997.2 GTS booked in for 4yr service at OPC Chester
Discussion
So my GTS is due for its 4-year service at the end of next month and because it has the extended Porsche warranty it means an expensive trip to the dealers...
Most frustrating really as being the owner of a garage there is nothing that we couldn't do here except give it that all important OPC service stamp in the book! I believe that this is a condition of the extended warranty and the full Porsche history may help come resale time on a car of this pedigree.
So I had a decision to make on which OPC to use as i'm close to both Wilmslow and Chester and have heard / read glowing reports & complaints about both! After speaking with both dealer service departments it was Chester that gave me more confidence and a sharper price (yes I will be taking my own oil as we are a Mobil 1 dealer) so its booked in mid-February for 4 year service including new spark plugs, brake fluid change and a few warranty niggles to be looked at.
On a plus side I get the use of the much rated Macan for a few days (but hope my wife doesn't decide to swap her X5 for one!) whilst its being worked on.
Have others faced a similar dilemma when deciding on which dealer to use and what swayed it for you?
Will keep you all posted once the work has been done...
Most frustrating really as being the owner of a garage there is nothing that we couldn't do here except give it that all important OPC service stamp in the book! I believe that this is a condition of the extended warranty and the full Porsche history may help come resale time on a car of this pedigree.
So I had a decision to make on which OPC to use as i'm close to both Wilmslow and Chester and have heard / read glowing reports & complaints about both! After speaking with both dealer service departments it was Chester that gave me more confidence and a sharper price (yes I will be taking my own oil as we are a Mobil 1 dealer) so its booked in mid-February for 4 year service including new spark plugs, brake fluid change and a few warranty niggles to be looked at.
On a plus side I get the use of the much rated Macan for a few days (but hope my wife doesn't decide to swap her X5 for one!) whilst its being worked on.
Have others faced a similar dilemma when deciding on which dealer to use and what swayed it for you?
Will keep you all posted once the work has been done...
SkinnyPete said:
I dont want to say too much on a public forum as I have a complaint outstanding, but its similar theme to the posters above.
Thanks for the comments so far guys although they do call my decision into question. I know there are going to be good and bad reviews for each and guess the proof is trying them out and seeing. I am fastidious with detail so I've emailed my exact requirements to them and will present a work order to them when I drop the car off.My cars previous owner used an OPC for tyres at some point and the centre-locks were over-tightened way above the correct 600NM when I removed them to fit my winter wheels.... hardly inspires confidence!
c4sman said:
chrisABP said:
so its booked in mid-February for 4 year service including new spark plugs, brake fluid change and a few warranty niggles to be looked at.
Interested to know what your warranty niggles are Chris?Horn push on steering wheel stays in resulting in horn being permanently on! Highly embarrassing the first time it happened so not used the horn for last 2 months!
MrTickle said:
Having owned 12 Porsches in the last 13 years and living up the road from you Chris, I had the same options many times and here are my thoughts....
Chester - traditionally poor at prepping used cars, although they have since been taken over so maybe have improved in the last 12 months. After purchasing cars from Wilmslow, where their used cars are pretty much indistinguishable form new, I was horrified at what they attempted to palm off on me - and it took 3 attempted collections before we finally got to where I was happy with it. Their service department has always provided excellent service and they are far more open to negotiating on price / providing own oil etc. However I have never had any really complicated repairs carried out, but general service and minor warranty stuff was always carried out efficiently and I haven't suffered any of the 'you need new disks and pads syndromes' even when you don't.
Wilmslow - I haven't used them for a couple of years, but there is good reason. I found with Wilmslow there was huge differences in peoples opinion of them as a dealer and having bought numerous cars from them and had all my servicing done for years there I developed my opinion on why. I really got the feeling that they dealt with people they 'knew' well very differently to the random stranger. When I knew the sales and service managers by first name, and they knew me as a good customer everything was impeccable. However, after an absence from the brand for a year, and my contacts moving on elsewhere - I found them very distant, difficult to deal with and it seemed I was the one always having to chase.
J
Very helpful thank you. I really struggled to talk to the service department at Wilmslow and found them quite condescending in their answers to my question. When our customers ask for a price on a 4 year service that is what they get - the total price. Wilmslow gave me a price and only when I quizzed them on what was included did they 'ask me' if it needed spark plug change! Then I asked if it included the brake fluid change which it didn't....Chester - traditionally poor at prepping used cars, although they have since been taken over so maybe have improved in the last 12 months. After purchasing cars from Wilmslow, where their used cars are pretty much indistinguishable form new, I was horrified at what they attempted to palm off on me - and it took 3 attempted collections before we finally got to where I was happy with it. Their service department has always provided excellent service and they are far more open to negotiating on price / providing own oil etc. However I have never had any really complicated repairs carried out, but general service and minor warranty stuff was always carried out efficiently and I haven't suffered any of the 'you need new disks and pads syndromes' even when you don't.
