Advice needed - what would you do?
Discussion
This is only a my second post on here so excuse any newbie faux pas!
I bought an 02 Boxster S privately just before Christmas and apart from a dead battery it has been a fantastic car. The car was repossesed from its first owner and therefore did not have its service schedule rigidly followed. I bought the car from its second owner who appeared to be pretty fastidious (I have a stack of bills and reciepts from him). However, the car has never been to an OPC and was instead maintained by Martin Brown of specialists Shirleys, who are based near Coventry.
Martin seems to have a very good reputation and meeting him when I bought the car certainly put my mind at ease that it had been maintained properly. It has three stamps from Shirleys in the service book but it is now four years old and should therefore be going in for its four-year or 48,000 mile service.
I am looking to protect the resale vale of the car and plan to sell it next spring/summer. Therefore should i get this service done at an OPC to make it potentially more attractive at re-sale or should I just take it back to Martin or another reputable specialist? In your opinion would it make any difference when it comes to selling the car again?
I've read some pretty mixed reports about OPCs on this forum. My local one is Chiswick AFN, so it'd be great to hear from anyone who has experience of dealing with the service department there. Sorry this has turned into a bit of an essay and thanks for bearing with me if you've got this far!
I bought an 02 Boxster S privately just before Christmas and apart from a dead battery it has been a fantastic car. The car was repossesed from its first owner and therefore did not have its service schedule rigidly followed. I bought the car from its second owner who appeared to be pretty fastidious (I have a stack of bills and reciepts from him). However, the car has never been to an OPC and was instead maintained by Martin Brown of specialists Shirleys, who are based near Coventry.
Martin seems to have a very good reputation and meeting him when I bought the car certainly put my mind at ease that it had been maintained properly. It has three stamps from Shirleys in the service book but it is now four years old and should therefore be going in for its four-year or 48,000 mile service.
I am looking to protect the resale vale of the car and plan to sell it next spring/summer. Therefore should i get this service done at an OPC to make it potentially more attractive at re-sale or should I just take it back to Martin or another reputable specialist? In your opinion would it make any difference when it comes to selling the car again?
I've read some pretty mixed reports about OPCs on this forum. My local one is Chiswick AFN, so it'd be great to hear from anyone who has experience of dealing with the service department there. Sorry this has turned into a bit of an essay and thanks for bearing with me if you've got this far!
Not a Porsche expert, but seeing as the history is already chequered it would seem silly to pay an OPC premium for a history that will only be torn to shreds by a buyer come resale time anyway.
Stick with the specialist IMO - at least nobody can fault you for doing that (rather than some dodgy back-street place with no Porsche experience)
Stick with the specialist IMO - at least nobody can fault you for doing that (rather than some dodgy back-street place with no Porsche experience)
I'd stick with the specialists, they are generally run by ex-OPC mechanics anyway!
There are only two real reasons to go OPC. Firstly to maintain the warranty you generally need to get it serviced on time and at an OPC, but as your history isn't continuous OPC this isn't an issue.
Secondly is so that it can be resold as an approved used car. Basically if it was bought from an OPC and serviced there on time every time, and it's still got a lot of life in it, then if you trade it at an OPC they'll give you extra value because they can sell it on themselves, rather than send it to the auctions like all the others. But again your car won't be in that group, so it's not an issue.
There are only two real reasons to go OPC. Firstly to maintain the warranty you generally need to get it serviced on time and at an OPC, but as your history isn't continuous OPC this isn't an issue.
Secondly is so that it can be resold as an approved used car. Basically if it was bought from an OPC and serviced there on time every time, and it's still got a lot of life in it, then if you trade it at an OPC they'll give you extra value because they can sell it on themselves, rather than send it to the auctions like all the others. But again your car won't be in that group, so it's not an issue.
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