not all OPC's are thieves
Discussion
My 2008 Cayenne has been struggling to start after sitting for a while (it spends most of its life at city airport from Sun-Fri) so I guessed the battery may be on the way out. As it is still under warranty i booked it into the local OPC, and braced myself. They kept it on a trickle charger for a day, decided the batter was ok, let it sit for a couple of days more to check how the batter held its charge (with my agreement), charged it again, washed it inside and out and delivered it home having declared the battery sound but just needing a really good charge. Total cost - half an hour's labour, just over £70 including a 10% PCGB discount! Couldn't ask for more from OPC Tonbridge.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Here's the problem. On the one hand you could go down this route for a brand new battery:
http://www.tayna.co.uk/019-Enduroline-Car-Battery-...
I know it isn't a Porsche battery and it would invalidate your warranty but ultimately £20 more could have put a new battery in your Cayenne. I'm not suggesting the battery linked to is better, worse or equal to a Porsche battery, I just happen to use some of their big commercial batteries in boats from time to time so know the supplier and have 4 in the boot of a Cayenne waiting to go into a Princess Flybridge this morning
That would have taken away any doubt. Yes, you would have had to pay to get it fitted if you don't want to do the work yourself but it puts perspective on things.
The problem is if you go down the Porsche route you are probably spending £200 plus on a battery, £300 plus fitted. So you can see where the £70 charge to check makes more sense.
If the battery is more than 3 - 4 years old it would probably be good practice to change it if you've encountered problems / had a close call with it almost not starting. What is it worth not to be stranded at the airport on a Friday night?
Seen another way if they charge £10 plus to run a sponge around your car at the dis-used petrol station and a fair chunk more if you want to involve the Hoover it probably isn't worth losing sleep over !
Henry
http://www.tayna.co.uk/019-Enduroline-Car-Battery-...
I know it isn't a Porsche battery and it would invalidate your warranty but ultimately £20 more could have put a new battery in your Cayenne. I'm not suggesting the battery linked to is better, worse or equal to a Porsche battery, I just happen to use some of their big commercial batteries in boats from time to time so know the supplier and have 4 in the boot of a Cayenne waiting to go into a Princess Flybridge this morning
That would have taken away any doubt. Yes, you would have had to pay to get it fitted if you don't want to do the work yourself but it puts perspective on things.
The problem is if you go down the Porsche route you are probably spending £200 plus on a battery, £300 plus fitted. So you can see where the £70 charge to check makes more sense.
If the battery is more than 3 - 4 years old it would probably be good practice to change it if you've encountered problems / had a close call with it almost not starting. What is it worth not to be stranded at the airport on a Friday night?
Seen another way if they charge £10 plus to run a sponge around your car at the dis-used petrol station and a fair chunk more if you want to involve the Hoover it probably isn't worth losing sleep over !
Henry
Funnily enough I actually have a trickle charger that I keep my 993 on that i plugged the cayenne into overnight a couple of weeks ago but i probably didn't leave it long enough. The "do I go the OPC route" for a new battery is an interesting one as it crystalises a question about whether or not i renew the warranty when it gets serviced (and for that matter where i get it serviced) in October. There are a lot of toys on my cayenne (air etc) and it isn't getting any younger - seven years old and c.85,000 miles. I am thinking the next two years might be the time when the warranty proves the most valuable but would appreciate thoughts from others. I appreciate it means I will have to get it serviced at the OPC but i can get Project Nine to do this disks and pads etc using OEM parts.
and er to keep on topic, does it also go to OPC? I am always happy to post some gratuitous pictures of my 993. And to keep it vaguely on thread it was once sold by Henry to the bloke who owned it before me (it has 911 Virgin plates on it). It is looked after, very well, by Cliff Wilkins at 911 Virgin in Marden, deepest darkest Kent. Ive done a bit to it since buying it - detailing it, reconnolising the leather, refurbing the wheels etc.
Edited by williaa68 on Saturday 14th March 12:06
Edited by williaa68 on Saturday 14th March 12:06
grey (slate?) shows the curves fantastically 
williaa68 said:
My 2008 Cayenne has been struggling to start after sitting for a while (it spends most of its life at city airport from Sun-Fri) so I guessed the battery may be on the way out. As it is still under warranty i booked it into the local OPC, and braced myself. They kept it on a trickle charger for a day, decided the batter was ok, let it sit for a couple of days more to check how the batter held its charge (with my agreement), charged it again, washed it inside and out and delivered it home having declared the battery sound but just needing a really good charge. Total cost - half an hour's labour, just over £70 including a 10% PCGB discount! Couldn't ask for more from OPC Tonbridge.
I may have had to many drinks but is this an ironic joke? The above sounds like they are thieves.williaa68 said:
Funnily enough I actually have a trickle charger that I keep my 993 on that i plugged the cayenne into overnight a couple of weeks ago but i probably didn't leave it long enough. The "do I go the OPC route" for a new battery is an interesting one as it crystalises a question about whether or not i renew the warranty when it gets serviced (and for that matter where i get it serviced) in October. There are a lot of toys on my cayenne (air etc) and it isn't getting any younger - seven years old and c.85,000 miles. I am thinking the next two years might be the time when the warranty proves the most valuable but would appreciate thoughts from others. I appreciate it means I will have to get it serviced at the OPC but i can get Project Nine to do this disks and pads etc using OEM parts.
When I replaced the battery on my 997.2 I phoned OPC and got a quote just shy of £300 for the same poor quality OEM battery that had just failed on me. I adked if they could supply a top-end Bosch or similar - got told of course that it would invalidate the warranty. Got a Bosch with double the CCA supplied and fitted by local pork indie for £120. This was followed by a similar conversation wrt N-rated PS/2s versus PSS, which aren't n-rated for the 997. So have chosen not to renew the warranty - I'll get the stamped services done by OPC and get the trusted indie to do everything else, as experience suggests they'll do a better job. This wasn't a cost-driven decision but on a combination of value, quality of service and freedom of choice to do sensible things to my own car. However if I'd had an older, higher mileage car or a gen 1 997, that may have tipped my decision the other way.Edited by Technomad on Sunday 15th March 09:58
IMIA said:
quite wise re warranty OP. Its worth every penny at that age/mileage. 993 is a stunner by the way. Who recolonised the leather?
A chap called Mark Slade at Benchmark Leather - http://www.benchmarkleather.co.uk/Nice bloke - a proper craftsman.
williaa68 said:
IMIA said:
quite wise re warranty OP. Its worth every penny at that age/mileage. 993 is a stunner by the way. Who recolonised the leather?
A chap called Mark Slade at Benchmark Leather - http://www.benchmarkleather.co.uk/Nice bloke - a proper craftsman.
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