Caution - Inspection BS - Dealership BS - Austin TX

[ciaranob]

For what it’s worth I’d honestly never use a dealership for this but pers choice of course.

Had my inspection earlier this week - knew about the emissions thing re inspection procedures so was sure to mention it at a good local mech’s shop and he immediately agreed and std practice for him - had my new tires put on by discount tire a couple weeks ago so no issue there also - whole inspection process literally took 5 minutes cost $7 and was out of there.

I guess for those with a Porsche tire pkg tire swaps are more restricted to Porsche warranty procedures. I never get dealership tire pkgs and also never use them for tire installation - had zero issues with irregular wear and zero issues with tracking so no alignment needed.

Now if we could get that ‘wonderful’ governor to cut the BS with this $200 annual reg fee on top of another $75 for sticker and taxes that might be something - lots of data out there to clearly show this is minimum twice the calculated average taxes paid by ICE cars.

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[ChronoMax]

........ lots of data out there to clearly show this is minimum twice the calculated average taxes paid by ICE cars.

your are forgetting that TX is a big OIL & GAS state! They DONT want people in EVs!

 

[ciaranob]

your are forgetting that TX is a big OIL & GAS state! They DONT want people in EVs!

Oh believe me, I most def am not

 

[Edward]

It's still very curious about Texas' stance as an oil & gas state since we are now home to the world's most valuable automaker ... that produces exactly zero ICE vehicles.

That said, do reach out to James, the service manager at Porsche Austin. They've always done right by me, so I don't know what's going on with OP's service write-up. They should give you an estimate of the work done, and you can always decline services if you decide to do it elsewhere or DIY.

 

[SpicewoodT]

had my new tires put on by discount tire a couple weeks ago so no issue there also

May I ask what tires you went with at Discount Tires? I just took my 2021 4S in to Austin North for the WNP9 update and was told all four of my tires are at 3mm and should be replaced. I just passed 17K miles.

They quoted me $2,850-ish for Pirelli Cinturato P7's with an alignment.

 

[Hirschaj]

May I ask what tires you went with at Discount Tires? I just took my 2021 4S in to Austin North for the WNP9 update and was told all four of my tires are at 3mm and should be replaced. I just passed 17K miles.

They quoted me $2,850-ish for Pirelli Cinturato P7's with an alignment.

Did they give you any reason for needing an alignment or did they just tack it on there for more profit?

 

[Hirschaj]

May I ask what tires you went with at Discount Tires? I just took my 2021 4S in to Austin North for the WNP9 update and was told all four of my tires are at 3mm and should be replaced. I just passed 17K miles.

They quoted me $2,850-ish for Pirelli Cinturato P7's with an alignment.

For reference, I have 21" wheels and it looks like I can get Michelin PS 4S installed for right about $2000 after tax at Discount Tire in Bee Cave. This is without an alignment of course (my car shows no signs that I need one).

 

[SpicewoodT]

Did they give you any reason for needing an alignment or did they just tack it on there for more profit?

My guess is that it is the standard recommendation to have an alignment when putting new tires on. The way my Taycan drives/rides also gives me no indication that it needs an alignment. It remains the best ride I've ever had in a vehicle I've owned.

I've been pricing out the Michelin CrossClimate 2s @ Discount Tire in Bee Cave and they're about $1850 with tax right now. I'll look at the Michelin Pilot Sport 4s as well.

 

[gtm]

Did they give you any reason for needing an alignment or did they just tack it on there for more profit?

My guess is that it is the standard recommendation to have an alignment when putting new tires on.

It is both standard to recommend an alignment and a way to generate additional profit. I owned a shop for years and an alignment was always recommended when new tires were put on. Why? Because if the new set of tires wore quickly the customer would be sure it was defective tires, not the potholes they hit that put impact bulges in the sidewalls. It's a good recommendation for both sides of the transaction. This was a few years ago and most cars could be aligned for $100+/-. A little different than Porsche saying it's the most complex job known to man and charging accordingly. But that doesn't make it a bad recommendation.

 

[Hirschaj]

It is both standard to recommend an alignment and a way to generate additional profit. I owned a shop for years and an alignment was always recommended when new tires were put on. Why? Because if the new set of tires wore quickly the customer would be sure it was defective tires, not the potholes they hit that put impact bulges in the sidewalls. It's a good recommendation for both sides of the transaction. This was a few years ago and most cars could be aligned for $100+/-. A little different than Porsche saying it's the most complex job known to man and charging accordingly. But that doesn't make it a bad recommendation.

Thanks for sharing this info. It doesn’t change my mind about turning down alignment when changing tires but it’s good to know.

 

[ab521]

A word of caution for people in Austin. My wife brought our Taycan into Porsche Austin for its annual inspection. They performed the safety inspection and provided a list of recommended services. Here's what they recommended:

• Replace 3 tires
• 4 wheel alignment

First, when they charged my wife they tried to charge her for both the safety AND emissions inspections. She called them out on the emissions part since obviously we have an EV. Of course they removed the charge.

Second, 2 of our tires will need replacement within the next 6 months for sure. The other two were replaced with brand new tires about 6 months ago after my wife killed both drivers side tires in a pothole incident. After she got home from the dealership, I measured the tread depth on both of those tires and they are fine. I also looked for any uneven wear and there is none that I can detect. The alignment would be completely unnecessary even if we did replace the tires.

This was at the North location. Thankfully my wife is a sharp cookie and knows not to fall for this type of BS.

Just had my 2 year service at Porsche Austin (north location). They also tried to sell me two front tires, quoted $800 a piece for the tires, $800 for alignment. I declined.

 

[ciaranob]

May I ask what tires you went with at Discount Tires? I just took my 2021 4S in to Austin North for the WNP9 update and was told all four of my tires are at 3mm and should be replaced. I just passed 17K miles.

They quoted me $2,850-ish for Pirelli Cinturato P7's with an alignment.

Sorry, late seeing this - I got my tires from Tire Rack long bef the orig set wore out - then had Discount install and did not need any alignment. The tires were same as original Pirellis (21”) summer performance (and yes with same level of longevity!) - other than wear rate, they are very quiet and overall a very good tire. Would have to check but got set of 4 for somewhere just north of 2K.
Edit: checked - all 4 delivered to me for $2023.

 

[Edward]

The tire pricing seems to be in line with what Porsche Austin is charging. Just that their installation is more expensive than Discount Tire. https://www.pcnatirestore.com/InitDealer?dealer=671

 

[ab521]

The tire pricing seems to be in line with what Porsche Austin is charging. Just that their installation is more expensive than Discount Tire. https://www.pcnatirestore.com/InitDealer?dealer=671

Porsche Austin was quoting me $1600 for just the front tires, over $3K for all 4, I mentioned that Discount Tire had them for much cheaper, they wouldn’t budge on the price.

 

[jplouis]

The tire pricing seems to be in line with what Porsche Austin is charging. Just that their installation is more expensive than Discount Tire. https://www.pcnatirestore.com/InitDealer?dealer=671

Porsche Austin didn't offer to honor the price from that link when I sent them the PDF. The service advisor didn't even know about the site and asked me were I got the PDF from. They especially wouldn't honor the alignment price from the PCNA store. This was after they gave me a high quote after I had 2yr service done.

I ended up using https://gomotires.com/atx/ for the install, you can order from most online tire shops and have them shipped to the installer. They come and install in your driveway. I met them at the Petrol Lounge here in town, they seem to install on quite a few high end cars.

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