The Verdict is in on Foriegn Affairs!
#31
12-23-2003 | 07:32 PM
Modaholic
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,878
From: Fresno Cali
Rep Power: 164
I'll tune in here as well.. as far as Customer Service for parts goes.. Bob and Mark have been great to deal with! They overnighted a new shifter when the one that was purchased had a flaw in it, and Mark always gets back to me.. Bob was even helping with finding a track car... I obviously have not had my car service there, so I can't remark on that note...
#32
12-23-2003 | 08:21 PM
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,115
From: OC
Rep Power: 66
maybe 2 sides to every story ... but first, before you go asking someone for 3k, you make damn sure that the 3k is necessary IMHO. (especially is the repair is very rare).
2ndly, you don't say "Get Her Out Of Here" to someone's wife ... that pisses me off more than the money.
2ndly, you don't say "Get Her Out Of Here" to someone's wife ... that pisses me off more than the money.
Last edited by alamein; 12-23-2003 at 08:40 PM.
#34
12-23-2003 | 09:26 PM
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 6,351
From: New York
Rep Power: 297
Since we are sharing our experiences with FA...I have to say the one experience I had with them was great. They did a great group buy on the GT3 seats and delivered them as agreed. They were also proactive on the phone, giving me a call when they were shipped with a tracking number...
#35
12-23-2003 | 10:25 PM
Thread Starter
|
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,109
From: Florida
Rep Power: 247
Like I said, They have always been good to me. I await an explaination on their part, thats all. Believe me I don't want to burn my bridges here. Bob is one of the owners of the PBOC. I was planning to attend their track day at Sebring in Jan or Feb can't remember what the date was. I am just pissed with rudeness on his part and the lack of information he was willing to give on the repair in question. 
BTW the car is running fine. Check engine light is off, and JCM and Champion told Jason they did not see anything wrong with it.
BTW the car is running fine. Check engine light is off, and JCM and Champion told Jason they did not see anything wrong with it.
#36
12-24-2003 | 03:16 PM
Banned
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 178
From: West Palm Beach
Rep Power: 29
Who's Verdict?
1 – The following is a compilation of the events leading up to this post from our perspective. It is not our policy to discuss our customer’s affairs online but since it has been brought up we feel the need to respond.
2 – The first repairs Jason asked for were as follows, check over car and check for maintenance service. While Jason was here we put the car up on the rack and found that the rear lower engine pan was destroyed and most of it was missing and did a quick
basic check of the car. Before Jason left Foreign Affairs here is the list of work he asked us to do:
Check engine light is on perform fault code readout with PST2
Perform 45,000-mile maintenance service car. Odometer was at 44,000 miles
( 45,000 service includes inspect axles bolt torque, CV boots, brake hoses/lines, every fluid, tire condition and pressures, remove all lower covers and check all cooling system hoses for any leakage, check/lube as needed all locks/hinges, check lights, ect.)
Steering wheel shakes - Balance front wheels
Oil & filter change
Replace fresh air pollen filter
Replace rear lower pan
Remove as needed engine covers to check engine drive belt/accessories
3 – Jason’s Estimate for the repairs he requested were $438.99 plus tax. Jason gave us the OK to do the repairs while he was still at Foreign Affairs per the repair order # 15673 mileage 44,000 the time of Authorization was 2:50pm on Thursday 11/06/03
4 – Repairs were started on Friday 11/07/03 Fault codes read
P1126 O2 Sensing Range Cyl. 4-6 & P1124 O2 Sensing Range Cyl.1-3
By experience we know that most likely this indicates an intake air leak of some kind. Usually the crankcase breather Accordion hose and or the Vacuum reservoir on the passenger topside of the motor. Upon inspection of these parts we could see the crankcase hose had deteriorated and was coming
apart. We also checked with a mirror as it is under the passenger intake manifold the Vacuum canister was cracked.