Wilmslow - I haven't used them for a couple of years, but there is good reason. I found with Wilmslow there was huge differences in peoples opinion of them as a dealer and having bought numerous cars from them and had all my servicing done for years there I developed my opinion on why. I really got the feeling that they dealt with people they 'knew' well very differently to the random stranger. When I knew the sales and service managers by first name, and they knew me as a good customer everything was impeccable. However, after an absence from the brand for a year, and my contacts moving on elsewhere - I found them very distant, difficult to deal with and it seemed I was the one always having to chase.
J
Chester were at least courteous and precise on the details and price which gave me the confidence to proceed. They were happy for me to supply my own Mobil 1 oil (we are stockists) and gave me a trade rate on the price.
I will report back once the experience is complete....
Chris
We buy all our Porsche parts from them and the parts guys are spot on.
jackwood said:
Wet/greasy inside of windows is something I have had on every Porsche I've owned. Had doors stripped several times under warranty and its never really been fixed. I just carry a microfibre in the door pocket now to keep it clean.
Annoying, but I've just grown to live with it.
Probably not what you wanted to hear
Thanks for the feedback JackAnnoying, but I've just grown to live with it.
Probably not what you wanted to hear
Maybe this is something I will have to live with if it can't be improved. Just never had any car do it before...
5517 said:
I had this on the Sport Classic and was told there is no fix and no point trying.
I asked them to try and it made no difference at all.
I asked them to try again and they said "Chargeable" seeing as we had a go under the warranty once and we will not be able to do any thing better than it is.
Two thick bands of grease up my window every time.
This is where Ferrari would sort it regardless and Porsche back out real quick.
Sounds like the same problem Roger. Never had a car do it before so it would be nice if a solution existed but following this I won't be holding my breath...I asked them to try and it made no difference at all.
I asked them to try again and they said "Chargeable" seeing as we had a go under the warranty once and we will not be able to do any thing better than it is.
Two thick bands of grease up my window every time.
This is where Ferrari would sort it regardless and Porsche back out real quick.
KEVS500 said:
Well I guess all we GTS 2 owners are soon going in for the 4 year service - what should we be aiming for approximately as a reasonable cost, including plugs and brake fluid change?
Retail prices quoted were as follows:4yr service @ £640
Brake fluid change @ £150
Spark plug change @ £290
Total cost £1,080
Less any negotiation and supplying your own oil which saves ££££'s
Chris
andyc11 said:
Same as my quotes for the GTS but also been quoted £78 for aux belt check and £72 for airbag service.
No mention of either of those when I booked the car in.... Aux belt is due replacement at 6yr service and as my car has only done 21k no point in checking it. What the hell is an airbag service??!! Looks like all us GTS owners will soon be spending £1k at the dealers!
MrTickle said:
Chris, very off topic, but do you ever do cleaning of carbon build up on the valves of Audi engines? Not sure my V10 is showing all of its horses and wondered if there were some being strangled in there!
LOL quite possibly the most off-topic post I've ever seen!A few questions - How many miles has it done? What fuel do you regularly use? Common journey types?
There are some products available that you place in the fuel to clean off any deposits which is the cost effective solution. Give me a shout tomorrow on 01270 567177 if you want to discuss further.
Cheers, Chris
MrTickle said:
Chris, very off topic, but do you ever do cleaning of carbon build up on the valves of Audi engines? Not sure my V10 is showing all of its horses and wondered if there were some being strangled in there!
LOL quite possibly the most off-topic post I've ever seen!A few questions - How many miles has it done? What fuel do you regularly use? Common journey types?
There are some products available that you place in the fuel to clean off any deposits which is the cost effective solution. Give me a shout tomorrow on 01270 567177 if you want to discuss further.
Cheers, Chris
Hi Fred
I'm sure there will be good feedback on those OPC's for you....
I spoke with 3 dealers before fitting my Sharkwerks and all said it would only effect the extended warranty on any related parts but as the exhaust isn't covered anyway there was no effect. Also best in mind that's its a simple mod to reverse as and when!
Chris
I'm sure there will be good feedback on those OPC's for you....
I spoke with 3 dealers before fitting my Sharkwerks and all said it would only effect the extended warranty on any related parts but as the exhaust isn't covered anyway there was no effect. Also best in mind that's its a simple mod to reverse as and when!
