Alternator Replacement Cost and Question

[chadchad10]

Hey all,

I thought I post this here too to see your thoughts.

I was unfortunately in a collision with pretty bad front end damage. The car has been in the shop approximately two months, though most of that is waiting for parts (or so they say). I was supposed to pick it up today, but the body shop called and said the car hasn't been starting for the past couple of days. They took it to the dealer and had the battery replaced to no avail. Dealer said it was the alternator and would be $850 to replace. Body shop says that the alternator issue was independent of the collision damage. I have a couple of questions:

1) Is it possible that the alternator was damaged due to short (either caused by the collision or the body shop when they were repairing the car)?

2) Does $850 seem ridiculous for the work? (Just found out that Beverly Hills Porsche is overcharging by at least $200) Downtown LA will do the work for aprox $625.

3) Does this smell fishy?

I should also note that the body shop is an excellent reputable place. They have offered to do the alternator replacement for the cost of the part (roughly $275). I have also called my insurance company to ask them if it might be covered along with the other repairs.

Any input would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Chad

[chadchad10]

So, I was apparently quoted the wrong price on the part...now it's $875 plus instal.

[Loren]

996 603 012 03 Alternator $558.69 (retail as of nov 2003)

Looks like about 1 hour from the shop manual.

This is not brain surgery - you might want to try an (experienced Porsche) independent shop.

[chadchad10]

Thanks Loren.

I'm having the body shop take it to an independent place on Tuesday. Since I have no confidence in BH Porsche service, they are going to test the alternator to make sure that is the problem. If it is, I'll probably order the part myself and give it to them to install.

Does anybody know anything about places like www.thepartsbin.com. They have a remanufactured bosche alternator for around $280 with a 12 month warranty. Am I better off going through Porsche?

Chad

Edited September 3, 2004 by chadchad10