Free MOT from Hatfield OPC?
Discussion
I'm normally very quiet, but thought I'd share because I'm really not sure what to make of this.
Hatfield OPC just called me up and reminded me that the MOT is due on my 997 C2S mid-May - so far so good - and then asked if I would like to book the car in for an MOT with them. This all seems fair enough, but I explained that I was slightly confused because my local OPC is actually Reading to which they responded "Oh, okay, but it's a free MOT, if that makes any difference?" I pushed them a little on this and they said it's simply a service they offer to their customers if their cars are over 4 years old.
Now, I'd understand all of this if I 'd bought the car from Hatfield, but I bought it privately, in Scotland. In fact, I'd be a little less perplexed if Hatfield were the original supplying dealer, but no, it came from Silverstone. I'd even be slightly more comfortable if an OPC had offered this service last year, but I ended up having it done at my local MOT place. Lastly, I'd be a bit more comfortable if Hatfield had ever seen the car, but they haven't, I have only been there once before and that was back when I had my Cayman S.
So what's the deal here? I appreciate I'm registered with Porsche, but all the launch invites and so I get come from Reading, I'm also a PCGB member, but I don't understand why Hatfield OPC, of all places, are calling me and offering me a fee MOT?
Any ideas? To be honest, this all sounds like a ploy to present me with a ridiculous repair bill. I fell for this once before when Reading OPC offered to take care of some "minor" bits and bobs following a "free" winter health check and then presented me with a £6,000 estimate. However, it would be nice to be wrong, maybe I'm underestimating Hatfield OPC and they really do have my best interests at heart... Hmm...
Hatfield OPC just called me up and reminded me that the MOT is due on my 997 C2S mid-May - so far so good - and then asked if I would like to book the car in for an MOT with them. This all seems fair enough, but I explained that I was slightly confused because my local OPC is actually Reading to which they responded "Oh, okay, but it's a free MOT, if that makes any difference?" I pushed them a little on this and they said it's simply a service they offer to their customers if their cars are over 4 years old.
Now, I'd understand all of this if I 'd bought the car from Hatfield, but I bought it privately, in Scotland. In fact, I'd be a little less perplexed if Hatfield were the original supplying dealer, but no, it came from Silverstone. I'd even be slightly more comfortable if an OPC had offered this service last year, but I ended up having it done at my local MOT place. Lastly, I'd be a bit more comfortable if Hatfield had ever seen the car, but they haven't, I have only been there once before and that was back when I had my Cayman S.
So what's the deal here? I appreciate I'm registered with Porsche, but all the launch invites and so I get come from Reading, I'm also a PCGB member, but I don't understand why Hatfield OPC, of all places, are calling me and offering me a fee MOT?
Any ideas? To be honest, this all sounds like a ploy to present me with a ridiculous repair bill. I fell for this once before when Reading OPC offered to take care of some "minor" bits and bobs following a "free" winter health check and then presented me with a £6,000 estimate. However, it would be nice to be wrong, maybe I'm underestimating Hatfield OPC and they really do have my best interests at heart... Hmm...
I even told the Hatfield OPC rep on the phone that my local OPC is Reading and asked if they were offering the same deal. Clearly that wasn't a question they wanted to answer, but I suppose they will honour it if I call them. However, I swore to never grace the Reading OPC service centre again since they presented me with that comical £6,000 estimate (£3,000 of which was to replace exhaust hangers)...
Anyway thanks for confirming my thoughts on this, I'll give the Reading OPC a call but I think it might be less hassle to fork out £50 and take it to my local MOT place, it's not like it's going to fail, so it's really just a formality.
Anyway thanks for confirming my thoughts on this, I'll give the Reading OPC a call but I think it might be less hassle to fork out £50 and take it to my local MOT place, it's not like it's going to fail, so it's really just a formality.
Edited by DYKWIA on Friday 11th April 16:47
Just spoke to Reading OPC, they say these call outs are being conducted by a 3rd party marketing group, which explains everything. It would appear they have the Hatfield and Reading call lists mixed up. No doubt I can now expect a call from Reading OPC to goad me into a "free" MOT there...
Okay, you lot are making me nervous now. Surely there's nothing they can fail the car for on an MOT? Okay, it needs the AC condensors doing and the exhaust hangers are corroded (but not dangerous) and there's a little bit of rust on the inner surface of the rear discs but that's it, there's nothing else on the car that needs attention. I think they'll save the inevitable estimate for the healthcheck results and use their usual scare tactics. However, they've got their work cut out if they think they're going to tempt me away from using Northways around the corner. Perhaps that's the reason they're running this campaign? Trying to get back some of the business they're loosing to Ray?
Okay, so I promised to report back following the MOT and health check. Good news first, my 997 passed the MOT and it was indeed free of charge, so there's that. Secondly, the coffee was great and they even pre-ordered a newspaper of my choice, so far so good.
