Jeff Corey used to be the service manager at Ellis, as did some of their sales guys (Bruce).

I've used Ellis for service (and bought a car there) a few times and they're OK...but have to say if you're closer to Hennessey I would go there hands-down - they seem like quality folks

 

Cattman to answer your first question, I am a consumer. In regards to having seen other opinions of Jim Ellis, I have to say I have not actually searched for such but will do so.

I have to say that I do not work for Jim Ellis but would like to hear what you have to say about the dealership and or the person so look for a PM from me.

 

i have dealt with both also. go directly to hennessy. jim ellis? lol

 

Still no one is saying why NOT Jim Ellis?!?! Just curious if there's any other reasons beyond just 'they suck'. Is it pricing, customer service, fix reliability, integrity/honesty of service consultant, location - why does it suck?

 

Ghillie, I got your PM- thanks.

I want to be sure to avoid trashing anyone, or getting down a slope that could be tricky in terms of heresay, etc., so I have to retract my offer of going into detail. However, I can speak generally: Several years ago I was treated disrespectfully by Jim Ellis himself, in a context that had nothing to do with cars. I was so disgusted that I swore I'd never spend a dime with him, at any of his dealerships.

However, eventually I softened my stance, and so when I was looking to get into my first Porsche I reached out to their "internet sales" person, a woman whose name escapes me. She was miserable to deal with, tried to pull a bait and switch with me on a car that was already sold, etc.

Yet, even after all of that, I gave them another chance. I went there in person to see what was at the time the new 911, the 997 back in 2004 which was a 2005 model year. None of the sales people would give me the time of day, preferring instead to sip their coffee and stare into space.

After that I became familiar with Hennessy, and haven't looked back. They are a class act, and I recommend them over Ellis.

So there you have it. Just my opinion. But, the more you sniff around the more you will see that I am not alone in my distaste for Jim Ellis. Good luck. If Ellis is closer to you, give them a shot, hey, who knows, they might have turned thigs around. I personally, won't give them a chance to prove it to me, however, I'm done with them.
CATTMAN

 

Cattman - thanks for the insight. Until they give me a reason not to go there, I'm going to remain cautiously loyal. Their location is so much more convenient for me.

 

Cattman thanks for your candor and honesty on the subject. I also do appreciate your position in not wanting to trash anyone else.

 

i have personally purchased two pcars from Jim Ellis. i actually had 2 great experiences. Gunter, my sales rep, was incredibly gracious and accommodating both times. i have never dealt with Henessy? but i will go on record as saying Jim Ellis has treated me perfectly.

 

Me and my family have dealt with both Jim Ellis and Hennessy for years. When it comes to a Porsche Service dept going the extra yard, Matt Bailey and Jeff Corey are top notch and I can not stress enough, both of them exhibit the highest levels of customer service and customer satisfaction delivery. Thank goodness they are just down the street from me. You won't be sorry you brought your car here for TLC.

 

Another vote for Hennessey. The service has always been good as others have mentioned but as importantly the facility is first class and they always have a ton of great cars. I can spend an hour or more just roaming around looking at things.

 

I've purchased my P-Cars used, neither from Ellis or Hennessey. I have used both service departments, most recently being Hennessey. I was treated very well at Ellis, but having used Hennessey for the last year would definitely give them the nod as the "gold standard" for service.

Related question ... I'm out of warranty in January and considering moving from dealer service to an independent shop. Hopefully something near the Midtown (live) or Alpharetta (work) area. Recommendations?

 

I concur with everything Cattman said including being ignored by the sales people in the showroom both before and after Hennessey opened for business. I can relate another story... my most recent. I had my 996 for sale in 2009. A perspective buyer from Savannah wanted the car and called Jim Ellis to set up a PPI. I recommended he get one and not knowing anyone else here, he decided on the dealer. The service writer at Jim Ellis told this guy that a 996 with over 50k miles was like buying a loaded gun and that he should come in and they could set him up with a CPO. Even though the guy really wanted a Porsche he ended up buying a Miata HT. They scared him away more for their shenanigans than anything I think. I sold my car to another buyer a couple of weeks later, but the fact that a dealer would deliberately cost someone a sale without having seen the car or knowing whose it was, is beyond the pale. I wrote them a letter in protest and never received a reply, also not unusual. I have more stories over the course of 25 years with Ellis dealerships on both sides of town. If I won a new Porsche in a raffle, I wouldn't go to Jim Ellis to pick it up. I would get someone else to though

 

My car was originally from and CPO'd by Hennesy.

I recently had an oil change there... I spent about 30 minutes talking with the head salesman, Bruce... He knew I wasn't looking to buy a car in the near future, but really took the time to explain the difference between the Turbo, GT2 and GT3 to me to find which would suit my need best.

Came down to the Turbo S... in a few years, we'll see if he can find me a low mile one

 

but where else can one take a Porsche to get looked at, prefer NE or atl, Ellis is too far, and the other guy let our car sit for weeks. I took it to one place around cumming but they never sent us an estimate on repair, so guess they are too busy (said it would be a couple weeks)

really need to get this car fixed.

thanks
tom,

 

I can highly recommend Jim Kimmey at european imports on lawrenceville-Suwanee rd. I-85N exit 111. I have three Porsches from 3 different eras and engines in three different spots. He has expertise on all three. His only limitation may be the latest PIWIS system, so if you have a 991/981, he might not have the latest diagnostic software. He also may have bought it by now. I don't have a new model so I haven't asked lately. He told me it was ~30k and since 991s are all still under warranty it just doesn't make sense for him to invest in the newest version diagnostics.The last time I talked to him about was about a year ago.

If you have any Porsche 997 and older, he is honest, knowledgeable, and reasonably priced. I've been using him for over 10 years. He's not the fastest guy in the world but if you need your car right away he'll get it out as fast as he can. If you're like me, with multiple cars, and he knows you have other transportation he might put others in front of you. Personally I see that as a positive, but just to disclose everything I know about his business. In 10 years I've had one problem that required taking the car back in and I have had as many as 5 Porsches at once during that time, so you can imagine how many times I've been there Put your own extra floor mat, or an old throw rug down. He has some employees that will move your car with dirty boots some times. That's the only negative I can think of. Jim is the owner, but he does all the Porsche work himself, other than oil changes etc. His employees do the BMW, MBZ Volvo stuff.

As far as Jim Ellis, I have had bad things to say about them in the past, but I recently had no choice but to use them for a windshield replacement. They didn't go the extra mile to find a hard to find windshield for me, but once I located it at a Porsche dealership in Oregon, had it shipped to Jim
ellis, they were really good at getting it installed by a third party and treated me very well. Ryan, the service writer/manager is a top notch guy. The dealership in Oregon got the windshield for me out of germany and charged $270 less than the price Jim Ellis quoted before telling me they couldn't get one. It was for a 968 Cabriolet, with antenna and tint, so a pretty rare bird of a windshield. None of the glass companies around town would touch it, but to Jim Ellis' credit, Ryan's in particular, he made sure it was done right by the guy that does all of their glass work. He could have blown me off since I bought the parts from another dealer and he knew where I got it. It took me 6 months all told to get it done, but even after paying UPS to ship it from Oregon to Atlanta, I saved 150 bucks on the windshiled. Installation was close to the cost of the windshield though, which didn't surprise me, but I had no other choices, except Hennessey and they are just too faR away from home or work to use them. Good luck