Find your local mechanic/porsche specialist

[rctboxsters]

Any good and reliable mechanic in San Jose, CA? I need to have the 60K service done which includes the belt replacement. Dealer quoted me around $ 1,500.00. Was hoping to find an outside mechanic to save some money for my top and tires.

[olouie]

Originally Posted by rctboxsters

Any good and reliable mechanic in San Jose, CA? I need to have the 60K service done which includes the belt replacement. Dealer quoted me around $ 1,500.00. Was hoping to find an outside mechanic to save some money for my top and tires.

If its not too late try: http://www.realmeangarage.com/ They are in sunnyvale so not too far. I have heard nothing but good things about them and they run tech sessions about the boxster so they know what they are doing.

AVOID AVOID AVOID C.T. Automotive in Campbell. They changed owners are the shop owner and staff now are pretty clueless charge $110.00 and hour and often don't even know how to do very basic things.

Fremont Porsche (forgot their official name) will do service for $1000 if you tell them that you are a Babblers member and went to the CarCare day (http://www.babblers.org/)

Sign up over there to check out some great reviews on local shops too.

[rctboxsters]

Originally Posted by olouie

If its not too late try: http://www.realmeangarage.com/ They are in sunnyvale so not too far. I have heard nothing but good things about them and they run tech sessions about the boxster so they know what they are doing.

AVOID AVOID AVOID C.T. Automotive in Campbell. They changed owners are the shop owner and staff now are pretty clueless charge $110.00 and hour and often don't even know how to do very basic things.

Fremont Porsche (forgot their official name) will do service for $1000 if you tell them that you are a Babblers member and went to the CarCare day (http://www.babblers.org/)

Sign up over there to check out some great reviews on local shops too.

Thank Olouie!!!

BTW, do you have any prior experience with Realmeangarage?

[olouie]

Yes, I went to RMG them after going to CT Automotive so many times my head hurt. They sorted out a problem in 10 minutes that CT could not solve after a bunch of 1-2 days of leaving my car with them.

Give the owner, Bob Grigsby a call at 408-738-2060. He is very nice. Their prices are quite reasonable and flexible. Also their hours are great. 7am to 5pm I think. (CT Claims 8 to 5, but I could never get a hold of them before 9 ish or after 4)

http://www.realmeangarage.com/shop/techsessions.html

Some great info on the tech sessions if you are interested.

Also a bit farther north in Mountain View is Heyer Performance. I like that shop and the owner. They do good work, but last time charged me $270 for an oil change. Was a bit shocked by that since the dealer only want $100 on special so I got a good lesson to always ask for prices before assuming anything.

[spark00]

I went to IMA Motorsports in norther VA (near Don Loring Metro) to get lot of work done after getting some recommendation from local PCA group. Chris at IMA has lot of experience and training straight from Porsche and was great to deal with. He described what the problem was in detail with history and showed me what was going on when the car was on the lift. They also handled warranty issues and my car is now running smooth. You can also check out lot of race P-cars being worked in that garage.
You can ask for Chris at 703-849-9590.

[tkn]

In New York, I have been using Mark Tashijan's shop, and they seem pretty reasonable and very knowledgeable:

Formula Motorsports
http://formulamotorsports.com/
3216 37th Ave
Long Island City, NY 11101
(718) 482-0515

When I lived in Palo Alto, I always thought Tony Heyer was great:

Heyer Performance
http://www.heyerperformance.com/
2362 Old Middlefield Way
Mountain View, CA 94043

[jopo43]

Anybody know of a good one near Indianapolis, Indiana?

[dedes]

Eurotech Tuning - Matt Landau, owner
Web site:http://www.eurotechtuningca.com
Address:205 Kennedy Ave, Campbell, CA 95008

Shop Hours: Mon - Fri 8:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.

