What would you do?

[Happy Days]

Both our cars (718S and Macan SD) have reached three years old. The Macan won't be replaced as Porsche no longer do a diesel, and where we live Diesel is king; you'd be really pushed to sell on a petrol SUV, unless it's a GTS. We will probably buy a new Macan when the full BEV unit comes out.The 718S has low miles and was always intended to be a long term keeper (unless we win the Euromillions).

Would you keep using the OPC for servicing at around £1k a pop? Or would you go to a good indy and use original Porsche parts? The Macan is pretty high mileage at 70k and does a 100 mile trip every work day, on motorways for 99% of the journey. The original set of tyres lasted 60k!!! Plus the nearest OPC is 50 miles away.

I will probably self warrant but I'd take opinions on that too. For each car the 11? point check and warranty extension costs around £1200.

Your thoughts?

[EXY]

Personal thing risk management. 

I would service them myself and take a chance on the warranty. 

The guy that bought our Boxster was more than happy with my servicing evidence and he was a retired garage owner. 

[Nobbie]

No,

As a long term car I don't see any downside to Indy servicing as long as you've got a good Indy that you trust and will stick with as is never looks good having a variety of service stamps. The Macan is going to be on 100k+ when you come to sell it, so OPC service history is going to make little difference to the price and you sound like you'll keep the 718 long enough that Indy servicing will be expected anyway.

Sounds like you probably have enough cash on hand to deal with any issues that might arise, so wouldn't worry about a warranty either, but that is more down to your attitude to risk.

[Scubaregs]

My 718 was bought as a 10 year, minimum , car. OPC will get 1st service then most likely Indy unless no significant discount on OPC pricing.

Different if you are planning to sell in a few years with low mileage.

[Greenman]

If I wasn't extending warranty I would certainly go Indi, assuming there’s a worthwhile saving to be made.  
 

I in fact extended my 981 warranty and continue to have it OPC serviced mainly because I decided I couldn’t afford a PDK replacement (extremely rare but extremely expensive)

[RBD914 v2]

Always seems a bit odd to me that owners go the extra mile to pay for the expensive car of their dreams, then want to save every last penny on running it...!

Why take the risk?  If you want the warranty then OPC servicing is required anyway.

I get it when cars get to a certain age, but not when still relatively new.

Each to their own I suppose!

[RoddyT]

Watching with interest as I will have the same decision to make next year.

Do you get the PCGB discount on the 111 point check &  extended warranty?

[Happy Days]

2 hours ago, RoddyT said:

Watching with interest as I will have the same decision to make next year.

Do you get the PCGB discount on the 111 point check &  extended warranty?

Don't think so.

[Scubaregs]

9 hours ago, RBD914 v2 said:

Always seems a bit odd to me that owners go the extra mile to pay for the expensive car of their dreams, then want to save every last penny on running it...!

Why take the risk?  If you want the warranty then OPC servicing is required anyway.

I get it when cars get to a certain age, but not when still relatively new.

Each to their own I suppose!

From what I can tell from my shortish ownership, OPC's can be hit or miss and specialists tend to get better reviews as they are passionate about the cars and not just doing a 9-5 job.

Everyone has their own take on value, much as I would like to fly 1st class I see little point in paying 10 times the price for being able to lie down, get better food and the prettier hostesses  only to arrive at my destination the same time as everyone else.

Yes, the warranty is a point, but warranties are sold because they bring in more than they pay out, so statistically you should be better off without one.

Of course that does not help if you hit a big bill, equally though if you pay x amoumt a month for 5 years and never need to use it, that must feel like throwing money away.

Each to their own, you pays your money (or not), you take your chances.

How Glasgow OPC deal with myself and my car will have a major impact on whether or not they see it again or I go to a well respected indy.

[Happy Days]

In fairness my 986 only needed a new clutch (wear and tear item) tyres (service items) and an 02 sensor (damaged while replacing clutch). Apart from servicing costs I spend absolutely nothing on it. I don't need to decide finally until this time next year.

Think I'll self warrant.

[RBD914 v2]

6 hours ago, Scubaregs said:

From what I can tell from my shortish ownership, OPC's can be hit or miss and specialists tend to get better reviews as they are passionate about the cars and not just doing a 9-5 job.

Everyone has their own take on value, much as I would like to fly 1st class I see little point in paying 10 times the price for being able to lie down, get better food and the prettier hostesses  only to arrive at my destination the same time as everyone else.

Yes, the warranty is a point, but warranties are sold because they bring in more than they pay out, so statistically you should be better off without one.

Of course that does not help if you hit a big bill, equally though if you pay x amoumt a month for 5 years and never need to use it, that must feel like throwing money away.

Each to their own, you pays your money (or not), you take your chances.

How Glasgow OPC deal with myself and my car will have a major impact on whether or not they see it again or I go to a well respected indy.

No warranty against crashing flying first class though!

Don't agree about Indy's caring more, they are still a business out to make money!

Agreed it depends on the service level offered by your local OPC, Edinburgh OPC so far have been A1.

As I said before in my post in a different thread about warranties and OPC service costs, £100 per month over two years to service a complex sports car with full warranty and breakdown cover worldwide seems like good value for worry free motoring to me.

Like all insurance, everyone quite naturally begrudges paying for it until something happens, and when it does you either think "Thank God..." or  "If only..."

Remember that if you own your house, then Buildings & Contents insurance is not compulsory, and nor is fully comprehensive car insurance either . But just wait until your house is broken into and they steal your car off the driveway - then you might think differently!

Insurance companies exist for a very good reason, yes to make money from the overall risk of it ever happening, but also to give peace of mind to the insured.

It's all about the risk you are prepared to take versus the premium you are prepared to pay to insure against it.

No rights or wrongs!

