I bought my 2 996 GT3 seats from my local dealer for $300 more than I could have from Suncoast cause they promised me professional installation by Porsche, and I figured it would save me time/hassle since my garage has very little room to work and I needed to bring the car in eventually to have them turn off the airbag alarm anyway.

So my seats arrived yesterday, and I made an appointment to install, and dropped off my RS and left it there all day to get it done.

In addition, the license place light was loose and moving around, so I asked them to get it fixed.

I was promised the car back that same day.

At 5pm I call to get a status on my car, and they say there is an issue, and put me on hold for 5 mins.

Then the service guy comes back online and with a couldn't-give-a-damn voice tells me the service manager decided they wont do the install cause it disconnects the side seat airbag.

I asked why they didn't tell me earlier, they had no answer.

I told them it was part of the deal and the reason I paid extra, they didnt care.

I asked if I got it installed elsewhere would they remove the airbag alarm for me, they said no.

I asked them to have my seats ready in the original packaging for me to pick up, and they said the bottom part of the packaging was ruined and thrown away and the boxes had been cut out and folded flat, so that I had no solid cover for transporting/storing them.

I asked if they had fixed the license plate light, they said not yet.

I asked to speak to the manager who made the decision, they put me on hold, then transfered me to the parts guy who picked up, could not hear me for some strange reason, and hung up on me.

I decided it was for the better anyway as I do not think I would have been very polite with the guy.

Mind you, these are the same guys I gifted a couple of cases of beers to last week after they did service on my car for some loose sway bars.
That's the type of guy I am and I believe in doing this type of gesture to build long lasting relationships with people I work/deal with.

But there I was with no transportation for the evening, no installation for my seats, no service for my waranty item, faced with a dealer breaking their promise/deal with me, and supposed new seats without packaging and no option for getting them installed.

So I'm gonna pick up my seats and car today.

Can anyone give me pointers/assistance on how to change the seats?

I have read some of the posts, but have some questions... like:

Do I need the sub cross bars if I run the stock seat belt? My understanding is the sub bar is only for the harness?

Can anyone recommend a Los Angeles based place to get the airbag alarm turned off?

I was told the same connector for the airbag also carries the seatbelt latch alarm.. does this mean you get both airbag and seatbelt error after the install?

What is the error like.. do u get both a chime and light?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.

 

Do you still want the seats from them? How did you pay for them? Do you still want to take your car there? If the answer to 1 and 3 is "no" then refuse them. If they won't let you take your car fight that. They likely don't have the right to hold your car if they didn't actually perform any service on it. Buying parts shouldn't allow them a mechanics lien. Otherwise, pay for them with a credit card, leave them there (make an excuse) and then cancel the charge.

 

Thanks, but I paid for the seats already last week and since I want the seats, they can can have my extra $300... I made peace with that. I'm not interested in starting a huge battle with them at this time. My peace of mind is worth that much.

So I'm not looking to screw the dealer back or battle them, I just want the seats installed.

 

Here is an excellent DIY link for installation of Euro 996 GT3 seats in a 996. The procedure is the same for a 997 installation. As you already know you'll need a dealer or Porsche shop to disable your seat airbag warning light.

http://gallery.rennlist.com/gallery/album651

 

Go to GMG

http://www.gmgracing.com/about.shtml

 

Talk to Arling at Lucent Motors. He's in LA. Board sponsor here. Look toward the botton on your right. Don't let his Web site scare you. He's a well-known guy on these boards.

 

Care to share which L.A. dealer so the rest of us can be wary?

 

Thanks guys... all excellent feedback..
I'll work on it tomorrow and report back...

 

Its very easy actually, the whole process took me 2 hours max not working the whole time. Just make sure to unhook the battery but DON'T close the front hood while working(its electronic).

 

+1, i want to know this too

 

Sorrry but u are the first one to mention anything about the battery or front hood... what does that have to do with anything?

 

sorry to hear about you bad experience. if it were me, i would just install the seats myself. you would usually disconnect the ground side of the battery when working with anything related to the air bags, as it will cause a warning on your dash. but since your 6gt3 seats dont have airbags.. you'll get an warning anyways. but to be on the safe side, i would still disconnect the battery. then when your done, just find another dealer who is willing to removing the airbag warnings from your dash.

 

just on principle alone, i'd return the seats. but if you need it badly, it's an easy diy but you do still need a dealer for that airbag warning as daytonaviolet mentioned.

 

You don't need to disconnect the battery.

 

My local dealer did the install of the seats in my 997C2S, they called PCNA and asked if it were OK to deactivate the side airbags and PCNA said it was fine. I would contact the Service Manager, and then the General Manager and see what you can do to get the work done.

GL, the seats are awesome.