So I've got a rattle from the right front strut. I stop in at an independent service shop in Portland -- Heckmann Thiemann VW Porsche Audi. 2 911s, one early, one late, are in the lot. Up on the lift is a VW van.

I pull up in the 914 and walk into the office. Three guys are there, none of them speak. After a few seconds, I ask if they would be able to tighten the cap on the strut. Simple job, should take less than 15 minutes.

One guy mumbles something about trying to reduce their workload; they're really busy. So I say, OK, when can you work it in?

Then I find the real reason -- "We don't work on 914s."

"Really?", I say, "that 914 front end is identical to that 911 over there." "And the engine is the same as the one in the van, only with Porsche cams and ports."

"Yeah, well, we've never worked on 914s and we're not going to start now."

So there you have it -- not a real Porsche, not a real VW. Bizarre.

Try Allen at A&P auto specialties. He's a good guy, I've used him, Craig and may others have used him. He's very reasonable, and I've allways been happy with his work.

Yeah, Allen's a good guy. I had him do some work once before. I just thought I'd give H&T a shot, since they're near my house and "Porsche, VW, Audi" pretty much encapsulates the entirety of the 914. Or so I thought...

I bought a 67S a few years back that just had a tune up from them. Wrong distributor cap. But that didn't stop them from forcing the thing on there.

Business is business. If your money is too good for them, so be it. Jerks.

there's a small flaw in your logic... they don't work on 914s =/= a 914 is not vw or porsche. It is funny that its similar to both, but whatever. At least they do recognize it is different though. Nothing worse than a vw guy thinking he can work on a type 4 just like how he would on a type 1. But still, your issue shouldn't have been a problem...

Fools....

Its sounds like they did you a favor by passing on it.... make sure you tell all the Portland VW, Porsche, 911, and 914 folks about their "wisdom".

Had the same thing happen here in Rockford, Illinois at Import Autoworks. I asked if they could time my motor and do a valve adjustment...they said sure until i told them the car. they will work on my 71 vw bug, but not my 72 914, huh..oh well..learned how to do the VA on my own

I had a local shop here in Sacramento tell me they will no longer work on 914's. Then the owner smiled and asked if I needed any parts. I have been back several times for both parts and advice. There was a nice bumble bee being worked on once when I was in there. Is that someone here? (Orangevale area?)

Heckmann & Theimann Link


They work on Subaru's

There's a great guy in Napa who knows 914s really well.

Well see, thats the problem. I have these jackstands stuck to the bottom of my car for the past two years. I think they have been attached permanently. So Napa is out of the question for now.

Same thing here in So Cal, Aurel & Dons Independant Porsche Repair in North Hollywood. Years ago when I first got the car I met a guy with a 912E told me to go to this shop. I took the car in and they say "we don't work on 914's", I look over and there is a 914 on one of the lifts and I say "what is THAT?", and the guys says "THAT is a 914-6, and that customer also has a 356 that we take care of too". I paused a bit then told him he didn't have to be such an ass, then I peeled out in his drive way.

Your 914 can peel out?

I have no time or money for uppity, snotty and arrogant shops. When I was deciding who was going to do my 914 resto, one of the shops I contacted was a regional PCA advertiser, specializing in PORSCHE bodywork. When they asked me what type of car I had and I told them it was a 914, their reply was "we don't work on 914s". I explained this wasn't going to be a fender-bender fix or a quick respray, but that didn't matter to them. If they had said that they didn't have the resources, knowledge about, or informational access for a 914 resto, I might have forgiven them, but their total flippant attitude that my money wasn't good enough to warrant their working on my car, well

Now when someone asks me for a quality bodyshop recommendation, that shop is recommended NOT to use.

Paul

Here's the logic:
1. H&T works on VWs, Porsches, Audis, and Subarus.
2. H&T will not work on a 914.
3. Conclusion: a 914 is not a VW, not a Porsche, not an Audi, not a Subaru

Actually, 3. Conclusion: H&T sucks.

I would think any shop that says they don't work on a specific auto is ok by me. They do the work and pay the employees and the bills. I would rather they not work on a car than do sh**y work because they don't like the car or charge for work that was poorly done. Personaly I do all the work on my own cars and always have.

