Great Bristish Engines in Essex
Great Bristish Engines in Essex
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Discussion

Bebs

Original Poster:

3,033 posts

310 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Does anyone know this company in Essex?

http://www.gbe-company.com/

They are quoting me £3495 to rebuild my 3.4 engine including a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty and tell me they have done loads of 996 engines previously.

thegoose

8,077 posts

239 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
I don't know them but generally you get what you pay for. A Hartech rebuild starts at that sort of money, but they won't try to give a fixed quote before seeing & stripping because to do so is either foolish or mis-leading. Ask that company to show you some actual invoices for rebuilds they've done - if they are all for the fixed price I'd expect that many weren't done as thoroughly as the original failure deserved/needed, but more than likely (if they're anything like a decent outfit) each job will be different and will have been charged accordingly (read:above the headline rate which drew the customer in).

I'd get it straight to Hartech, maybe £100 to send the engine or £200ish to send the whole car, well worth it have the experts on the job. Also, people place a value on cars for sale that have Hartech rebuilds, I'm not sure this is true of any other builder (except maybe Autofarm). So, even if Hartech's job costs more, you'd recover the difference upon sale anyway.

smudger911

514 posts

287 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Something rings a bell from a previous discussion on here re them. Tho' I can't remember the exact details so maybe worth searching. Not much help I know...

Plenty of other Porker shops in Essex who could do the same. Last time I was at Autostrasse near Colchester they were rebuilding 3 - 5 engines a week!


Bebs

Original Poster:

3,033 posts

310 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
I get what you're saying about Hartech of course - but we're talking a minimum of double the cost, probably more like 8-9K. That's what the car was worth before a couple of valves decided to drop into the piston..
I'm really just looking to get the car running for the missus and with a 2 years warranty can the rebuild really be that bad..

Cheburator mk2

3,226 posts

228 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Bebs said:
Does anyone know this company in Essex?

http://www.gbe-company.com/

They are quoting me £3495 to rebuild my 3.4 engine including a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty and tell me they have done loads of 996 engines previously.
Scam.... Google them... Loads of angry customers...

thegoose

8,077 posts

239 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Bebs said:
I get what you're saying about Hartech of course - but we're talking a minimum of double the cost, probably more like 8-9K. That's what the car was worth before a couple of valves decided to drop into the piston..
I'm really just looking to get the car running for the missus and with a 2 years warranty can the rebuild really be that bad..
Hmm, well I'm sure the 3.5k vs. 8-9k isn't an apples to apples comparison but I can see the attraction of the lower price, so I'd suggest getting confirmation on whether the cost is fixed, what the warranty covers and what's required to maintain it (e.g. how often oil has to be changed and whether it has to be them that does it), to know they can't wiggle out of it, although some terms may be quite fair e.g. if you get the valve/head work done but the un-touched by them IMS fails later and ruins the whole engine (not that uncommon at all) I'd expect them to say "tough luck".

Remember, you get what you pay for and if it sounds too good to be true....... scratchchin

Bebs

Original Poster:

3,033 posts

310 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Cheburator mk2 said:
Scam.... Google them... Loads of angry customers...
Tried that- can't seem to find anything.

Bebs

Original Poster:

3,033 posts

310 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
I hear you goose - good advice. Will try to get more info before making a decision.

mikeyr

3,395 posts

222 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Cheburator mk2 said:
Scam.... Google them... Loads of angry customers...
Can you provide links? I tried googling them for the OP but couldn't find any reviews at all.

itsybitsy

5,985 posts

214 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
is this not the company in Basildon that was posted about some time ago and have they changed their name?imho there are lot of good companys to choose from why take a chance!

itsybitsy

5,985 posts

214 months

anonymous-user

83 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Odd. I heard about is lot a while ago and all the complaints. I am sure there was loads about them on the www, under their various names but can't find much now.


anonymous-user

83 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Does that include replacement parts? It sounds about right for the labour alone. As many have already said, the concept of a fixed price engine rebuild is flawed by the fact that until you strip it down you can only guess what work may actually be required. FWIW I would budget £7-9K for a full rebuild by someone reputable like Hartech and I think they are quite reasonable on their labour charges. £3K might get you a new set of tappets fitted at best.

Beaky59

177 posts

195 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
By looking at their website, they seem to be just general engine re-builder.

If I were having my engine rebuilt I'd go to a specialist who hopefully knows practically every scenario once they have opened the engine up, have the right tools, etc and access to the upgraded repair components.

Additionally if you come to sell it, a rebuild by one of the known and respected outfits will carry a lot more weight than someone like this lot.



stuttgartmetal

8,154 posts

245 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Essex eh?

Not East Angular

V8KSN

4,713 posts

213 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
Bri, I reckon that place in Essex will quote you £3500 odd and then they will strip it down and say "ooh, it needs X, Y and Z too" and then before you know it, you will have paid the same as you would have done had you gone to Hartech in the first place.

stuttgartmetal

8,154 posts

245 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
V8KSN said:
Bri, I reckon that place in Essex will quote you £3500 odd and then they will strip it down and say "ooh, it needs X, Y and Z too" and then before you know it, you will have paid the same as you would have done had you gone to Hartech in the first place.
plus one.

5 minutes googlin porshe tech basildon will put you straight.

good luck btw




Edited by stuttgartmetal on Friday 29th November 18:47

itsybitsy

5,985 posts

214 months

Friday 29th November 2013
quotequote all
stuttgartmetal said:
plus one.

5 minutes googlin porshe tech basildon will put you straight.

good luck btw




Edited by stuttgartmetal on Friday 29th November 18:47
I am sure that's the same company as per my link earlier as same postcode but if not still got a bad feedback