stay late for pickup. I guess we have a different outloook on the customer out here. I delivered a Boxster to customer who lives an hour away from me at 9.30PM the other night

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[Brad Roberts]

Personally I bought the SIR tool as I felt it made more sense for me to do the job and I'll need the tool for other cars in the future....

The 914 uses the same rear wheel bearing as the 97-99 Boxster uses front and rear the tool works on the back of the 914 also!


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