Actually 914's and fieros are pretty different to work on and lots of mechanics have plenty of easier jobs usually waiting on them. I kinda wonder about someone's knowledge of a job who says it's a 15 minutes job to a mechanic and doesn't want do it themself, although if it's like a superbeetle it is a 15 minute job to tighten the cartridge nut on the strut.

They did you a favor.
Go to Stuttgart Autotech.
1 503 635 3098.
I do my own work but I've heard good things about these guys.

It "sounds" like a 10 minute job.

Charlie, it really is a 15 minute job. Car in the air, wheel off, remove strut nut, drop strut housing out of fender, use your big-a** wrench to tighten the cap. Those guys have worked on 911s -- it's the same simple process and they know it.

I'd do it myself, but it's easier with a lift and that aformentioned wrench. I don't have anything to prove. It's not a point of honor here, it's pragmatism. I'd rather pay a 1/2 hour shop rate than roll around in the dirt for an hour. Whatever.

But you're right, at least they were candid about their preference. They COULD have taken my money and then done a poor job on a car they don't like. Better I feel rejected than pissed about a lousy repair.

You should have called the guy a pussy. I would have.

It's ok though, in this economic climate turning down money and work is the kiss of death. He will see.

Any mechanic worth his shit could take the time to tighten a top nut on a strut.

It is less than 15, try like 2 minutes...........

If it were me, I would have done it free and sent you on your way even if I did not want to work on a 914, just because.

Maybe they were afraid their 356 and 911 customers would see it.....and understand that the shop had been "polluted".......

Just wait until the VW-Porsche merger happens with VW on top. I guess H&T will only work on Audi and Subaru's at that point?

Eric

why do you care?

I would have said something like, "F U"

I lived about a 1/2 block away from H&T about 10 years ago. I went to see them once for something-or-other on my 914 and... exactly the same response. Strange bunch! The place has been there forever, so they must get work from somewhere.

I wondered how a body shop close to my house stayed in business then they got busted for selling dope.

Yeah, stopped in there about five yrs. ago, must have spoke with same guy.
He all but called it a bastard(ol' doc Ferdi did git around). Gotta laugh, a VWs , a VWs, a VW .

Dave -

I am surprised! Took our first Audi to them. Gave them a free set of 15 x 8 Audi Ronals when we lived nearby. They worked on our Coupe 'til it was totaled. Got great service - had I known that they don't "like" the 914 - woulda quit right there.

A & P or Marque Motors - about the same distance from your place (although you have to go over the dreaded sellwood bridge to get to Marque.... (splash!)

Brett, I got the sense that they're a competent and experienced shop. Prejudiced, but competent.

Here's the rest of the story -- I drove down the street to Performance BMW. One of their techs tightened the cap for free.

Summary:
The 914. It's not a Porsche. It's not a Volkswagen. It's a BMW!

I agree with Brett about 'Marque Motors', excellent business, but although Al @ A&P had been helpful numerous times over the years, the last job was an inexcusable disaster.

...in '89, I had my 73 914 worked on in Seattle, when I lived there. The mechanic was very friendly and knowledgeable of 914s, offering advice and pointed out questionable issues that I should take care of immediately, and some to put off, but not ignore. I learned from him, which is a relationship I have enjoyed from certain automotive repair places scattered over the US, in places like, San Berdo, Sandy Eggo, Chula Vista, Victorville, Upland, Sacramento, San Jose, Stockton, Bakersfield, Denver, Louisville, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and Miami.
...the trick is to qualify them for your requirements. EACH HAS THEIR OWN EXPERTISE. I aim my work or requirements at their abilities. Not any one business, except for three, two on the west coast and one on the east coast, that I have found, have full honors, and can truely perform all things.

