How do people find good Porsche specialists? - Page 1 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Bit of a curiosity question — how do people usually find a Porsche specialist these days? Google, recommendations, forums like this, or just whoever is nearby? I keep coming across owners locally who say they didn’t realise certain independents were even there, which surprised me. Interested how others go about it.

Word of mouth, PCGB or TIPEC membership, forums, FB groups etc, some indies are more high profile social media wise and others fly under the radar a bit as they are already operating at capacity.

Usually a recommendation from another owner. Depends where you are in the country and how you value an Indy in the pecking order. There are some very well known ones that are not far off OPC pricing. Also it depends on what type of work you need doing beyond basic servicing. For example my Indy can go beyond general servicing and maintenance and can strip and rebuild an air cooled and 996/997 engine blindfold so I'd use him for all aspects of work.

It can be a bit of a mind field as different people have different expectations of what good is. In end i just used my local garage they have always done a good job and have much more expensive cars going through the work shop than my own car. Where are you based ? People on here could share their recommendations to you

PCGB have set up WhatsApp groups for various registers. The one for “Early 911’s” has been really good for this.

Porsche specialists some think are cheaper than an OPC, they’re not always, no. Most owners of these cars are rich pickings for specialists, and will likely “encourage” owners to fund “while you’re in there” spend when fixing cars. IMS bearing scaremongering started with a specialist. Bore scoring scaremongering started with specialists. Cross over pipes scaremongering started with specialists. That said, if you find a good honest specialist, keep them to yourself. They’re rare.

That’s really interesting, thanks all — pretty consistent themes there around word of mouth and the various owner groups. The “flying under the radar” point is a good one as well — I suppose a lot of the better indies don’t need to shout about it if they’re already busy. Also interesting what was said about trust — sounds like once people find someone they’re happy with, they tend to stick rather than keep looking. Appreciate the replies 👍

When I bought my Boxster, I was intending to use Hartech but saw on a forum someone mentioned another one a bit closer to me. They are excellent, give good advice and also advise work with me to prioritise bits that need doing and leave things that can wait. They recently spent many hours to find an aircon leak that was very slow and only charged cost of fitting new condensers when they located it. I wouldn’t go anywhere else as I completely trust them.

maz8062 said: Porsche specialists some think are cheaper than an OPC, they re not always, no. Most owners of these cars are rich pickings for specialists, and will likely encourage owners to fund while you re in there spend when fixing cars. IMS bearing scaremongering started with a specialist. Bore scoring scaremongering started with specialists. Cross over pipes scaremongering started with specialists. That said, if you find a good honest specialist, keep them to yourself. They re rare. Where as an OPC will always claim you need new brakes all the way round on every visit. An OPC will charge £250 + VAT per hour. A good specialist is worth their weight in gold, is a a third of the cost per hour, will actually fix things rather than replace and generally doesn’t have time to make s t up that doesn’t need doing because they don’t have time. A bad specialist is as bad as an OPC. Go on recommendations and go talk to them.

Cut to the chase and speak to RSJ @ Slough You wont find a better dealer if your looking for a used example, first rate at every level