997 Turbo service cost!

[matt21]

Rang Porsche for a service quote on my 2007 Porsche 997 Turbo which has full OPC service history and warranty

Just fell off my chair to be quoted almost £1800 for a full service (service, spark plugs & brake fluid).

Spark plugs are £750 alone. Car has done 5000 miles since the spark plugs were last changed

Is this price the going rate, do they really need doing every 4 years and to maintain warranty do I need to use Porsche ?

[Twinfan]

If you want to maintain the warranty, you'll need an OPC to do all the work required.

Try ringing around you may find some places cheaper than others.

[PurpleTurtle]

I’ve no experience with the 997 Turbo, but when I ran my 996 pretty much anything I looked at over 5yrs old was in the hands of skilled indies by then. My own tech was an ex-Porsche GB mechanic who had gone solo.

You are in Northamptonshire yes? This is just the first hit on Google, their prices for service and plugs are approx half quoted by the OPC.

http://www.dovehousecars.com/servicing/

No idea if any good but lots of positive testimonials.

I thought all this ‘must have a Manufacturer service history to maintain warranty’ nonsense was kicked to the kerb by the Block Exemption rule changes years ago, but I could be mistaken.

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/service-repai...

Obviously at resale time there will be people insisting on a full set of Stuttgart stamps in the book but I wouldn’t be concerned personally, if the price reflected it and the indie was reputable.

Edited by PurpleTurtle on Wednesday 27th March 23:36

[Adam B]

I used 9E and trusted then more than an OPC but didn’t have a warranty

£950 for major plus plugs and brake fluid
http://www.nineexcellence.com/service/service.html...

RGA in Vauxhall were cheaper still usually

Edited by Adam B on Thursday 28th March 08:20

[IMI A]

Alternatively if you tell your OPC what your Indy will do it for they might price match

[Theone8181]

PurpleTurtle said:

I’ve no experience with the 997 Turbo, but when I ran my 996 pretty much anything I looked at over 5yrs old was in the hands of skilled indies by then. My own tech was an ex-Porsche GB mechanic who had gone solo.

You are in Northamptonshire yes? This is just the first hit on Google, their prices for service and plugs are approx half quoted by the OPC.

http://www.dovehousecars.com/servicing/

No idea if any good but lots of positive testimonials.

I thought all this ‘must have a Manufacturer service history to maintain warranty’ nonsense was kicked to the kerb by the Block Exemption rule changes years ago, but I could be mistaken.

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/service-repai...

Obviously at resale time there will be people insisting on a full set of Stuttgart stamps in the book but I wouldn’t be concerned personally, if the price reflected it and the indie was reputable.

Edited by PurpleTurtle on Wednesday 27th March 23:36

I think it has if it's a new car warranty, but if it's an extended one they can set whatever rules they want.

[moonigan]

I've just paid £1100 for the same service on a 997.2 3.6 at Bolton OPC but mine also included drive belt and an MOT. I'm not sure how much more time is required on the Turbo but I suspect there is some Turbo tax in there.

The breakdown on mine is:

Oil Service and MOT: £419 - Every year (Oil service is only meant to be every 2 years but I change the oil and filter every year)
Plugs: £360 - Every 4 years
Brake Fluid: £130 - Every 2 years
Drive Belt: £190 - Every 6 years

When they all come together its wince inducing but a necessary evil. I think even if I don't renew the warranty next year I will continue to get the OPC stamps, assuming I haven't sold it by then.

[andyglos]

I have been given a similar quote by my OPC..... £2000 inc change of gearbox fluids, spark plugs, brake fluid etc. My car is 2007 and on circa 44,000 miles.

The problem is that if you have the warranty then you are tied to the OPC......

[Chubbyross]

I was charged £560 + VAT for a major on my 997.2 turbo by DW Performance. They also fitted new coils for £288 + VAT with no extra labour costs. Their level of service is fantastic. I also had new discs and pads all round, plus new CV gaiters on the front. Full cost was £4500 inc VAT. God knows what an OPC would have charged. They also offer an annual maintenance pack, which I may well adopt next year. I just can’t understand the obsession with paying huge amounts for a Porsche stamp to get exactly the same service. Kev came from Porsche Silverstone so his level of expertise is up there with the best.

[Nuttcase]

Theone8181 said:

I think it has if it's a new car warranty, but if it's an extended one they can set whatever rules they want.

I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle. Block exemption prohibits restrictions on new car and extended warranties. However the restrictions are allowed if they are set out in an "extended warranty bought by a consumer from an authorised repairer or from the vehicle supplier some years after the purchase of the vehicle". The reason being that such a restriction is unlikely to result in a breach of EU anti-competition laws as there would be competing warranty products at the time of purchase. I would expect that any such restrictions to be specified in the warranty T&Cs and made clear at the time of purchase. So "some years after puchase" may be open to interpretation.

[Twinfan]

The Porsche warranty is an insurance product, not provided by Porsche, so you have to play by their T&Cs. The Block Exemption rules expire at the end of the new car warranty i.e. when the car is 3 years old.

[Nuttcase]

Twinfan said:

The Porsche warranty is an insurance product, not provided by Porsche, so you have to play by their T&Cs. The Block Exemption rules expire at the end of the new car warranty i.e. when the car is 3 years old.