Chris
So today is the day that the GTS gets dropped off at OPC Chester for it's 4yr service....
Flew through its MOT yesterday with no advisories which is a good start I guess!
Really hope I made the right decision but time will tell...
Looking forward to using a Macan for a few days too!
Chris
Flew through its MOT yesterday with no advisories which is a good start I guess!
Really hope I made the right decision but time will tell...
Looking forward to using a Macan for a few days too!
Chris
Well so far so good on the experience with OPC Chester.
Tracie the service advisor was very helpful on Saturday and everything I mentioned when booking in was recorded on the work sheet. She looked around my car without prompting and reported that it was clean, no damage, all wheels perfect etc which inspired confidence. The Macan was clean and ready to go.
Had a call yesterday (the dreaded call...) saying the warranty issues (sticking horn push and smearing window) were both being sorted. The check-over found that the tyre sealant was out of date 2 months ago (which I knew and asked them not to replace) and that the light under the rear boot needed a new bulb (I never even knew there was a light there!). Other than that the brakes, suspension, tyres etc were all perfect and there were no further issues. They even emailed me a short video of the car being worked on and the technician pointing out the 2 small faults which was a nice touch especially when the technician said that it was a really nice example of a GTS!
During the video I noticed that the rear bumper was removed and the rear exhaust silencers which I thought was strange for a 4 year service... So I emailed Tracie and she replied saying that they need to be removed to change the spark plugs! If that's how OPC's change the plugs its a new one to us as we've changed many sets of 911 plugs and never had to remove rear bumpers or rear silencers to do them.
Just received another email from Tracie saying that the car is all finished and ready for collection so i'm going to try and get over there at lunchtime to collect it.
So far very impressed...
Tracie the service advisor was very helpful on Saturday and everything I mentioned when booking in was recorded on the work sheet. She looked around my car without prompting and reported that it was clean, no damage, all wheels perfect etc which inspired confidence. The Macan was clean and ready to go.
Had a call yesterday (the dreaded call...) saying the warranty issues (sticking horn push and smearing window) were both being sorted. The check-over found that the tyre sealant was out of date 2 months ago (which I knew and asked them not to replace) and that the light under the rear boot needed a new bulb (I never even knew there was a light there!). Other than that the brakes, suspension, tyres etc were all perfect and there were no further issues. They even emailed me a short video of the car being worked on and the technician pointing out the 2 small faults which was a nice touch especially when the technician said that it was a really nice example of a GTS!
During the video I noticed that the rear bumper was removed and the rear exhaust silencers which I thought was strange for a 4 year service... So I emailed Tracie and she replied saying that they need to be removed to change the spark plugs! If that's how OPC's change the plugs its a new one to us as we've changed many sets of 911 plugs and never had to remove rear bumpers or rear silencers to do them.
Just received another email from Tracie saying that the car is all finished and ready for collection so i'm going to try and get over there at lunchtime to collect it.
So far very impressed...
LukeS said:
Never ceases to amaze me the depth of knowledge on this forum!
Would be interested to know how much the final bill is Chris?
My total invoice came to £860 including vat. That was for the 4 year service, brake fluid change and spark plug change.Would be interested to know how much the final bill is Chris?
Having said that I did supply my own MOBIL 1 oil and negotiated a trade discount as I have dealt with the OPC MD previously.
All in all a surprisingly pleasant experience.
Chris
Did I speak too soon yesterday on my OPC Chester experience....
When I collected it I paid the bill and went out to my car to find it refusing to start....
click click click...
Flat battery I thought, maybe someone left something switched on?
The service advisor was most apologetic and out came the technician who had been working on the car (Dean - seemed a really nice bloke) to boost start it. Car started and Dean checked the battery charge rate which was perfect so all was good and 30 miles drive back to work.
Got in the car last night and the same click click click! Fortunately I have a battery booster pack here at ABP so it started the car and home I went. Same issue this morning so a call to OPC Chester who were really helpful and wanted the car back to check the electrical system etc before deciding if it needed a new battery.
They kindly offered to collect my car (just been) from my work and have dropped me off a new 991 C2S convertible so I can't really complain can I!
As I don't want another chocolate Porsche (MOLL) battery I told Chester that if the issue is found to be the battery to fit the BOSCH S5 battery which I got this morning and I've put in the boot. They said no problem but they need to be 100% sure before replacing.
