I bought my new 2000 S from a dealer 200 miles away from where I live in April 2001. After an unsatisfactory experience with the initial
15K maintenance from the local Porsche dealer, the dealer I purchased my car from agreed to give a 10% discount on all service as an incentive to drive the 200 miles to have them do it.I am now approaching 150K on the vehicle and I have had this dealer do all scheduled maintenances, repairs, as well as new tires and alignment with every 30K maintenance. I have 18" rims and always go with Pirelli P-Zero tires. Each time I had a service done I asked if my discount was included. The first few times they would manually mark down the ticket 10%, but for the past couple of years they have assured my the discount was included. As I had built up a level of trust (always the same people, zero turnover) I took their word for it and didn't check the numbers.
Last week I took the car in for a new rear tire, two front tires, and an alignment (I had to replace one of the rear tires 2 weeks earlier at a local tire store). My bill was $1191, and this didn't seem right, so I questioned if the 10% discount was included. Once again I was assured it was. The alignment itself was billed out at $385, and I questioned that, stating that I thought alignment was more in the $250 range. I was told the normal price for alignment is $420. When I got home I checked my prior service records, and sure enough, I had been billed $240 for alignment at 90K but had been billed $385 for alignment at 120K (my service records for prior to the 90K maintenance are in storage). Also, the prices charged for the same tires are varying from $210 to $305!
So, what do most dealerships charge for an alignment? Are independents properly equipped and trained to do alignments a 2000 Boxster S? If so, what is their typical charge? Do most of you buy your tires from the dealer? What about buying tires over the internet and having a local tire shop install them?
Also, is there a guide as to how many hours should be charged for secluded maintenances (and maybe other repairs also)? If so, this dealer has a posted labor rate of $69.50 per hour, is that in line with other Porsche dealerships?
Thanks in Advance for your help.
Bill