£7K Service, have I been had?

Hi guys, Little bit of a long one so apologies, bear with me. Took the 996T for a service (8 months ago!) and got it back over the weekend. Mileage is 60K, I have owned the car just over 9 years now, the car had around 54K when I brought her. I cant lie with that mileage record, she is a bit of a garage queen but we all here know how good of a car they are and I cant bring myself to sell/find anything as a replacement. Since 2015 I have done 1500 miles and rightly or wrongly I have had a service every 18 months. With lockdown and my specialist cutting everything back this service comes around 2 years after its last. My relationship with the specialist is decent however he does have a habit of only seeing things his way and his way is the only way irrelevant of what other specialists, OPC's or forums say. Aside from Aircon pipes the car has been fairly trouble free throughout ownership. Anyway, got the call, "the car is done, come get it" invoice has been sent over. Open the email, bang, £7K bill! Now, I knew this would be a bit of a big one as one of the brake lines has been slowly disintegrating over the years and to get at this particular line, its an engine out job. It was also agreed to do the clutch (believe its a Sachs as they are the OEM?) at the same time, MOT, service itself, plugs, ignition coils (because they apparently need doing?), under tray (existing one had an argument with the rear tray at some 100 and something daft speed and separated), look at the gear linkage cables again and replace if they cannot be adjusted further and advise on anything else whilst the engine was out. A few weeks back I was told the hydraulic assisted pressure accumulator had gone, aircon condensers were both damaged, and one of the Turbo heat shields was giving up and so agreed to replace. As it turns out, it appears my specialist has gone to town. Invoice below and please be aware the formatting and details have been edited to keep things anonymous. I have also highlighted the bits I have said "yes" to in green. No idea what the red bits are, nor half of the other bits listed, I have just C&P bits of a 3 page pdf via MS paint. Now the first alarm bell that set off is the battery. I replaced it 18 months ago for a Varta F18 Silver which replaced a 7/8 year old Varta F18 Silver. Its lived on a conditioner all its life and I think we all here know how highly recommended they are. I questioned why this had been done to be told mine had failed (failed cells), Varta F18's are sh#t and its the wrong one. My response was well if it has failed why didn't you let me know/ask, its still under warranty, I could have got it swapped over (you have had 8 months!) and was met with the same dismissal, they are sh#t, they don't make the Bosh S5 and its the wrong one. When I collected the car, I grabbed my old battery which I have since had tested, which despite needing a charge, tested good. Now, not only does £200 seem a little on the high side, I now don't trust the guy as far as I can throw him. I'm no mechanic, like many I am led on trust, but the AC condensers at £300 each seem rather high too? - looking at the car, mine are now silver and not black which I believe means they are not genuine Porsche ? Now I'm cool with doing bits pre-emptively if it makes sense to do so, or if of course it needed doing. These are not run of the mill cars and they do need looking after however am I reading into things way too much here or is this specialist trying it on and if so what else is silly money? For reference, I handed over 3K and promised I would settle the rest Wednesday which is how its been left, as far as he is concerned, I'm totally cool with everything other than the battery situation which he thinks I'm going to keep the "replacement" when its replaced under warranty which of course since I have had it tested, isn't going to happen as the battery is of course good.

I had both my condensers replaces by OPC in early 2016 and with a regas I was charged £1200 if that's any guide to parts prices.

When I saw that invoice I thought it was Mistercorn 's rebuild list. Unless that car was been brought back from the dead with half the parts pilfered you've been had unfortunately. Looks like they've needed to de-stock their stores and used your car for it.

It looks to me like they've charged top whack parts prices (condensers, coil packs) and itemised all the sundries. It's eye-wateringly expensive but nothing jumps out to me as rip off or dishonest. It's nice for them to be able to fit new brackets and fasteners but it may not all have been strictly essential. Garages will just go to their supplier for parts. That may or may not be Porsche for some things. They don't have the time or the motivation to shop around. I agree that the specialist should have checked before replacing the battery and they seem to have a taken a bit of a carte blanche approach to replacing anything and everything identified to make the car 'right". Is that how it's always operated in the past? My suspicion is over 8 months they let the battery go flat (which killed it) and perhaps lost some of the trim clips etc from the luggage compartment. It looks to me as though their understanding was that you trusted them to do a thorough job and it will cost what it will cost. Maybe next time set the expectation regarding cost up front and / what is essential versus advisory. I'm amazed they didn't forewarn you of the total though, after making sure you were sitting down...

Wow, that is a big invoice! £2,340 for labour. What's the hourly rate? My local Porsche indie charges £60.00 + VAT per hour. Assuming yours is similar that equates to 39 hours. A full weeks work for one guy! Does that sound OK to you?