I've had no issues at all with the battery in 6 months of ownership until the point of collecting it yesterday following its service. I do however live in the real World and appreciate battery failure can happen at anytime. However they also carried out a repair to the horn and a faulty boot light so they could be related to a drain of some nature and in the video they sent to me the battery was connected to a charger whilst on the ramp...
Will keep you all posted but Chester OPC couldn't be more helpful so all good (except my battery that is!)...
When I collected it I paid the bill and went out to my car to find it refusing to start....
click click click...
Flat battery I thought, maybe someone left something switched on?
The service advisor was most apologetic and out came the technician who had been working on the car (Dean - seemed a really nice bloke) to boost start it. Car started and Dean checked the battery charge rate which was perfect so all was good and 30 miles drive back to work.
Got in the car last night and the same click click click! Fortunately I have a battery booster pack here at ABP so it started the car and home I went. Same issue this morning so a call to OPC Chester who were really helpful and wanted the car back to check the electrical system etc before deciding if it needed a new battery.
They kindly offered to collect my car (just been) from my work and have dropped me off a new 991 C2S convertible so I can't really complain can I!
As I don't want another chocolate Porsche (MOLL) battery I told Chester that if the issue is found to be the battery to fit the BOSCH S5 battery which I got this morning and I've put in the boot. They said no problem but they need to be 100% sure before replacing.
I've had no issues at all with the battery in 6 months of ownership until the point of collecting it yesterday following its service. I do however live in the real World and appreciate battery failure can happen at anytime. However they also carried out a repair to the horn and a faulty boot light so they could be related to a drain of some nature and in the video they sent to me the battery was connected to a charger whilst on the ramp...
Will keep you all posted but Chester OPC couldn't be more helpful so all good (except my battery that is!)...
LF11 said:
Thanks for sharing your experience Chris.
Just one question in relation to your Sharkwerks bypass, are any of the OPCs giving you any warranty-related trouble for it? I may be looking at getting one (will be in touch) and with my Approved warranty to be renewed later in spring was just curious what dealers are saying.
Chester OPC knew it was fitted and had no issues with it (other than the fact that any associated parts wouldn't be covered BUT the exhaust isn't covered under that extended warranty anyway!) and they carried out some warranty work for me with no problem.Just one question in relation to your Sharkwerks bypass, are any of the OPCs giving you any warranty-related trouble for it? I may be looking at getting one (will be in touch) and with my Approved warranty to be renewed later in spring was just curious what dealers are saying.
At time of warranty renewal most OPC will require the OE exhaust being fitted so either wait until its extended or remove at time of inspection. If you have a very good relationship with your dealer they may turn a blind eye...
We now have the 997.2 upgrades on the shelf in the UK.
Chris
SkinnyPete said:
I'm glad you had a positive experience.
As for me, well I finally got a response from my complaint after prompting them. The after sales manager glossed over my significant grievances (probably because they are indefensible) and only gave me an answer to a minor observation I made.
Then he offered me 16% discount on a particular piece of work which I declined because it's not enough given the circumstances and he basically said ok bye.
Fantastic...
How can the OPC experience be so different from one customer to the next??? I really don't understand the lack of consistency...As for me, well I finally got a response from my complaint after prompting them. The after sales manager glossed over my significant grievances (probably because they are indefensible) and only gave me an answer to a minor observation I made.
Then he offered me 16% discount on a particular piece of work which I declined because it's not enough given the circumstances and he basically said ok bye.
Fantastic...
What were your problems / complaints Pete?
jackwood said:
Any news on the electrical issue, Chris?
Yes Jack and its now back with me and all sorted!Chester collected my car from work and gave me a new 991 cab on Wednesday morning. They were keen to check over their work on the electrical side to see if anything could have caused my battery issue (they fixed a faulty boot light and sticking horn push). They carried out various drain checks and couldn't find any issues at all and it was concluded that the 4 year old Porsche battery needed replacing. As I had put a new Bosch S5 in the boot incase it was the battery Chester OPC agreed to fit it for me. This is a far better option than the overpriced and poor quality genuine Porsche battery!
After fitting my battery the car was delivered back to my work on Thursday late afternoon with a no charge invoice! Whilst this was a pleasant surprise (especially the fact that the OPC fitted a non genuine battery for me!) the fact of the matter was I had experienced no battery issues whatsoever before it went in for the service and was placed on charge whilst being worked on... I appreciate batteries can fail at anytime and now I have the peace of mind of a new quality 5 year Bosch battery being fitted.
And they fixed my smearing window issue with a new inner sealing strip that so far seems to have done the trick!
Overall a very positive 1st experience of a Porsche OPC so big thumbs up to Porsche Chester.
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