5 – The repairs needed that caused the check engine light to come on were estimated and Jason was called on mid afternoon on Friday 11/07/03. Jason was told what was needed and cost of parts & labor would be $547.18 + tax Jason OK’d the repair and was told he could pick up his car at the end of the day on Monday 11/10/03 (we are not open on weekends)
6 - Total of repairs requested and Approved $1,045.34 including tax. On Tuesday November 11,2003 at 3:15pm Jason came in to pick up the car. At that time he wanted a deal because he was friends with Jeru and because he goes on 6spdonline and so on. Well I discounted the bill to $889.74 Total.
7 – Let’s keep the facts correct. Number one any work we did and/or any part we use has a warranty. Now the car ran fine for Not 2 weeks as stated but 5 weeks and 1,130miles.
1st repair order 15673 11/06/03 44,000 miles
2nd repair order 15944 12/15/03 45,130 miles
8 – Repair Order # 15944 dated Monday 12/15/03 at 8:17am
Customer complaint check engine light came back on
Hook up PST2 fault code reads
#1 DME P0446 95 check following –
shutoff valve, charcoal canister function, fuel cap
#2 P1640 105 control module faulty (DME)
#3 60 Central locking limit position lock not reached
9 – Jason was called by Mark, Monday 12/15/03 just after noon and told the check engine light came on because of new problems, this would not be a warranty repair and he would have to pay for fault code readout $40.00. Any further Diagnostic time or work done he would have to pay for and Jason OK’d Foreign Affairs to continue. He let us know that he would probably just get a new car and not fix the Boxster if it was going to be an
expensive repair. Foreign Affairs after the fault code came back up again contacted Porsche Technical (cost us $5,200 a year to have access) on Monday 12/15/03 and gave them the info we had and as normal 24 hours later they called back (Tuesday afternoon 12/16/03) and said they agreed with our Technician that possibly the Charcoal canister and/or vapor system could be blocked and first try to blow out and clean the charcoal system but the DME could be bad. We cleaned out charcoal system reset fault codes again with the PST2 and road tested. Same fault came up Jason was called. He told us he was trading in the car so don’t go any further so we stopped. Technician total time on car 7.1 hours we billed Jason for connecting the car to the PST2 and 2 hours labor.
10 – We knew from the beginning that Jason was not going to spent a lot on the repair he told us if it the car needed more than minimal work he would just get his wife another car. So why would we try to sell him something expensive if he already told us he would not do it and he would get a new car which would be under warranty and need no work. Jason says we called him a few hours after he dropped his car off and told him he had to replace his ECU for thousands of dollars. We called Jason the afternoon of the 2nd day after we heard back from Porsche Technical and did the fault code readout again. And as we already knew he did not want to spend any more money, we never tried to sell Jason an ECU he told us up front he was not doing a big repair all we told him was at that point it looked like the ECU could be bad as per Porsche Technical & our Tech.
11 – When Jason’s wife came to pick up the car, Jason told her the bill was $40.00, which was the original charge for the fault code, read out. But Jason approved more work, which we never said we would do for free, Jason was told that. Next, I did not see or talk to Jason or his wife when she picked up the car. They talked to Mark. When the bill was disputed, Mark handed the keys to Jason’s wife and told her “Have a Nice day†, “There will be no charge†He would not have thrown anyone out.
12 – Let’s keep the facts correct. Number one, any work we did and/or any part we put in has a warranty. Now the car ran fine, not for 2 weeks as stated but 5 weeks and 1,130miles.
1st repair order 15673 11/06/03 44,000 miles
2nd repair order 15944 12/15/03 45,130 miles
13 – A Foreign Affairs Repair Order in our system has much info on it as to help us help our customers. They keep track Time, Date and Authorization by who and to whom and much more. When someone says they had no clue about cost or what was done I can pull up a complete record of all contact info, times and dates. And it amazing how it usually brings back their memory. We have been in Business in Broward County/Fort Lauderdale for
over 25 years. That’s not by accident its buy being PORSCHE NUTS. Are we perfect NO! We are human, we do occasionally have a miss understanding with someone, and yes, we do our best to try to correct any situation that comes up. But reality says you cannot make everybody happy
14 - We use only Porsche Factory parts because we know that in most cases they are the best. All the work we do is completely warranted and sometimes new things break or someone misses something, these cars are very complicated. We are constantly up dating our PST2 at a cost of $5,000.00 a year, we have every Porsche Factory manual and we keep them up dated. We Keep
Our Technicians up to date with the latest Porsche Technical and Service information available
15 – Everyone who owns a 986 or 996 knows that many things can turn the check engine light on. Unfortunately more fault codes can trip the check engine light then all the other lights or codes in the car combined. So because you got something fixed and at some time in the future the check engine light comes back on changes are it something else.