...The only thing I haven't learned to do myself is transmissions. To me, they are a box of parts that go 'round 'n 'round. I can close my eyes and envision all the parts of my 911 and 914. The one black zone in my mind's eye are the transmissions.
...The same holds true to most mechanics when they look at 914s. They are daunting, apart from the norm, and most of the mechanics, over their careers have seen very few and from a distance.
The 911 guys, want to keep their, holier than thou, status by stating that they don't work on 914s, implying that they are not Porsches, and so they only work on Porsches, when in fact, they have no clue and don't want to expose their ignorance.
Most truly don't know and the good ones will state that they have never worked on them, and then we enjoy a gear-head discussion on the similarities and differences, and then they want to look at it on a lift.
...all in all, I have been able to weed out the grunge with work bays that look like my garage, and actually find, good mechanics. They are mostly my age and a few are half my age, but all, that I have found, that are good, are motor-heads, love to share information, are aspiring engineers and creative, not just 9-5 wrenchers.

Marque Motors

You are describing a very rare mechanic indeed.

So rare the lack of them is what caused me to do everything myself.

I paused a bit then told him he didn't have to be such an ass, then I peeled out in his drive way.
[/quote]
Your 914 can peel out?
[/quote]


Mine Can

It was funnier when I misread it to say that you peed out in his driveway.

I've not had my car (refering to the 914, though the Impala and the Aero fall into that category) to a shop since I've owned it. All the work thus far has been done by myself or with me assisting Clay / Betty.

Going through high school and college I did most all the work on my cars but would take it to a shop for bizarre things that I couldn't run down. After the LT1 swap on my '78 Monte Carlo I needed the speedo adjusted for a different ratio. My shop that I'd been going to off and on for years told me that he could do it but wouldn't and refused to talk about it anymore. Never took it back since.

Now that I think about it, haven't had any of my vehicles in the shop for anything other than insurance work since then either. (Or a while before)

My problem is that even in respectable shops you've got low paid guys starting off or helping that can booger things up. I figure I'll just do it myself because for the most part, I trust me.

A lotta mechanics take one look at the tiny engine access hatch and how they have to bend over around the sail to get in there and pass. When you further explain that you can remove the trunk lid for better access or the engine can be worked on from the bottom or out of the car, their eyes glaze over.

Not the easiest engine to get access to to work on and some might say PITA. In fact, name one car with a less accessable engine......

Just happened to drop by...

I've used Motor Sports International over here in Beaverton (just north of Hwy.26). I got their business card years ago when they worked on my first 914: 503-643-2656.

They rebuilt my 914 tranny and did some engine tune-up work. I'd use 'em again.

Every instance where I have had an engine end up with complications upon initial fire up it was installed by a "Porsche Shop" that generally had "35 years of experience".
That should read 35 years of close minded parts changing... I swear most of these guys have no brain and if they did they would not know how to apply it..

The last one charged EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS to install an engine that came to them 100% turn key in a crate. They didn't know how to crank for oil pressure.. They removed the clutch and pressure plate to "inspect it" and ended up leaving the fasteners loose which ruined the flywheel and etc...

Needless to say, I have been interrogating installers prior to even engaging in engine builds these days.. The more you brag about 35 years of experience the more I question what you have been doing for those 35 years and why you deserve the privilege to work with advanced technology.. If after 35 years you are doing the same thing and haven't advanced, there is probably a reason behind that.

The worst thing this shop could have done was take on your 914, be glad that they didn't take it on and don't be pissed... Trust me, the outcome is in your favor.

i thought i would ad a link to the snotty mechanics service page
http://www.heckmannthiemann.com/services.html
kinda a good read.....if you like being patronized

My car is over at Marque Motors right now getting a tune up and some idle work done and apparently a new door strap from Craig (Camp914). Nice guys, knowledgeable and they weren't afraid to work on the 914. Oh, and they have nice dogs too!

This sounds like a fun event to crash.

2009 Porsche Rally

Welcome to the annual Heckmann & Thiemann Porsche Rally!

Date: Saturday July 18th, 2009
Starting Point: TBA
End Point: TBA

If they post the starting point....maybe a real Porsche only secret.

I can't believe Stiener at Import Autowerks stiffed you. It must have been his younger partner. Stiener owes me a ginormous favor. Hell, Stiener was a factory tech on the 914. If you need some work done and they give you the cold shoulder, PM me. I'll get him to do it.