Would you pay a premium to buy from an OPC?

[Fatherdougal]

I've been looking for a 981 Cayman for some time now, and researched quite a bit. I've just seen a car listed at an OPC, and from all of my searches, think it's about 2k more expensive than a comparable car from a non Porsche dealer.

I understand they will service it and give 2 year Porsche warranty, but my question is would you pay a premium to buy from an OPC? Or be happy to buy similar for 2k less (the other car does actually have 12 months Porsche warranty as well) from a mainstream dealer. Any other benefits of buying from an OPC?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice

[Koln-RS]

If comparing two identical cars, then yes, you do normally pay a premium to buy a Porsche Approved used car.
The preparation and a Warranty do go some way to justifying it.

[MrC986]

The Porsche warranty will be more comprehensive than many Porsche dealers would offer as standard both in cover & duration & hence it is therefore more costly.

[gt3rswp]

Fatherdougal said:

I've been looking for a 981 Cayman for some time now, and researched quite a bit. I've just seen a car listed at an OPC, and from all of my searches, think it's about 2k more expensive than a comparable car from a non Porsche dealer.

I understand they will service it and give 2 year Porsche warranty, but my question is would you pay a premium to buy from an OPC? Or be happy to buy similar for 2k less (the other car does actually have 12 months Porsche warranty as well) from a mainstream dealer. Any other benefits of buying from an OPC?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice

I think you’ve answered your own question perhaps!

If you’ve been looking for a while and a suitable car pops up at an OPC just get it bought!

Who knows how long it will take for another to become available.

[anonymous-user]

Fatherdougal said:

I've been looking for a 981 Cayman for some time now, and researched quite a bit. I've just seen a car listed at an OPC, and from all of my searches, think it's about 2k more expensive than a comparable car from a non Porsche dealer.

I understand they will service it and give 2 year Porsche warranty, but my question is would you pay a premium to buy from an OPC? Or be happy to buy similar for 2k less (the other car does actually have 12 months Porsche warranty as well) from a mainstream dealer. Any other benefits of buying from an OPC?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice

In order for the car to receive a Porsche warranty, it'll have had to be compliant with their however many hundred point check it is now and that report should be available to you for inspection and for you to see any items that required remediation prior to it being subsequently checked and being issued a warranty. The last report is useless because it will have passed, it's the one prior to that which is interesting.

I was at my OPC the other day and a customer was complaining that he had failed on one item and that for it to be rechecked to extend the warranty, they had to conduct every single check again. Despite having done the first check, the car not having left the dealership and that dealership had done the remediation work.

Other benefits? You get to sit in a Porsche dealership and drink some decent coffee while you wait? You might get an insulated coffee mug if you negotiate. Having dealt with OPCs for over a decade, the reasons to not use one makes for a longer list than the reasons to use one. Unfortunately new car sales remain their trump card.

[Maxym]

Pukka Porsche warranty costs 2K so there's your price difference. Plus the cost of the ritzy premises, the eye candy on reception and everyone dressed in 'Porsche Motorsport' designer gear.

In fairness is it a good warranty and the car does have to jump through hoops to be eligible.

[Sevenon]

In short, yes. The 2 year warranty alone justifies the premium IMO.

[bbob]

I did and would again. The experience went down as my best car buying experience in over 25 years of driving.

[Fnumber1user]

Yes, without hesitation.

[anonymous-user]

Last two year warranty extension I bought cost £1,190 not 2 grand.

I can see the appeal of OPC buying for a new buyer, but someone with a bit more knowledge would probably have the confidence to buy outside the network, thus avoiding the premium.

[T1547]

For a £2k price difference, absolutely. The level of prep and the warranty make it worth it in my view.

[WilliamWaiver]

Probably best to stay within the Porsche network as you know the standards and customer satisfaction expectations of the manufacturer
Should anything go wrong you undoubtedly will have more backing from the manufacturer.
If it was £8k might be worth taking chance elsewhere but for just £2k not worth the risk

[Fatherdougal]

Well, turns out you are not alone in thinking it's worth it - went to look at a car at lunchtime Saturday, perfect apart from it wasn't the colour the missus preferred so had to do a bit of work on her over the weekend. Got her convinced Sun afternoon (I know, all sounds a bit Craig David) so was all set to call Monday morning to cut a deal and they emailed me to say it had been sold Saturday afternoon. They don't hang about!

