ORIGINAL: andrew_churcher
Why the new specialist?
The previous ones (RPM) let me down badly (really badly) two years ago. On complaining, I was offered a discount the next year, and was happy it had been a genuine mistake.
Last year, I got the car back with a massive bill, but in pretty neglected condition, and with jobs I'd asked to be done completely ignored.
I'll always give people a chance to rectify a mistake, but not a second chance. Not any sort of "name and shame", just that they didn't seem to care about the car, or my business, and it was clear they've moved on to bigger and better things.
The problem, IMO, is the same as with other larger indies. There's more money in the newer machinery with the major faults they suffer from, so the 944s get dumped on the apprentice. That's unfair if the prices have rocketed to near main dealer rates. There was also no supervision of the work, or test drive after the service, which would have picked up the glaring faults.
Another indie, JZ Machtech, initially said they were refusing to work on the 24/44/68 cars because spares were unobtainable. They later changed that to a more realistic point: they might spend hours stripping a car, diagnosing a fault, speaking to the owner, only to be told "it's too expensive so put it all together again and I'll go elsewhere". I think other indies will be taking that view as well, as many "ordinary" 944s cost more to service than they are worth.
Little things matter. My rear number plate was loose, and I asked them to re-fix it. When I picked the car up it was hanging off at 45 degrees, so plainly no-one had cleaned the car, walked around it to have a final once-over, or read the flippin' job sheet! [
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