Do you always go to the dealer?
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,105
From: Seattle, WA USA
Rep Power: 246
Personally I have been to Gerber for routine maint, barrier when I needed the dealer computer, Group 2 for alignments and tire work, and Speedware for mods.
Gerber -- close to me, Mark (mgr) and the techs (charles and rolf) have been great to deal with and put up with my million questions. I have not been there recently (last 4 - 6 months) as my car has been to speedware and barrier... I miss BSing with those guys! Charles is the tech that has worked on my car while at Gerber and the fact that I have him in my cell phone and he answers when I call is great... fantastic guy and highly skilled...
Barrier -- only once so far after a off track incident which required a flat bed... met jeff (service mgr) and work was done by Jake... both were great to deal with and if they had a dealership in Seattle, I may use them more than I have so far. getting my car serviced in Bellevue is a pain in the *** as I live in Magnolia... I did not buy the car there so I cannot expect the "greta treatment" when I waltz in... but that being said... I felt very welcomed by Jeff and Jake and have enjoyed speaking with Alex in sales...
Group 2 -- also close to me and a great place... although they do not "specialize" in Porsche, they know what they are doing. Chris and Joe have been great at putting up with all of my questions and stop bys without getting a lot of business out of me. I am probably a pain in their *** a little bit for not a lot of reward (business) but they never make me feel like it.
Speedware -- there are a lot of opinions about speedware out there... good and bad... My experience has been great and like Barrier, I wish they had a west side location! I have worked mostly with Shaun (owner) and with Kelly (shop manager) and both have been great to deal with and I would not hesitate to go back (of course I will) nor would I hesitate to reccomend them to a friend. through out the process of modding my car (seats, bar, harnesses, susp, etc) they have put up with my drop bys, my millions of questions, my demands, etc without flinching. they have given me great advice and I am a happy customer.
I have met Alex at Max RPM a couple times and know people that use him (daryl and Todd)... I have never heard anything bad, and he seems like a really nice guy... also seems to be the type of guy that could make a toaster go faster! only drawback for me is that he is in Bremerton.
I have never met or used Cantrell but clearly a lot of 6 speeders use him and are very happy.
I have heard positive things about Fordahl as well but have never met him or used his shop.
Although Mike Zaffe of MZ Motorsports has not worked on my car, I know he is more than capable and on top of that a very nice guy. If he was not such a hot **** tech, he might spend more time in town and he would be eaiser to use
... as it were, he is off wrenching on LeMans race cars all over the country... If you can catch him, use him... several of the 6speeder have and all with stellar results.
I have not been to park place for cars or for service - so no comment... I do drive the lot once in while to see what they have... but that place gives me the ****** for some reason...
I believe that the best way forward is to find a place that you are comfortable, with people that you like, and begin to develop a relationship. Let them get to know you and your car and the benefits will become obvious.
There are a lot of options so you are bound to find one that suits you... or many in my case.
In my experience, if you are an obscene price shopper, you will get what you pay for. I am not saying you should not review the quotes or invoices, but do not necessarily always go for the cheapest... do your homework, and remember, these guys all have to make a buck in order to be there for you in the future. Be prudent AND fair. Do not get the reputation of a chisler or grinder... the guy that is always talking price and trying to grind their profit into the ground... you will not be doing them or your self any favors... in my opinion.
Gerber -- close to me, Mark (mgr) and the techs (charles and rolf) have been great to deal with and put up with my million questions. I have not been there recently (last 4 - 6 months) as my car has been to speedware and barrier... I miss BSing with those guys! Charles is the tech that has worked on my car while at Gerber and the fact that I have him in my cell phone and he answers when I call is great... fantastic guy and highly skilled...
Barrier -- only once so far after a off track incident which required a flat bed... met jeff (service mgr) and work was done by Jake... both were great to deal with and if they had a dealership in Seattle, I may use them more than I have so far. getting my car serviced in Bellevue is a pain in the *** as I live in Magnolia... I did not buy the car there so I cannot expect the "greta treatment" when I waltz in... but that being said... I felt very welcomed by Jeff and Jake and have enjoyed speaking with Alex in sales...
Group 2 -- also close to me and a great place... although they do not "specialize" in Porsche, they know what they are doing. Chris and Joe have been great at putting up with all of my questions and stop bys without getting a lot of business out of me. I am probably a pain in their *** a little bit for not a lot of reward (business) but they never make me feel like it.
Speedware -- there are a lot of opinions about speedware out there... good and bad... My experience has been great and like Barrier, I wish they had a west side location! I have worked mostly with Shaun (owner) and with Kelly (shop manager) and both have been great to deal with and I would not hesitate to go back (of course I will) nor would I hesitate to reccomend them to a friend. through out the process of modding my car (seats, bar, harnesses, susp, etc) they have put up with my drop bys, my millions of questions, my demands, etc without flinching. they have given me great advice and I am a happy customer.
I have met Alex at Max RPM a couple times and know people that use him (daryl and Todd)... I have never heard anything bad, and he seems like a really nice guy... also seems to be the type of guy that could make a toaster go faster! only drawback for me is that he is in Bremerton.
I have never met or used Cantrell but clearly a lot of 6 speeders use him and are very happy.
I have heard positive things about Fordahl as well but have never met him or used his shop.
Although Mike Zaffe of MZ Motorsports has not worked on my car, I know he is more than capable and on top of that a very nice guy. If he was not such a hot **** tech, he might spend more time in town and he would be eaiser to use
... as it were, he is off wrenching on LeMans race cars all over the country... If you can catch him, use him... several of the 6speeder have and all with stellar results.I have not been to park place for cars or for service - so no comment... I do drive the lot once in while to see what they have... but that place gives me the ****** for some reason...
I believe that the best way forward is to find a place that you are comfortable, with people that you like, and begin to develop a relationship. Let them get to know you and your car and the benefits will become obvious.
There are a lot of options so you are bound to find one that suits you... or many in my case.
In my experience, if you are an obscene price shopper, you will get what you pay for. I am not saying you should not review the quotes or invoices, but do not necessarily always go for the cheapest... do your homework, and remember, these guys all have to make a buck in order to be there for you in the future. Be prudent AND fair. Do not get the reputation of a chisler or grinder... the guy that is always talking price and trying to grind their profit into the ground... you will not be doing them or your self any favors... in my opinion.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