 

 

[Toeside]

Ding Ding! Sitting in the middle here.😉 .................. well perhaps not 😲

If you have had good experience and your getting a warm comfy feeling  & money is ok ..... then stick with OPC. Totally get that.

If you haven't had that fuzzy feeling with your OPC  .....no matter how much you put up with their lack of customer focus and you realise other people know how Porsche's work then I can understand an 'Indy' change and dropping the warranty

I have let the warranty lapse as I have not been impressed with a local OPC (..........not Edinburgh btw). I have started to replace/fix any issues that I have come across  with the BP 😍 that the previous OPC failed to diagnose  or fix......... like AC condensers. I have also sampled different marques and enjoyed the lack of "valued customer status" with that new marque and the pretensions that come with OPC. 

They are just cars ...... I can say I am over PPS ...... Porsche paranoia syndrome 😂 

[Steve Laming]

My Brother has a Macan S (petrol) 2015.   Bought from OPC Brooklands with 2 year warranty.

Under the warranty he has had replaced :

Coloured Centre Caps

Sports Exhaust repair, basically not switching from loud to quiet.  Quite expensive I think.

And this week it's booked in for a replacement transfer box. Looking at £3k to £4K for that alone.

He will be renewing his warranty !

One of my friends also has an S petrol. Her transfer box was replaced under warranty, as well as loads of other things.

Brothers car approx 20k miles. Friends car approx 40k miles. She has extended her warranty as well.

 

[Paul P]

As ever - just opinions - but

1K service at OPC sounds like a lot of money - what did they do that was labour intensive (because genuine parts will at most the same price - indy get trade, put a markup on - back to retail) and if you are a PCGB member you get 10% off parts - so what is your actual delta - use the last service as a guide and see what you would have spent at your chosen indy......

2nd - I get a really good indy being as better than a dealer for any brand, but, is it the same argument for a macan as say a 10 year old 911 ? - no slight on the car, the dealer or any indy - but do the indy's really have a handle on these newer cars, and is the same person who is a genius with say the suspension on a 987, also automatically a genius on air suspension on  cayenne just because it says porsche on the back. I guess my point there is, for me, the indy is first and foremost about knowing the car inside out, and knowing what has to be done, rather than someone who has a diagnostics unit and the phone number of the local OPC spares department. I would choose indy on quality, knowledge  and lack of BS ahead of cost. A lot there depends on the individual OPC and the individual Indy.

Either way - getting your next service done at a well respected indy for a car you are not keeping under Porsche warranty doesn't sound like a bad idea - as long as its the right indy - but (based on personal experience) make sure its really like for like and notably cheaper.

[RBD914 v2]

6 hours ago, Paul P said:

As ever - just opinions - but

1K service at OPC sounds like a lot of money - what did they do that was labour intensive (because genuine parts will at most the same price - indy get trade, put a markup on - back to retail) and if you are a PCGB member you get 10% off parts - so what is your actual delta - use the last service as a guide and see what you would have spent at your chosen indy......

2nd - I get a really good indy being as better than a dealer for any brand, but, is it the same argument for a macan as say a 10 year old 911 ? - no slight on the car, the dealer or any indy - but do the indy's really have a handle on these newer cars, and is the same person who is a genius with say the suspension on a 987, also automatically a genius on air suspension on  cayenne just because it says porsche on the back. I guess my point there is, for me, the indy is first and foremost about knowing the car inside out, and knowing what has to be done, rather than someone who has a diagnostics unit and the phone number of the local OPC spares department. I would choose indy on quality, knowledge  and lack of BS ahead of cost. A lot there depends on the individual OPC and the individual Indy.

Either way - getting your next service done at a well respected indy for a car you are not keeping under Porsche warranty doesn't sound like a bad idea - as long as its the right indy - but (based on personal experience) make sure its really like for like and notably cheaper.

Agree with this, the warranty is the decider for most people though!

However as cars get ever more complex will the Indys be able to keep up with the technology I wonder?

 

[Greenman]

A couple of observations.

1. a warranty doesn’t strictly mean you have to be serviced at OPC. But you do have to be able to show genuine parts were used and full service schedule followed. It might mean then thought that you can’t extend the warranty further.  For most people wanting to maintain the warranty an OPC service history is the way to go.

2. Indi mechanics will have seen a lot more older cars than newer ones. I suspect very few indis have even had a 718 through their doors, hence you would expect much better depth of knowledge on the older cars, in fact likely more knowledge than a lot of OPCs. It probably won’t matter much for simple servicing tasks though. As the cars get older the indis start to get more business and the OPCs start making their offering more competitive (this is starting to happen for the 981, 991 era now).

[Happy Days]

Our Macan needed brake pads this summer. It had just had a 60k service and a full set of new boots, plus the 718 had been serviced and had new boots all round too so it was an expensive summer. I took it to a local indy, bought genuine parts on-line, had them delivered to the indy, who fitted pads front and rear for £60.

He needed a machine to withdraw the e-handbrake pads, but it's essentially an Audi underneath so he had the equipment there. OPC were quoting around £1k. Total cost to me was about £550. Plus it saved me a 100 mile round trip. Plus the brakes don't appear on the service history.

I'm happy to keep options open on 718 servicing, but will probably self warrant. For the Macan, as stated above, it won't be long until it hits the 100k mark so the FPSH probably won't be as important.

Just on warranty, our Macan had a radiator replaced due to a slight weep and a window switch as the chrome strip had come off. The 718 had the software rebooted on the PCM as the volume wouldn't change (the car was three weeks old) so nothing major. When I reported an issue with headlight crazing, Porsche UK washed their hands of it so I would have to pay up in any case. I think that I'd be happy enough to cover any costs myself. Hopefully I won't regret those words.

My 986 was pretty much bullet proof.