16 – I find it interesting that so many facts are way wrong here and so many people on this board who know nothing about what happened or know me or Foreign Affairs have all this 1st hand knowledge and opinions about this or us..
17 – To answer another question raised in this, as a Sponsor all I get:
1) The right to sell on the board
2) Mail the board a check yearly
3) Have people who work for & with my competitors bad mouth Me and Foreign Affairs every chance they get with no facts just because I don’t rip people off when I sell parts on line.
18 - I didn’t need to sell parts on line, I just got tired of seeing Porsche owners being ripped off by the after market Company’s and the Dealers if some of you only knew how cheap most of these companies’s get their parts for.
For those of you who say we do not get back to you we have 3 people in the office and we receive approx. 150 e-mails a day, 300 phone calls a day, and we have on any given day 35 – 40 streetcars and 30 racecars jobs pending work in the shop. We try to get back to everyone and usually do. If you haven’t heard from us it could be because your e-mail is messed up or we have a wrong phone number or you want service on the weekends when we are not here
The current group buy will be the last as the very small amount of money I make selling on this board is not worth the attacks I have to put up with.
Bob V
2 – The first repairs Jason asked for were as follows, check over car and check for maintenance service. While Jason was here we put the car up on the rack and found that the rear lower engine pan was destroyed and most of it was missing and did a quick
basic check of the car. Before Jason left Foreign Affairs here is the list of work he asked us to do:
Check engine light is on perform fault code readout with PST2
Perform 45,000-mile maintenance service car. Odometer was at 44,000 miles
( 45,000 service includes inspect axles bolt torque, CV boots, brake hoses/lines, every fluid, tire condition and pressures, remove all lower covers and check all cooling system hoses for any leakage, check/lube as needed all locks/hinges, check lights, ect.)
Steering wheel shakes - Balance front wheels
Oil & filter change
Replace fresh air pollen filter
Replace rear lower pan
Remove as needed engine covers to check engine drive belt/accessories
3 – Jason’s Estimate for the repairs he requested were $438.99 plus tax. Jason gave us the OK to do the repairs while he was still at Foreign Affairs per the repair order # 15673 mileage 44,000 the time of Authorization was 2:50pm on Thursday 11/06/03
4 – Repairs were started on Friday 11/07/03 Fault codes read
P1126 O2 Sensing Range Cyl. 4-6 & P1124 O2 Sensing Range Cyl.1-3
By experience we know that most likely this indicates an intake air leak of some kind. Usually the crankcase breather Accordion hose and or the Vacuum reservoir on the passenger topside of the motor. Upon inspection of these parts we could see the crankcase hose had deteriorated and was coming
apart. We also checked with a mirror as it is under the passenger intake manifold the Vacuum canister was cracked.
5 – The repairs needed that caused the check engine light to come on were estimated and Jason was called on mid afternoon on Friday 11/07/03. Jason was told what was needed and cost of parts & labor would be $547.18 + tax Jason OK’d the repair and was told he could pick up his car at the end of the day on Monday 11/10/03 (we are not open on weekends)
6 - Total of repairs requested and Approved $1,045.34 including tax. On Tuesday November 11,2003 at 3:15pm Jason came in to pick up the car. At that time he wanted a deal because he was friends with Jeru and because he goes on 6spdonline and so on. Well I discounted the bill to $889.74 Total.
7 – Let’s keep the facts correct. Number one any work we did and/or any part we use has a warranty. Now the car ran fine for Not 2 weeks as stated but 5 weeks and 1,130miles.