Convinced me to be more decisive and bought one privately - viewed Monday afternoon and picked up this morning! 3 OPC services and beautiful condition - whilst I was gutted that the OPC car was sold on Monday am after getting the mail, I have a colour that I wanted more and better spec - karma and all that!

Thanks for all the perspectives - think OPC in a couple of years time when it comes to PX and upgrade...

[kel176506]

I was in this exact position, and this is personal to my experience when I purchased my 981 Cayman 2.7 PDK from OPC.

I know there will be lots of opinions on this but i figured that as a used car, it would be well presented with Porsche approved warranty, as others have mentioned with their stock needing to pass the OPC checks and I wanted to part exchange my existing car, plus taking the finance option available. So the £2-3k premium OPC pricing seemed to include felt OK with me.

It ended up that i bought a car at the other end of the country to me from OPC Edinburgh and the dealer service was honestly incredible!

They organised for me to drop my part-exchange car at a local site in their group and then paid for my flight, put me up in a hotel for a night, plus dinner and picked me up the next morning. The handover was honestly a great experience, making me feel like i was buying the most expensive new car in the showroom rather than a 4-year old car! Communication from initial enquiry to me finally arriving home and them even checking in that the journey back home to Essex had been good was exceptional.

I know some will now say; well you overpaid and they could afford to do that because they are making so much profit margin on that deal but at the same time they have probably got themselves a customer for life at the same time!

18-months later the car has been faultless so maybe the premium for a Porsche approved warranty was not, and hopefully will never be required BUT I’d much rather have that safety net in case of a PDK or engine fault. Which i believe is important and would of made me choice OPC regardless of the above.

In summary, it’s not always just about the car, it is also the experience and service. Just my pennies worth...

[anonymous-user]

OPC spreads are scandalous.

But we pay for the “service” ?

[Maxym]

Schmed said:

Last two year warranty extension I bought cost £1,190 not 2 grand.

I can see the appeal of OPC buying for a new buyer, but someone with a bit more knowledge would probably have the confidence to buy outside the network, thus avoiding the premium.

Yes, I'd remembered wrongly. Apols. So something like 1200 quid for the warranty plus the rest for the ritzy premises etc.

[Nurburgsingh]

I’ve found that if you look hard enough and deal smart enough you’ll find an OPC car at the same price as a non OPC garage. It just takes a bit of time and tenacity when the right car comes along.

What I find incredulous is private sales asking OPC money and stating “3 months transferable warranty” like it’s a good thing.

On the flip side, let’s see how much you love your OPC when it comes to trade in time and they make you an offer lower than WBAC.

The moral of the story - buy from OPC. Sell to Philip Schofield

[le_gazman]

Yes, prices are higher but the calibre of vehicles tends to be higher too. Then you’ve got the two year warranty.

And they also tend to be quite nice places to visit too.

[Porsche911R]

le_gazman said:

Yes, prices are higher but the calibre of vehicles tends to be higher too. Then you’ve got the two year warranty.

And they also tend to be quite nice places to visit too.

I find the better cars sell private and the dealers get the hard to sell cars.
So the reverse of what you tend to think ! imo the best cars sell off book private, always have.

OPC don't get a look in bar the forced VIP flippers.

[jcosh]

I often look closely at some OPC used stock and am surprised how badly they prepare their cars for sale in terms of the cosmetic stuff. I was recently looking for a 991.2 GTS and the best car I found (by far) was a private sale, so I bought that one ahead of the OPC cars on offer at the time. If you buy smart you can often find used car gems from a genuine owners and end up with a better car / deal than the OPC's.

I'm currently selling a 981 (GT4) and I am confident that my car presents better than any OPC car and it also has a Porsche warranty that can be transferred to the new owner. They only thing I can't offer is expensive coffee and a pretty receptionist.