Phone (408) 370-1887

Thumbs up for Eurotech Tuning German Auto Specialist
F.Y.I., just wanted let all Porsche owners in the Bay Area know there is a great guy named Matthew Landau, owner of Eurotech.
Review:
He did a great job on a broken rear wheel bearing, all 4 brakes and oil change service on my 1998 Porsche Boxster. And a reasonable price too! Plus a free inspection of my car. If your looking for a reliable, excellent auto mechanic, call Matt. Ok to mention my name! Dede - 1998 pastel yellow Boxster

If your interested here is a little more detailed information about Eurotech Tuning, Matt Landau, owner.
I met Matt at a PCA GGR Boxster Brunch - Alices Restaurant, Woodside, about two years ago. Matt came up on his own and introduced himself to the whole group, bought us all breakfast. He owns 3 Porsches and I was impressed about him wanting to work only on Porsches. He also works on BMW's. Apparently, he has some great equipment, machines, etc to do some upgrades on Porsches. (performance I think) All in all I kept his business card that day and thought I am going to give him a chance when I need some car work done. I guess I had a good feeling about him. He even told us all he would like to do a tech session some time, if we were interested.
Regarding the work on my car................. I had a noise in the rear wheel area. Plus I needed a oil change, etc. Matt said no problem, bring your car in, I will give you a free inspection and let you know what is urgent and make recommendations to consider. No pressure. Found my vehicle in need of four wheel brake job, all new pads, rotors, and sensors. ( I was due for a brake service soon) Service included cleaning and lubricating all moving parts, also painting rotor hats with high temp paint. Cleaned all wheels and checked balance. Found faulty left rear wheel bearing. Which was the noise I heard. Recommended replacing left rear wheel bearing and wheel hub assembly. Included pressing of new wheel hub assembly. Oil and filter change with Mobil 1 oil. Checked and adjusted all fluid levels, tire pressure, inspected brakes. Interrogated diagnostic fault memory of engine control unit. Washed and vaccum my car for me. Offered to lend me a loaner car if I needed a car while my car was in the shop. Work included 12 months 12000 mile warranty. I was very pleased with the quick and detailed information about my car verbally from Matt. He knows what he is doing and I rate him high from 1-10, a 10, which is the highest. For excellence, quality, honesty, timeliness, cleanliness of shop, good customer service and most of all his desire to work on Porsches. Hope this helps to consider Matt for your next Porsche car service. Just give him a call if you have any questions.
Check out his website for pictures: http://www.eurotechtuningca.com

Have a good one,
Dede

[bigb]

Originally Posted by olouie

If its not too late try: http://www.realmeangarage.com/ They are in sunnyvale so not too far. I have heard nothing but good things about them and they run tech sessions about the boxster so they know what they are doing.

AVOID AVOID AVOID C.T. Automotive in Campbell.

I just called RMG (real mean garage) guys, asking for oil change rates on a 2001 boxster. They charge $220!!! When I asked why was it so high (for comparison, the Stevens Creek dealership charges about $150), I was told the oil was ~$90, oil filter was ~$20, tool 3/4th of an hr (their labor rate is $135), and, they check my wipers, tires pressure, brakes, lights, put a sticker with the oil change date etc :-).

When I asked them if I just wanted them to do the oil change (I can do the checks myself), I was told "same charge".

They may do quality work, but I don't know if its worth _that_ much!

[olouie]

Originally Posted by bigb

I just called RMG (real mean garage) guys, asking for oil change rates on a 2001 boxster. They charge $220!!! When I asked why was it so high (for comparison, the Stevens Creek dealership charges about $150), I was told the oil was ~$90, oil filter was ~$20, tool 3/4th of an hr (their labor rate is $135), and, they check my wipers, tires pressure, brakes, lights, put a sticker with the oil change date etc :-).

When I asked them if I just wanted them to do the oil change (I can do the checks myself), I was told "same charge".

They may do quality work, but I don't know if its worth _that_ much!

Yeah prices are higher, but quality of work is really good (oil change should not matter). Try fremont porsche - ask for Gunther, they are best dealer service around.

Heyer performance charged me $270 for a plain oil change last year - I have not gone back and that is what led me to the mistake of going to C.T. Automotive.