Independent Porsche service center (preferably near seacoast)?

Submitted by Hextall2727 t3_107nea0 in newhampshire

I'm contemplating doing a irresponsible thing and getting a Porsche Cayman as a weekend fun car. I live in Lee and was curious if the wise members of the NH subreddit have suggestions on independent Porsche service places in the general seacoast area. I know of Stratham Porsche, but I'm always a little wary of dealerships and their pricing (which is ironic considering conventional wisdom suggesting that if I can afford to buy a sportscar, albeit used, I should be able to afford dealership service pricing).
This is just another check on my pro/con list if I'm actually going to get one.

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GreatGrandaddyPurp t1_j3obmu9 wrote

You're gonna get an suv... as a fun car? If you're gonna get a Porsche, get a rwd coupe. If you want an suv for fun, get a toyota or something and beat the piss out of it offroad. I simply don't understand the reasoning for getting an audi suv with a Porsche logo slapped on it. Especially not as a fun car. They are just status symbols... and even for that purpose they fall short. If I was inclined to buy an suv as a status symbol I'd definitely go for that mean looking new escalade over the ugly Porsche suv.

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Dirkdiggla1 t1_j3oekte wrote

The Few people I've known that own Porsches have gone here https://precisionimports.com/

Or here http://www.dtmautowerks.com/

But Precision actually specializes in them dtm is more all German vehicles

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Hextall2727 OP t1_j5ljjoz wrote

Fyi, my neighbor owns a Booster and goes to precision. He's very happy with them. I'm going to get in touch with them when global warming makes it possible to drive it on the road.

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Tall_Heat_6824 t1_j3ndd9h wrote

Your conventional wisdom on this is on point. With "luxury" cars, you kind of want a place that specializes in them...like a dealership. You don't really want to bring it to "Bill discount auto" or whatever place that spends most of their days servicing Nissan Altimas. Regardless of where you go, it's going to be exponentially more expensive to maintain. I have a higher-end Audi myself, and I'm pretty used to paying $500+ per tire, or having them quote me $750+ to change the headlights. It just comes with the territory.

Buying used luxury cars is a whole different can of worms that I won't open

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Hextall2727 OP t1_j3ne174 wrote

Yeah, I get that. I know of an independent BMW service shop near Epping that specifically services BMWs, I was just wondering if there's a similar shop in this area for Porsches... just to increase my options, especially for a pre-purchase inspection on a car I have a lead on.

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IntelligentMeal40 t1_j3npztz wrote

There was a guy in Rumney I think who was amazing, I don’t even remember why I found him except at my step mom used to have a Porsche from the 70s or 80s.

He was a sweetheart he would do it out of his garage at his beautiful house out in the woods, and I would hang out in his house with his wife and drink coffee and read books, but I appreciated that he let me chill with his wife because it’s not like there’s anything else to do while you’re sitting there for three hours in the woods unless you’re down to go hiking in unfamiliar areas by yourself

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Tall_Heat_6824 t1_j3netg4 wrote

Yeah I'd for sure get a pre-purchase inspection. I mean if it seems like it's in petty good shape, and you're definitely getting a discount from not buying new - you could luck out.

There is a place in Exeter that sells Jaguars and other high end cars, they might be worth looking into for service as well, but I'm spacing on the name

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Hextall2727 OP t1_j3nf3z4 wrote

I know there's a Jag dealership in Exeter.
I have a neighbor with a boxter he drives sparingly, I plan on picking his brain too.

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plowfaster t1_j3ob1cn wrote

I’d go to the stealership if resale value is a concern for you. Any services done outside of their Vaunted Castle Walls will get heavily penalized on resale.

Having said that, if resale isn’t a concern the stealership often isn’t the best choice. It’s a sort of “guaranteed B” type outcome. They will not mess shit up and they will do it by the books. But a good Indy shop is better.

Depending on your definition of “local” Luxury Auto Barn in Maine is a great choice. The owner is a 20 year BMW master mechanic who went out on his own. The prices are slightly above what you’d find at a dealer but often the overall bill is less (dealer will sit down with a book that says, “if X light replace y part. If that doesn’t fix X light then z part”. A good Indy will look at the problem in toto and say “X light might be z part” and save you the price of y part)

Also, try RB Auto Imports Services in Alton Bay, NH. Roger was a mechanic for, amongst other things, the Mercedes F1 team. The upside is there is no one better, the downside is he can be quite slow (good, cheap, fast…pick 2)

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[deleted] t1_j3nhrzx wrote

[deleted]

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ilotek t1_j3qs0r4 wrote

What happened? I just moved to NH and need to take my car in for a warranty issue at that dealership.

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[deleted] t1_j3qvx09 wrote

[deleted]

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ilotek t1_j3qx9dj wrote

well that's certainly disappointing. how long ago were you working there? the recent google reviews all seem positive (both from a buying and service perspective).

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OscarP808 t1_j3nuxsw wrote

Try asking on the Rennlist regional forum. Folks are usually pretty helpful there. Wish we had known about it before buying my wife’s Macan several years ago as Porsche’s option selection is a bit overwhelming. I think I’ve seen prepurchase checklists and/or common issues to watch out for with specific model years there too.

That said there is a lot of info on it so you might find yourself spending way too much time doing research.

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Hextall2727 OP t1_j3nvlie wrote

Thanks, I now remember seeing the name of that forum before so it was a nice reminder to check them out. Also if I'm spending all my time during doing research, then I'm not spending time writing an enormous check buying a car I plan on only driving on weekends. Haha

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comefromawayfan2022 t1_j3o1mki wrote

If you are going to need a place to do work on your car, DuPonts Service Center in Dover is pretty much known for doing work on exotic cars.

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aaronec t1_j3o4ioo wrote

VSR1 is Bedford is fantastic. I’m always nervous handing over my keys to a shop but one step inside that place and all your fears will disappear. Their prices aren’t going to be a lot better than a dealership but I have 100% faith in their service.

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muredit17 t1_j3oeok2 wrote

Seacoast Specialist Cars in Candia. Tom and his team are great. Former Porsche dealer guys.

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Strict_Bus_8130 t1_j3p0ti2 wrote

I recently moved to New Hampshire and also own a 987 Cayman. I haven’t found a great shop yet, as my car has not needed anything except changing oil, but a few points:

1)Zaks Auto in Hudson was recommended by some, I went there for an oil change and they tried selling me a lot of things my car didn’t need, overpriced by 200-300%;

2)It’s a Cayman. It’s a fun car, and you want to take care of it, but don’t worry about the resale value. If you are not buying the newest one, you will likely pay $25,000-$45,000 and will sell it 30% cheaper in 5 years. So really you will pay $7,000-10,000 in depreciation for 5 years of fun. Overpriced service that could potentially make the resale value higher will cost just as much. Don’t use dealerships, find some good honest mechanic (and please tell me about him if you do!!)

Good luck!

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sport_7 t1_j3pqh9b wrote

East Coast Automotive in North Hampton. Great guys, been going to them for years. A little pricey but they know their shit and I’ve never had issues. They specialize in VW/Audi/Porsche

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rmarkham t1_j3xhfha wrote

If you wanted an Audi instead, there is an independent Audi place in Hooksett. Reflux Tuning.

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Logical-Bus401 t1_j4bj3w9 wrote

It’s not near the seacoast but HM Motorworks in Merrimack is the best luxury car shop I’ve ever brought my BMW to. They service lambos, porche, Mercedes, Ferrari etc

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