That's going to depend heavily on location though- down south you're looking at much higher hourly rates. It's a big bill, but you had a fair amount done - I think the issue here is the element of surprise at how big the bill was. If the chap had said 'it's going to be between 6-8k, want me to go ahead?" before he cracked on then (presumably) no problems. He's assumed that you knew it was going to be as expensive as it was, if that makes sense. A low mileage car is worth decent maintenance to keep the value in it, although unsure how 18 month intervals work with that.

For the most part, I didn't think it was unreasonable at first glance, but then as I drilled down into it a second time, and the one that stands out for me is the £80 valet. That had better been an external company that came into do that at your request. That set me off and made me question the rest if the bill. 40hrs of work, makes me wonder now.

Whilst I would cry at an invoice like that, I agree with Dammit actually. There's a fair bit of work there. He certainly hasn't shopped around for parts for you though. £55 for wiper blades when the proper Bosch ones (with a curved one) can usually be had for about £17 per pair. Again as Neil says it depends what was said when you left the car. I'd be more bothered about the flush he used, if that's oil flush. It mixes with the old oil to thin it before dropping it out. Trouble is in a 911 you have a lot of pipe work etc where the oil doesn't come out at an oil change. Hence you're left with a litre of two of old oil (with flush in it in your case) that mixes with the new stuff. Having said that if he has dropped the engine he may have got more out than normal. Hopefully. I'd never use flush in a 911 though. He must just order everything from Porsche and charge top dollar. Unfortunately all you can do now is vote with your feet and not use him next time. I wouldn't use a guy that sounds as prickly as him anyway. 'His way or the highway" is no good to me. I want a knowledgeable Indy, but a one who works with me in sorting things, not against me. Luckily I have one up here. My Indy even cross checks any parts if it's a Bosch or something to see what other cars use it. He's saved me a fortune over the years with clever solutions etc. In fact he's the main reason I haven't defected to Ferrari. My maintenance costs would be another level. I'd probably change your Indy. As with property, you need a good team of people around you, who you can trust. Sounds like the trust is gone from this one. PS. Labour does seem a bit toppy but it's a Turbo. There's a bit more to come off to get at things.

Agree that I'd be changing Indy due to lack of comms and regular updates on the work and ever mounting bill after this. The parts look top whack in terms of pricing and I've recently had my rads and condensers replaced at around (parts) £100 per condenser (not OEM) and £220 per Rad. The battery and valet would be quite annoying and presumably he's driven a fair few miles to 'road test' for £60 fuel? I'd expect a regular call to agree things like battery, valet, windscreen chips or new and unforeseen work. Unless I'd said do what's needed and money no object. The above said there is quite a lot of work and presumably labour for the areas itemised and it adds up quickly, but the lack of comms and the outlined attitude to lack of considering others views would make me want to change......

If all the parts check out as being installed on the car then this seems a decent job. The challenge here seems to be communication and an estimate of price - note to self, when extra work is suggested, always ask 'how much will that be' to avoid ! Ps when you want to sell the car - let me know!

I do think the OP should have been advised of the mounting bill, a few items on the list I'd complain about

I still find it amazing that garages get away with charging per litre prices for things like antifreeze and brake fluid at full retail when they buy them in large volume. 8 hours valet is interesting too. Only £10 per hour, presumably that's outsourced and has no overheads on it. Is it immaculate now?

Astounded a the price of nuts and washers etc!

Anyone who bills you £7k for work and tacks on £80 to clean it for you without asking is categorically taking the piss to my mind. How much petrol did you get for your £60 and how much was there when you dropped it off (top tip - never take your car to a garage with low fuel). £85 for brake fluid of a brand that I haven't even heard of, replacing a battery that was clearly under warranty without asking, windscreen chip repairs (depending on insurer, many will do that for free so they should certainly have been asked you), ... You really do have to wonder how many of the various screws and fittings that they have replaced actually needed to be too. It is almost as if they pulled it apart without any regard to reuse and charged you for new to avoid having to pay attention to what goes where.And as for replacing the mounting hardware for the spare wheel : unless you actually asked them to bring it to concourse condition there is certainly some profound sarcasm going on there. Even the key remote battery is what you'd pay for a pack of 10 on Amazon. But above all of that : 8 ****ing months. I am rather curious to know who this specialist was and who you plan to use instead the next time that you need anything done?

I hope that the car looks great and is fantastic to drive now. It certainly should. I wouldn't have any issue with the labour cost as I bet very few places South of the Midlands charge less than £80+VAT per hour but the itemised list of bits reads like an MPs expenses claim. Certainly full whack has been charged for every item and I suppose they could argue that itemising it shows you the full extent of parts purchased. The admin clerk obviously had plenty of time on their hands. Did you authorise them to repair a couple of windscreen chips :?: If so , why? £70 !!! Most insurance companies will do this for free or a token amount. You can't do anything other than bite the bullet but before settling I'd certainly be asking for them to discount the charge for the 'per litre' stuff. they can only say no.