Service..., what Service?
Discussion
Ted, I know your heart misses a beat every time we have a go at the Dealers, but after returning from a Porsche specialist today who has a base very near where H.M. lives (her castle home where the planes fly over). I felt compelled to write this. I originally went to have my rear discs and pads changed. When the car was up on the hoist the mechanic and I both noticed some fresh oil on the undertray, upon further inspection we (he) discovered that the screw-bolt for the oil sump had not one, but two washers fitted, thus not allowing a nice snug fit, speaking of which, it could never be a snug fit because the previous mechanic at an OPC who serviced the car a few months ago, presumably couldn't be bothered to check his work, otherwise he would have noticed the screw was only on finger tight!!!!. Net result (oil leaking out since the last service (approx 3litres!), I posted the ‘SMALL OIL LEAK/PATCH ON GARAGE FLOOR FROM MY 993’ message back in Feb, but actually the problem has been there for much longer, but taking people’s advice about small leaks – nothing to worry about, I thought I would have it looked at next time I put the car in, and in the meantime hoped it would go away, silly me…, of course it wouldn’t go away if a monkey working for a top-dollar OPC has things on his mind other than fixing tight and securely the all important oil sump screw. Now some of you may be thinking, well maybe it worked lose, and that may be the case with two washers gradually loosening it. Either way, the monkey(s) is going to have to explain this one, as funnily enough, they want me to take the car in next week, so that they can fix the last ‘uck up that they did on my car. They can also explain why the car despite a full OPC record has never had it’s fuel filter changed!, having gone past the 48k mark (another interesting discovery today). As a postscript to this unfortunate tale, here is a cut and paste of my last comment in the original message about the leak on the garage floor…
In the meantime Ted (if you’re reading this), maybe you could make the MD of Porsche Reading an Honoury Member of this forum, there’s a good chance he will learn more about his customers and the levels of service his company actually provides, than he will from any market research or focus groups, or hearing it in a watered down version from his staff.
Friday 27th February
veewhy said:
Is it just my imagination, or is there something about the processes that OPC's carry out when they do a service. To cut a very long (series) of stories short, everytime the OPC services it, it never feels the same, from wonky windscreen wipers (clonk, clonk), they fitted new blades, to leaking oil (this has happened twice now) with two seperate OPC's and,... the car always 'feels different' when driving it home and thereafter, definately more rattles n squeaks, maybe they give it a good thrashing on the post service test drive..., anyone else have similar opinions/sentiments?
>>> Edited by veewhy on Wednesday 31st March 17:30
>>> Edited by veewhy on Wednesday 31st March 17:31
>>> Edited by veewhy on Wednesday 31st March 17:33
When Porsche dealers pays mechanics on a "the more work you do the more money you earn" bonus scheme, are you suprised they miss things off the schedule..........I own a garage and we see cars with Full Main Dealer Histories where the wheels have NEVER been removed from the car, I am talking about having to bray them off with a sledgehammer.....these are cars with four or more main dealer services in the book.
Good advice.........under the new block exemption rules a manufacturer will be unable to invalidate your warranty if you have had the car serviced elsewhere as long as you used manufacturers original parts.this will remove to some extent the stranglehold the manufacturers have over the car buying public.
FIND A GOOD SPECIALIST WHO YOU TRUST AND USE THEM.
Good advice.........under the new block exemption rules a manufacturer will be unable to invalidate your warranty if you have had the car serviced elsewhere as long as you used manufacturers original parts.this will remove to some extent the stranglehold the manufacturers have over the car buying public.
FIND A GOOD SPECIALIST WHO YOU TRUST AND USE THEM.
I have alway been very weary of where to take my car to service. I didn't think an OPC would do a good job especially if they are geared towards 996, Boxster and the Cayenne. I went to another specialist for an MOT but he did not look after it carefully enough so he will definitely not get my thumbs up. I hope to go to 9M when I get the time as I heard a few good things about them. I do not understand why people put so much emphasis on OPC stamps. This post shows exactly why OPC servic stamps mean peanuts to those who really love their cars.
Harry
Harry
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff