houston

i am new to the forum and really have learned a lot from y'all. plan on buying a p-car (either used 996 tt or new 997 s) w/i the next 6 months. will be moving to houston in july. i'll also be down there in late april to doing apt-hunting and wanted to visit some p-car dealers and check out their inventory. can anyone suggest a good dealer in houston or the clear lake area? thanks much. -J

Welcome to the forum! I live in the Clear Lake area (League City) and I'm sad to report that there are no Porsche dealers in that part of town. There are two dealerships in Houston: Momentum (on HWY 59 S.) and there is also one on I-10W but I don't know their name. Also, on 59 there are a number of 2nd-hand dealers that usually have several P-cars at anyone time but its definitly a caveat emptor sort of situation. I had my PPI done at Momentum and found them to be pretty good. I also recently bought a new Jaguar from them and had a really good experience. I haven't had any service performed there so I can't comment on how they are in that department. Good luck with your move. Are you planning on living down in the CL area?

thanks tim. i'll be working in cl, but probably living in downtown houston the first year. after that, we'll see. would love to meet up at some point once i'm down there and check out your p-car. -J

The other dealer is Advantage Porsche @ I-10 west & Kirkwood. They are friendly as well. Yes, the specialty import guys on hwy 59 (Nxcess, Expo, Memorial one, etc) have good deals but they must be checked out closely before you buy. I'll probably stick with a Porsche dealer.

i got my car from momentum and they are fairly reasonable people. Advantage porsche is the one on I-10 west, though i have no experience with them

as far as the porsche dealers in town - choose the lesser of two evils. Momentum & Advantage, they happened to be owned by the same parent company - go figure, talk about a monopoly. I had a great buying experience from Boardwalk Porsche in Dallas recently so just because you live in Houston does not necessarily mean you have to buy in Houston. There are the of course obvious perks of buying a car from where you will get serviced but if a better deal is to be had elsewhere................ I'm moving back to Houston(In ATL now) in a year and plan on having my car serviced at Advantage when I return. I've just had HORRIBLE experiences with other highline autos at Momentum dealers. Some like Momentum though so it's just my personal opinion, not the beat on the street. Another boardmember over on funcars also mentioned that I should use Advantage when I return. See what other H-town guys have to say. JMHO

The service dept at Advantage is pretty good, I have no direct experience with Momentum Porsche service (the BMW service is fair to moderate), the parts dept has a bigger markup too. Both sales depts are equally inept.

Anytime. Just send me a PM when you get into Houston.

You don't say. I've bought parts (like coolant and filters) from Momentum but I assumed the price would be the same at all dealerships which I guess is pretty naive. The did give me a oil plug washer for free once (guess they could afford the seventy cent hit ) Tim

Yep, every part I've ever priced at that place was significantly more than the usual high Porsche price. One time I asked the counter guy why his part was $15 more, all I got was a smart assed "because it's a Porsche" BS. I think both dealers will give you a PCA discount, which is good. Unless it's something I really need fast, I order it from Sunset or Suncoast etc...

thanks much for everyone's input. very helpful. hopefully, will get to meet some of you soon and check out your p-cars. lizard, i am currently in atl as well. any thoughts on the jim ellis dealer here? i want to check out hennessy as well. though i'll probably buy in houston since i'm moving there.

Guess what, indeed the same parent company for both Advantage and Momentum. I indeed also checked the other dealers in Texas and even visited one of them outside H-town. Advantage has a very experienced tech guy. The used dealerships at the 59 need indeed a serious look before a buy.

I've heard the same horror stories regarding services for other highline marques at Momentum, but none for Porsches so far. I've exclusively serviced my Boxster (sold since) and 996 at Momentum, and I've never had a bad experience. Yes, their parts are typically more expensive than Don McGill (now Advantage), but their service staff is also more knowledgeable and courteous in my experience. I went to Advantage only once, and was adamantly told by a technician that the Litronics retrofit kit for my '99 MUST be installed by a dealer or else it won't work at all. Sure pal, that's why I've never gone back. Others seemed to have positive remarks about Advantage, so take mine with a grain of salt. Good luck with the move and welcome to H-town!

I had only good experiences with Momentum as well as far as dealer level goes. I bought one of my 993's at advantage but to be honest I think of that dealership and jeckyl and hide. One good experience, one horrible one, one good one horrible etc... never gone back either but at any rate I do not need warranty service anymore so I have my cars at Rennsport in Sealy.

I think we are all on the same page. I had a better sales experience at Advantage, due to the guy I was working with. A few months earlier I walked against the wrong guy, but luckily I came back. Had three neutral to annoying experiences at Momentum. They didn't take me serious coming with a few kids in the showroom.............. Regarding the service: some the youngsters need some serious coaching, that is why I ask for one particular guy who is very good.

as a matter of fact, i remember taking my WRX to advantage to get it teched for a pca track weekend at TWS one time. they were very courteous there, in fact teched the car for free, and when they were done took my car through the car wash they had there. in any case, that was a number of years ago and im sure most of the staff has changed since.

Personally... I will never buy another car from Advatange and will do what I can to keep others from going there. Horrible buying experience, after the sale of my car they didn't want to do what they said they would do. Partly my fault for taking delivery of a car with only a verbal agreement. Service on the other hand has been nothing but excellent the 2 times I was there. I now use Momentum and have nothing but excellent service. Once the car is out of warranty I will not use either.

thanks to all. very useful.

NickS, what independent Porsche shop are you planning to service your car at after your warranty expires? Know any good ones in Houston?

i was wondering the same thing. i can't seem to think of any well known porsche shops in houston...

Viking Motorsports comes highly recommended. I was going to use him with my 60k service but it was so easy I did it myself. For anything else that I am unable to do myself I would use Viking.

For Porsche service in west Houston (Park 10 area) try Mike Haven, expert extraordinaire, at MPH Automotive. He's the owner, knows his stuff. He is also a motorcyle nut, err, enthusiast. Sells Guzzi's, services others -- not Harleys, though! They service MB's, BMW's, etc. and all my stuff (VW Jetta TDI (daily 50mpg driver), Cayenne, Jeep Rubicon). [phone removed]. No affiliation here, just a recommendation. - Mark

aaaagh...only racing shop on the west side i can remember was RSI - Racing Solutions, Inc. just keep going west on westheimer parkway past the harley dealership. i think they're predominantly a Viper shop (?) but the guys there are very helpful and they know what they're doing. just not so sure if they know what to do with porsches

NickS and Mark, thanks for the recommendations. I'll go check them out.

This may help (if it works!): http://www.mphauto.com/ Map, phone, etc. Tell Mike I sent you, please. Again, no affiliation, only a recommendation.

do any of you have experience with "rpm sports cars" in houston? they've listed this 911 cab for sale, which seems like a decent deal... http://www.rpmsportscars.com/door23.htm

... which raises another question. given that i've heard there can be torrential downpours in houston, is leaking through the convertible top a concern? any of you ever have convertibles in houston?

I had a Saab convertivle. Never leaked and it lived outside. I think modern tops are pretty watertight until they get pretty old. I think all convertibles will eventually leak though.

Doc J, I don't own a Porsche, but I once checked out a 996 TT for a fellow Corvette owner who was thinking of one. He just wanted me to do a visual inspection on the paint and overall experience. This particular car was black and was overall in great condition. It did have some minor swirl marks, but those could have been buffed out by an experienced car detailer. While I was there, another Dr. from out of town came in and bought a GT2 he had for for sale. He stated that most of his customers are repeat buyers. Rick S. '02 Z06

Doc, I drive a Corvette Convertible on a daily basis in H-town, and yes sometimes I get leaks between the top and window. The bigger problem for low-riding cars (by far) is flooding. A couple of times a year there will be storms that leave up to 10 FEET of water on the roads. Some roads even have measuring sticks next to them to show how high the water is Be care ful where you live and work here.