Musicboffin Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 Having a bit of a read through the OPC thread in the dealer section of the site. And it has me wondering. My 987S is now north of 130k miles and will be due service in the next 3k miles or so, or within the next few months. Up until this point it has always been serviced at an OPC, and I'm wondering whether I should continue with this tradition or whether it should now go to an independent. I've already had a couple of bits and bobs done by a local indy, and I plan to do some minor things myself once I become more confident with wielding a spanner. Is there any value in continuing to accumulate OPC invoices and stamps, or should I break with the car's tradition and start to go to an indy for servicing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon61 Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 As long as I had a trustworthy and respected Indy available, with your car's age/mileage I would have switched quite a while ago. I don't think OPCs necessarily do things any better (there have been some horror stories on here of things that OPCs have done), they usually charge more (compare your OPC's hourly labour rates with an Indy), and I don't think after a certain point potential purchasers value the service stamps from an OPC significantly more than a good Indy. So I wouldn't switch the moment the manufacturer's warranty expired, but I would definitely have switched by now. You can look on here for an Indy in your area that others recommend - knowledgeable buyers should also know of their reputation. I will be interested to see if anyone votes that you should still stay with the OPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickLS7 Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 The OPC service prices on older cars are more competitive than they used to be but I'm voting for the specialist option as extra work is cheaper and I don't care either way when buying a car whether the services were carried out by an OPC or a respected specialist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 If you had a low mileage FPSH car then it might be worth continuing with OPC as some people are very OCD about low mileage and FPSH (generally those who don't know much about cars IMHO), but I think this is a very different market when your talking about >100k cars where you've enthusiasts who will look at condition and won't differentiate between Porsch and Indy servicing and those who are just after a cheap Porsche. Having said that, I am considering buying a 987.2 with 80k and a FPSH and would keep up the PSH if it needed a service as I wouldn't be keeping it long and the cost difference for a single minor service is minimal. I might even get a nice courtesy car which would make it preferable to go to Porsche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragpicker Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 What benefit is there for taking it to OPC? Free coffee? Loan car? OCD? If any of these are important to you then definitely go OPC. However if you are only bothered about getting the job done well then get a good indy to do it and save yourself a few quid. Indy servicing has many benefits over OPC which are often overlooked - for example with an Indy you can start a relationship and get to know the guy doing the job. This leads on to free advice, great conversations about cars and a generally greater care taken by the mechanic because of this. My indy is one of my close friends now but I didn't know him before I got my first Porsche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicboffin Posted June 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 Interesting. Thanks for responses so far. To clarify, I've not had the car very long. As soon as I got it, I gave it an oil change and did a few jobs which were identified. This was at an independent. I've not yet had to service the car, hence the question. Not sure how long I'll keep the car, but want to be a good custodian whilst it's in my hands. One draw of the OPC is the chance to try out potential future purchases s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicboffin Posted June 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 5 minutes ago, ragpicker said: What benefit is there for taking it to OPC? Free coffee? Loan car? OCD? If any of these are important to you then definitely go OPC. However if you are only bothered about getting the job done well then get a good indy to do it and save yourself a few quid. Indy servicing has many benefits over OPC which are often overlooked - for example with an Indy you can start a relationship and get to know the guy doing the job. This leads on to free advice, great conversations about cars and a generally greater care taken by the mechanic because of this. My indy is one of my close friends now but I didn't know him before I got my first Porsche I can identify with this. I've become pretty good mates with the guy who has looked after my MX-5 over the last 7 or so years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon61 Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 I'd also expect a good Indy to be much more realistic about what should be, and what needn't be, done to an older car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southy Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 The OPC will always try to get the car back to a very good condition right now, an Indy will tell you what needs doing, now, in the next 6 months and long term stuff to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnk1946 Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 Got me thinking now, my 2010 2.9 has 31k on it and 2 OPC stamps in the book, it's due a service later this year and I was going to go to an indie, now I'm not so sure. Although at coming up for 6 years old, I guess it will need a new drive belt, brake fluid change and anything else the OPC might highlight, so it could be a hefty bill, mmmmmmmm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 10 minutes ago, johnk1946 said: Got me thinking now, my 2010 2.9 has 31k on it and 2 OPC stamps in the book, it's due a service later this year and I was going to go to an indie, now I'm not so sure. Although at coming up for 6 years old, I guess it will need a new drive belt, brake fluid change and anything else the OPC might highlight, so it could be a hefty bill, mmmmmmmm? You could just get the basic service done at the OPC to get the stamp in the book and the rest done at an Indy. This way you get to build up a relationship with the Indy. IMO yours is the sort of car that would sell better with a FPSH as it's a recent model, low mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nath Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 Only recently acquired mine which had a mix of OPC (two) and one indie stamps. I will be going the indie route as I intend on having it serviced annually rather than at two yearly intervals. If I was buying a car with more miles I would prefer to see higher frequency by a decent indie than 2 years by an OPC. Mine has 45k on it. Mind you, I have half an idea to take mine back to Aus with me so resale here is not such a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnk1946 Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 34 minutes ago, Nobbie said: You could just get the basic service done at the OPC to get the stamp in the book and the rest done at an Indy. This way you get to build up a relationship with the Indy. IMO yours is the sort of car that would sell better with a FPSH as it's a recent model, low mileage. That's a good point Nobbie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicboffin Posted June 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 2 hours ago, johnk1946 said: That's a good point Nobbie. Actually @Nobbie that is more along the lines I was thinking. I've kind of already gone down this path as a few things have already been done by an Indy during my tenure. The service would be purely for the stamp (and the loan car, and the coffee, and the daydreaming in Spyders and GT4s). Still, I think the weight of opinion is heading towards an indy service... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 I think the type of buyer who would prefer a car with fully stamped up OPC service book, would be put off by 130k + miles anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicboffin Posted June 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 6 minutes ago, PaulQ said: I think the type of buyer who would prefer a car with fully stamped up OPC service book, would be put off by 130k + miles anyway. You're probably right TBH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxstercol Posted June 9, 2016 Report Share Posted June 9, 2016 I'm in a similar position with mine, bought 3 years ago with 44k miles & full OPC history. I've kept the OPC history up, plus have had the OPC carry out intermediate oil changes with a stamp in the book. One of the things that attracted me to my car in the first place is that the previous owners were particularly an*l about servicing, everything done at the OPC & also it hadn't done 8k miles between services ever. You can still build a good relationship with an OPC, they're just people at the end if the day the same as an Indy.... I've managed this & have, touch wood, a good contact at my local OPC. This has served me well over the years & means that work doesn't necessarily cost more than an Indy. For example when I had a rear spring break, the OPC replaced both & the bill was £30 cheaper than the best price I could get from any Indy that I phoned, plus I had it sorted within a couple of days whereas one Indy couldn't look at it for 6 weeks. I've also read horror stories about some OPC's, but in fairness I can't speak highly enough about my local OPC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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