Was looking for a shop more local to me as the one I use is a 20 minute drive away, and then a 2 hour bus ride or a $65 cab ride back (before you ask, no, I have no friends who can give me a ride ).

So I drive over their, park my 914 out front and walk in. The door to the back's open and I can see a 356, a 911SC and a few other cars. The owner appears, looks over my shoulder at my car and asks how he can help. I tell him I need some work done on my car and he stops me dead. "We don't work on 914's." A little stunned, I turn on my heels to exit, and then I stop and say, 'Not even with a six?' He replies, "Nope. Stopped working on them in the 80's. The parts were cheap, but the owners were even cheaper."

I'm all for being insulted to my face, but... Anyway, suffice to say he won't be getting my business! Oh, wait...

wow
that is a crazy attitude... may as well post the name of the establishment so others dont waste their time!

Wow........business must be really good for that dude. Think it is worth a mention on social media so he can become a bit more humble.

Try an air cooled VW shop that works on type 4. VW crowd is usually friendly and you may luck out and find someone that also has Porsche experience.

Yes, that was the attitude in the 1980's. Your 914 was a VW NOT a Porsche. This guy is a throw back to the times.

At least he was honest and didn't waste your time and money.

Probably not right but I would add the name of his shop if it happened to me!

This is pretty much how I felt about it. It's his shop and he can run it how he likes - I really have no interest in badmouthing his business, hence I didn't mention the name. Just thought it was funny that he called me cheap when I was about to offer him at least a thousand bucks worth of work.

(OK I know you've been here a while so SARCASM alert!)



You know that is the way it was at several places that I originally went to when my wife first got her 914. Problem was if I had not found Brad Mayeur, and Dave Ellison who both encouraged me to take the time to understand the little car it would be in the garage behind the Mustangs.

That is so funny. In 2010, right after I bought my Six, I was referred to a shop in the Concord/Pacheco area by my former Porsche mechanic who had since retired. He told me go see the shop owner and "make sure you tell him it is a Six or he will not work on it".

Sure enough, I walk into the shop and see several 911's a 356 or two and a 928. I also see probably 3 911 engines sitting around, one of which was a fresh rebuild. Not wanting to sound like I was a crazy Six owner (I am - identifying the problem is half of the solution.) I said I have a '71 914 I want to get some work done on. He promptly tells me he does not work on 914's. I say, "I am not sure it matters, but it is an original Six". He stops in his tracks, turns and says, "An original '71 Six?" I say yeah. He then proceeds to give me the 50 cent tour, we talk about cars and engines, the whole enchilada.

I was close to taking the car to him to rehab back to drivable condition when I got my lift and was able to really inspect the underside and said, nah, it needs to be totally restored. The rest, as they say, is history.

i guess 6 owners aren't perceived as being cheap bastards like 4 owners.

Hahaha. I've owned and been around early 911s for a quite a while, and I heard about the 914 being the red-headed stepchild, but this is the first time I experienced it for myself. I mean, come on, it's not like I pulled up in a 924...

I know......

I've gotten that exact same speech... I think I know where you were.

John, I commend you for not giving the shop name. Bad mouthing a shop that you know nothing about is just that. Bad. We have two Porsche shops (besides my 914 only shop) in Tulsa. One works on 914's and one doesn't. So one of them doesn't like 914's. I find that his business and not mine. He still a good guy who knows his Porsche's and he's a good friend.

That's reasonable for Five Grand of work!

Mine is a /4 and restoring it was anything but cheap!

I don't see anything wrong with mentioning the name of the shop. All you did was relate your experience with him. It doesn't mean you are discouraging others from using him. That would be wrong. I have an A&P mechanic here who screwed me pretty bad a few years ago with my plane. Cost me a lot of time and money. I tell everyone who it was and what my experience was with him. Weather they use him or not is up to them. (Most of them knew about him anyway). If this guy doesn't like working on 914's, you might save other 914 owners time if they knew that.

I got the same story from a vw shop here in Stockton. Surprised the heck out of me. He didn't have an attitude about it just more a matter of fact statement.

Still looking for a close competent shop.

Dave

Save 914 owners some time.

But also save this poor mechanic some time and money. How much money did he lose wasting his breath telling you to go take a hike? Maybe 60 seconds worth? At $120 an hour (California!) that is two whole bucks that you cost him!

Let's all help him save some money, and make sure that everybody from 914-Hooter-Ville knows his Porsche shop is a 914-Free-Zone.

Some 912 owners suffered the same attitudes way back when. If it wasn't a '6', you simply weren't worthy ... but the wrath came mostly from 911 owners, not repair shops.

On the other hand, if I were running my shop as a business, I wouldn't work on any of the water-cooled varieties

You need to keep your 20 minute away mechanic and just make some new friends, John

I was initially in full agreement with Curt, no need to mention the shop's name, because no good could come from it...

Then I went back and reread the OP, and now think the guy should be commended for his honesty.

"The parts were cheap, but the owners even cheaper"

Hi, my name is Joe and I am a 914 owner, and a CSOB.


The only other thing I can offer is that maybe the guy should recognize is that it's not the 80's anymore, and that maybe, times are a changin'...

I've met many a 911 owner who was as cheap as hell and mean as sin. These days, a shop that does not work on 914s doesn't know them and doesn't want to.

Some of you simply need something else to complain about.
Use social media, mention the shops name. ...etc.
For being responding in an honest way.
What are you going to do now, take the poor guy to court for not working on your car?

Or put a bike rack on the car...

No wonder this forum and all the DIY repairs are so popular, sometimes there's no better option!

I get where he's coming from, poor people suck. It's too bad he lumps all 914 owners together, but then I do the same thing with 90s Honda Civic owners.

It takes twice as long to work around the ghetto repairs done on a 'budget'.

Late 70's I took my 914 to the "Porsche Dealership" for an alignment. One of those things you just can't do yourself. They only had one guy that would work on them, even back then, and I had to return when he was free, I did.

After picking up the car, I headed right for the eway to try some hi speed moves. The first hi speed fast lane change, I almost lost it! The rear end had a mind of it own.

I pulled over and inspected, when the rear alignment bolts were tighten, after he must have removed a shim, the bolts bottomed out where the threads in the hole had oxidized (way around using the word rusted) not truly tight, so the rear wheels would move in and out when driven aggressively.

So the rear end was loose and self adjusted when I made my move. Normal driving was possible to get it home.

Never let anyone work on my 914's since, learned a lot in 37 years.

So just get started...........there's no end.......

I tried several shops who told me "they don't do 914s". They didn't call me cheap, just said that they were to labor intensive. As I alrady have a type 1 and a type 2, I asked around the VW shops if they worked on type 4s. The said yes, "only if they were in a type 2 or a type 4". But they have been helpful with advice and forced me to overcome any fears I've had about tearing into the little 914 myself.