1st repair order 15673 11/06/03 44,000 miles
2nd repair order 15944 12/15/03 45,130 miles
8 – Repair Order # 15944 dated Monday 12/15/03 at 8:17am
Customer complaint check engine light came back on
Hook up PST2 fault code reads
#1 DME P0446 95 check following –
shutoff valve, charcoal canister function, fuel cap
#2 P1640 105 control module faulty (DME)
#3 60 Central locking limit position lock not reached
9 – Jason was called by Mark, Monday 12/15/03 just after noon and told the check engine light came on because of new problems, this would not be a warranty repair and he would have to pay for fault code readout $40.00. Any further Diagnostic time or work done he would have to pay for and Jason OK’d Foreign Affairs to continue. He let us know that he would probably just get a new car and not fix the Boxster if it was going to be an
expensive repair. Foreign Affairs after the fault code came back up again contacted Porsche Technical (cost us $5,200 a year to have access) on Monday 12/15/03 and gave them the info we had and as normal 24 hours later they called back (Tuesday afternoon 12/16/03) and said they agreed with our Technician that possibly the Charcoal canister and/or vapor system could be blocked and first try to blow out and clean the charcoal system but the DME could be bad. We cleaned out charcoal system reset fault codes again with the PST2 and road tested. Same fault came up Jason was called. He told us he was trading in the car so don’t go any further so we stopped. Technician total time on car 7.1 hours we billed Jason for connecting the car to the PST2 and 2 hours labor.
10 – We knew from the beginning that Jason was not going to spent a lot on the repair he told us if it the car needed more than minimal work he would just get his wife another car. So why would we try to sell him something expensive if he already told us he would not do it and he would get a new car which would be under warranty and need no work. Jason says we called him a few hours after he dropped his car off and told him he had to replace his ECU for thousands of dollars. We called Jason the afternoon of the 2nd day after we heard back from Porsche Technical and did the fault code readout again. And as we already knew he did not want to spend any more money, we never tried to sell Jason an ECU he told us up front he was not doing a big repair all we told him was at that point it looked like the ECU could be bad as per Porsche Technical & our Tech.
11 – When Jason’s wife came to pick up the car, Jason told her the bill was $40.00, which was the original charge for the fault code, read out. But Jason approved more work, which we never said we would do for free, Jason was told that. Next, I did not see or talk to Jason or his wife when she picked up the car. They talked to Mark. When the bill was disputed, Mark handed the keys to Jason’s wife and told her “Have a Nice day†, “There will be no charge†He would not have thrown anyone out.
12 – Let’s keep the facts correct. Number one, any work we did and/or any part we put in has a warranty. Now the car ran fine, not for 2 weeks as stated but 5 weeks and 1,130miles.
1st repair order 15673 11/06/03 44,000 miles
2nd repair order 15944 12/15/03 45,130 miles
13 – A Foreign Affairs Repair Order in our system has much info on it as to help us help our customers. They keep track Time, Date and Authorization by who and to whom and much more. When someone says they had no clue about cost or what was done I can pull up a complete record of all contact info, times and dates. And it amazing how it usually brings back their memory. We have been in Business in Broward County/Fort Lauderdale for
over 25 years. That’s not by accident its buy being PORSCHE NUTS. Are we perfect NO! We are human, we do occasionally have a miss understanding with someone, and yes, we do our best to try to correct any situation that comes up. But reality says you cannot make everybody happy
14 - We use only Porsche Factory parts because we know that in most cases they are the best. All the work we do is completely warranted and sometimes new things break or someone misses something, these cars are very complicated. We are constantly up dating our PST2 at a cost of $5,000.00 a year, we have every Porsche Factory manual and we keep them up dated. We Keep
Our Technicians up to date with the latest Porsche Technical and Service information available
15 – Everyone who owns a 986 or 996 knows that many things can turn the check engine light on. Unfortunately more fault codes can trip the check engine light then all the other lights or codes in the car combined. So because you got something fixed and at some time in the future the check engine light comes back on changes are it something else.
16 – I find it interesting that so many facts are way wrong here and so many people on this board who know nothing about what happened or know me or Foreign Affairs have all this 1st hand knowledge and opinions about this or us..
17 – To answer another question raised in this, as a Sponsor all I get:
1) The right to sell on the board
2) Mail the board a check yearly
3) Have people who work for & with my competitors bad mouth Me and Foreign Affairs every chance they get with no facts just because I don’t rip people off when I sell parts on line.