Then it gets weird. So in 2012 they identified a number of issues which included the tandem vacuum pump, AC condensers, leaky RMS (they said it was a heavy leak but it's not, it's tiny) corroded inner faces on rear discs, corroded ignition coil heatshield and corroded back box hangers. The quote to rectify this lot was a laughable £6,000.
Fast forward two years and, according to their healthcheck, the AC condensers have magically repaired themselves, along with the back box hangers, vacuum pump and heatshield. No, I'm not complaining, if the good wizard Galdalf has taken time to see to my 911 at some point then I'm nothing but grateful, but missing all of this is worrying and I think the objective is to lure me into a 111-point check and a 2 year warranty. That said, they did find two new faults, firstly my Bosch battery is a big no-no and apparently I need to fit a vastly inferior Porsche item and secondly they found corroded front coolant pipe joints which is a common issue on these cars, I had the same problem with my Cayman. Anyway, here's the quote they came back to me with a quote to fix the items they identified:
1. New Battery
£226.14 Inc
2. Front coolant pipes
£918. Inc
3. Oil leak rectification
£900. Inc (labour only at this stage as we won't know which parts are required)
4. Rear discs & pads
£822.06 Inc
So just under £3k in total, how disappointing, I was hoping they could top the 2012 quote, but no doubt things would spiral if I did go ahead and run the car through a 111-point check.
Then it gets weird. So in 2012 they identified a number of issues which included the tandem vacuum pump, AC condensers, leaky RMS (they said it was a heavy leak but it's not, it's tiny) corroded inner faces on rear discs, corroded ignition coil heatshield and corroded back box hangers. The quote to rectify this lot was a laughable £6,000.
Fast forward two years and, according to their healthcheck, the AC condensers have magically repaired themselves, along with the back box hangers, vacuum pump and heatshield. No, I'm not complaining, if the good wizard Galdalf has taken time to see to my 911 at some point then I'm nothing but grateful, but missing all of this is worrying and I think the objective is to lure me into a 111-point check and a 2 year warranty. That said, they did find two new faults, firstly my Bosch battery is a big no-no and apparently I need to fit a vastly inferior Porsche item and secondly they found corroded front coolant pipe joints which is a common issue on these cars, I had the same problem with my Cayman. Anyway, here's the quote they came back to me with a quote to fix the items they identified:
1. New Battery
£226.14 Inc
2. Front coolant pipes
£918. Inc
3. Oil leak rectification
£900. Inc (labour only at this stage as we won't know which parts are required)
4. Rear discs & pads
£822.06 Inc
So just under £3k in total, how disappointing, I was hoping they could top the 2012 quote, but no doubt things would spiral if I did go ahead and run the car through a 111-point check.
Indeed. I went into this knowing my car needs about £3,000 worth of work (Clutch, RMS, revised IMS bearing, AC Condensers, vacuum pump, rear discs, exhaust hangers and heatshield) I've been putting it off for a while and have been planning to get it all done this year. However, this whole experience has got me thinking about the Porsche warranty. If I get the work done (not by the OPC, obviously) the car will be spot-on, so maybe I should jump at the warranty and buy myself two years of worry free motoring?
The only thing putting me off is the non-standard parts nonsense, such as the battery as I also wanted to fit grilles behind the bumper to protect the new condensers and a Dension widget to add bluetooth and DAB. Are things like this really a dealbreaker? Would Porsche refuse to repair, say, a damaged engine, because I fitted a bluetooth kit and a decent battery to the car?
The only thing putting me off is the non-standard parts nonsense, such as the battery as I also wanted to fit grilles behind the bumper to protect the new condensers and a Dension widget to add bluetooth and DAB. Are things like this really a dealbreaker? Would Porsche refuse to repair, say, a damaged engine, because I fitted a bluetooth kit and a decent battery to the car?
Hatfield and Reading OPCs are part of the same group and offer the same 7+ year deal, including the £75 hourly rate. However, despite this being on a par with the rates at my local specialist, they want £400 more to change the rear discs, over £600 more to fix the coolant hose clips and are quoting £900 in labour to investigate the leaky RMS whereas my specialist will fix the leak and fit a new clutch for the same price. So, how is this possible? Do the mechanics at the OPC work much more slowly than the ones at my specialist?
Here's the thing, if the OPC quoted fair prices I would use them and I suspect many more people would too, so surely it makes good business sense to charge competitive prices, forge a good reputation and remain busy? Their greedy rates and high prices must be counter-productive, so why do it?
Here's the thing, if the OPC quoted fair prices I would use them and I suspect many more people would too, so surely it makes good business sense to charge competitive prices, forge a good reputation and remain busy? Their greedy rates and high prices must be counter-productive, so why do it?
Edited by DYKWIA on Sunday 27th April 01:24
Edited by DYKWIA on Sunday 27th April 01:25
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