I don't believe that is correct. The block exemption regulations do not state that they apply only to the initial new car warranty issued by the manufacturer; this is covered in a clarification released by the European Commission in August 2012.

"Does the assessment of servicing or parts restrictions differ if they are set out in an extended warranty arranged by the vehicle supplier (or by the authorised
network at the sale of the vehicle or shortly after) through a third party such as an insurer?
No. The fact that warranties that contain a servicing or parts restriction are arranged through a third party (typically an insurer) by the vehicle supplier (or by the members of its authorised network at or shortly after the sale of the vehicle: see question 2
above) does not in principle alter the assessment of the said restrictions."

However if you purchase a used car which is "some years" old then the restrictions would not apply as per my previous post.

[PurpleTurtle]

Theone8181 said:

I think it has if it's a new car warranty, but if it's an extended one they can set whatever rules they want.

Ah gotcha. That's disappointing. I've only ever bought 3rd party exended warranties so not come across this before.

FWIW (and I know PH is full of people slating XYZ Dodgy Warranties Inc) my 996 was covered by a third party warranty and needed £6k worth of engine and gearbox work in my realtively short tenure, all of which was paid without a quibble. They were happy with 'serviced by recognised indy specialist', who had supplied the car to me and sold me said warranty. Would've been a tad rum otherwise!

[Twinfan]

Nuttcase said:

I don't believe that is correct. The block exemption regulations do not state that they apply only to the initial new car warranty issued by the manufacturer; this is covered in a clarification released by the European Commission in August 2012.

"Does the assessment of servicing or parts restrictions differ if they are set out in an extended warranty arranged by the vehicle supplier (or by the authorised
network at the sale of the vehicle or shortly after) through a third party such as an insurer?
No. The fact that warranties that contain a servicing or parts restriction are arranged through a third party (typically an insurer) by the vehicle supplier (or by the members of its authorised network at or shortly after the sale of the vehicle: see question 2
above) does not in principle alter the assessment of the said restrictions."

However if you purchase a used car which is "some years" old then the restrictions would not apply as per my previous post.

They're talking about extended warranties purchased at the time of the sale of the car when new. My wife's Focus RS had the option of a 5yr warranty over the standard 3yr, but it had to be purchased at the same time as the car. This would allow non-Ford dealer servicing I believe.

Porsche don't offer such a thing and their extended warranties are purchased when the car is 3 years old or older, therefore you have to abide by their T&Cs regarding servicing and maintenance.

Edited by Twinfan on Thursday 28th March 10:45

[Nuttcase]

Twinfan said:

They're talking about extended warranties purchased at the time of the sale of the car when new. My wife's Focus RS had the option of a 5yr warranty over the standard 3yr, but it had to be purchased at the same time as the car. This would allow non-Ford dealer servicing I believe.

Porsche don't offer such a thing and their extended warranties are purchased when the car is 3 years old or older, therefore you have to abide by their T&Cs regarding servicing and maintenance.

I think that's probably a fair interpretation. The other advantage of taking out the extended warranty at time of purchase (at least with Audi) is that its transferable to the next owner. If you take it out after purchase its not transferable.

Coming back to the previous point though, can any P owners with an extended warranty (purchased later in cars life) confirm if its stated in the T&Cs that network servicing and maintenance is required?

[Green1man]

Nuttcase said:

Coming back to the previous point though, can any P owners with an extended warranty (purchased later in cars life) confirm if its stated in the T&Cs that network servicing and maintenance is required?

The words used by Porsche are:

Items are not covered if......failure is caused by.....

... service or repair performed by third party
... maintenence schedule not being followed.
... use of third part parts.


So basically if any of these CAUSE a failure then you are not covered, but it doesn’t invalidate the warranty as such.

It might mean though that they will not allow you to take out a new extended warranty. Eg. Put on a non Porsche battery and they won’t extend the warranty, but put one on after extending then the gearbox failed and you will be covered as they can’t argue Battery has caused gearbox failure.

P.s - extended warranty is transferable and cancellable with a prorata refund.

[Carl_Manchester]

matt21 said:

Is this price the going rate, do they really need doing every 4 years and to maintain warranty do I need to use Porsche ?

Yes and Yes (generally in the UK, sometimes in other countries Porsche may allow selected third parties to be Porsche approved service centres).

The reason why the plug change is so expensive is the amount of time it takes the tech to swap them.

When i shopped around i found that indies were less likely to discount the spark plug swap because of this.

There was a really good thread about the spark plug swap on here a few years ago regarding the mileage of the car vs. the number of spark plug ignitions. I think i recall a mechanic stating that the age of the plug was a factor and not just the number of ignitions of said plug.

[Adam B]

IIRC the bumper and intercoolers have to come off the turbo to change the plugs

[matt21]

I would like to keep it in the Porsche network as it has warranty and I may sell it soon

Shopped around. Seems I need transmission fluid change too as it’s 12 years old now!

Got full service, spark plugs, brake fluid change & transmission fluid change down to £1650, so not too bad

[andyglos]

matt21 said:

Got full service, spark plugs, brake fluid change & transmission fluid change down to £1650, so not too bad

That’s a very good price.... do you mind me asking which OPC has offered that price?