18 - I didn’t need to sell parts on line, I just got tired of seeing Porsche owners being ripped off by the after market Company’s and the Dealers if some of you only knew how cheap most of these companies’s get their parts for.
For those of you who say we do not get back to you we have 3 people in the office and we receive approx. 150 e-mails a day, 300 phone calls a day, and we have on any given day 35 – 40 streetcars and 30 racecars jobs pending work in the shop. We try to get back to everyone and usually do. If you haven’t heard from us it could be because your e-mail is messed up or we have a wrong phone number or you want service on the weekends when we are not here
The current group buy will be the last as the very small amount of money I make selling on this board is not worth the attacks I have to put up with.
Bob V
#37
12-24-2003 | 03:33 PM
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 12,874
From: Walnut Creek, CA
Rep Power: 579
Re: Who's Verdict?
Originally posted by bobc4s
The current group buy will be the last as the very small amount of money I make selling on this board is not worth the attacks I have to put up with.
Bob V
The current group buy will be the last as the very small amount of money I make selling on this board is not worth the attacks I have to put up with.
Bob V
#38
12-24-2003 | 03:45 PM
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,166
From: here
Rep Power: 149
yeah bob, i don't think you should even think about leaving based on these two complaints - the biggest one seeming at this point largely unfounded. i've dealt with you in the past on something you weren't even making anything on and i could easily tell i was dealing with a fellow porsche nut. please don't leave.
#40
12-24-2003 | 04:27 PM
senior member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,421
From: San Jose / Gilroy, CA
Rep Power: 78
Bob, your patient detailed response makes me certain that I will buy from you in the future.
And I guess there is a lesson here for anyone it may apply to. Perhaps prior to posting second hand info, call the shop yourself directly to see what the "other" side of the story is.
I hope this works out positively for all involved.
And I guess there is a lesson here for anyone it may apply to. Perhaps prior to posting second hand info, call the shop yourself directly to see what the "other" side of the story is.
I hope this works out positively for all involved.
Last edited by dpblessing; 12-24-2003 at 04:31 PM.
#41
12-24-2003 | 04:31 PM
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 15,576
From: Los Angeles, CA
Rep Power: 681
i just become a board sponsor recently. as bob said, all we do is mail a check & get the right to sell stuff here. to me personally, i'm not here to make money but i'm here for friendship. also like bob said, exactly the reason i'm here. i just wanna be able to save everyone some money because some shops out there are ripping people off.
bob, i think as long as u get the fact stright out everything will be cool. like many said, there is always 2 sides of story. glad to hear ur side of it.
bob, i think as long as u get the fact stright out everything will be cool. like many said, there is always 2 sides of story. glad to hear ur side of it.
#42
12-24-2003 | 04:41 PM
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,641
From: Carlsbad
Rep Power: 130
Bob,
I'd like to thank you for taking the time to respond to the orginal posting. If I weren't on the other side of the world, I'd take my car to you and your team. You have always been a source of good info and are a true professional.
Have a great holiday
I'd like to thank you for taking the time to respond to the orginal posting. If I weren't on the other side of the world, I'd take my car to you and your team. You have always been a source of good info and are a true professional.
Have a great holiday
#44
12-24-2003 | 05:05 PM
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 601
From: NJ
Rep Power: 46
Bob Happy New Year.......... It's too bad you had to spend the time to reply, and in such detail but there are 2 sides to every story and I like yours......... It's too bad you contribute to this board and have to field alot of incoming email and calls for little return. Youv'e been in business for 20 years and obviousley have done the right thing, keep doing what you do best.....
#45
12-24-2003 | 05:10 PM
Moderator
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 22,235
Rep Power: 1226
Apologize for getting to the truth.....no. There has been too many bad apples out there selling 996tt parts and service. Too many people burned by rip off artists. Most of us know who they are. I would rather error on the side of caution. If you sell products and treat the customer fairly, you usually won't have any problems. However, you must speak up and defend yourself. Silence only casts doubt. If you are truthful and honest, people will see that. Remember, all parties will be evaluated.