2014 981 2.7 8yr service costs OPC vs. Indy (RPM)

2014 981 2.7 8yr service costs OPC vs. Indy (RPM)

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AJB88

12,263 posts

170 months

Friday 25th March 2022
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my old 981 Cayman S 2014

4th year service was about £1500 of which most seemed to be "checks"

I ended up at DW Performance in Wellingborough, their owner used to be master tech at OPC Silverstone, cost about £600 in the end.

PaulD86

1,651 posts

125 months

Friday 25th March 2022
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RichTT said:
FWIW Porsche Aberdeen asked 1695 GBP for 8yr service + MOT with no additional works.
Porsche Aberdeen did my Cayman's 8 year service and it was nothing like that much. Indeed my last 2 services combined have come out around this figure. I'm curious what all they were quoting for.

DJMC

Original Poster:

3,431 posts

102 months

Friday 25th March 2022
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
Shame. It was a good idea.

981Boxess

11,196 posts

257 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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DJMC said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Shame. It was a good idea.
There is nothing to stop you still having it done, only not for free.

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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Another example of saving outside the OPC network; I’m soon to be in need of new front disks & pads. Under the extended warranty, I’d be obligated to use the OPC to do that.

Would anyone like to hazard a guess at the difference in cost between OPC replacement vs sourcing identical parts from ECP/Design911 and having them fitted independently?

Bear in mind, this is a job a child can do…

981Boxess

11,196 posts

257 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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Royal Jelly said:
Another example of saving outside the OPC network; I’m soon to be in need of new front disks & pads. Under the extended warranty, I’d be obligated to use the OPC to do that.
If you buy genuine OE parts it wouldn't matter where you have it done if you cannot or don't fancy doing it yourself, they would never know.

If you use cheaper parts then that is a different matter.

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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981Boxess said:
f you buy genuine OE parts it wouldn't matter where you have it done if you cannot or don't fancy doing it yourself, they would never know.

If you use cheaper parts then that is a different matter.
I appreciate that, same as a sneaky oil change. However, it is ‘against the rules’.

Most folks locked into the warranty/OPC don’t realise of course, and continue to throw their cash down the toilet.

981Boxess

11,196 posts

257 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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Royal Jelly said:
I appreciate that, same as a sneaky oil change. However, it is ‘against the rules’.

Most folks locked into the warranty/OPC don’t realise of course, and continue to throw their cash down the toilet.
Sneaky oil change rofl

Well if it's 'against the rules' I wouldn't want to do that, so to make sure I will have all my pads and discs changed twice the same week at the same OPC just to make sure they got me wink

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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You’re obviously being deliberately obtuse - I’ll allow it.

The point I’m making, as you well know, is that (assuming you actually abide by the terms of the extended warranty) is that routine consumables are yet another point at which you get financially fingered by your friendly OPC. Alliteration not intended, but enjoyed.

DJMC

Original Poster:

3,431 posts

102 months

Saturday 26th March 2022
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I don't recall the extended warranty conditions prohibiting servicing elsewhere? Isn't that breaking block exemption rules?

OPC Leicester advised I was quite at liberty to have OE discs fitted at indy GCR within the extended warranty terms. But then they did wrongly put the 2yr extended warranty on my car when they shouldn't have so may well have been talking out of their arse.

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Sunday 27th March 2022
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This is the problem with the opacity of it all. Some have heard different, but the consensus on here seems to be that the block exemption laws apply to the new car warranty but as the extended warranty is an insurance product, they can stipulate whatever terms they like in it. I’m happy to be corrected, but that’s the meat & potatoes of what I read on here.

Who knows how it will work out if tested, someone who suffers something like a PASM failure but they used an Indy to do the brake discs. Ultimately if you’re paying for the warranty, you’re not likely to want to take the risk of scuppering it.

esotericar

745 posts

26 months

Sunday 27th March 2022
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DJMC said:
I don't recall the extended warranty conditions prohibiting servicing elsewhere? Isn't that breaking block exemption rules?
Block exemption applies to manufacturer new car warranty.

The extended 'warranty' is an insurance product sold by Porsche and underwritten by a third party. Block exemption stipulations entirely irrelevant.

The wording of the extended warranty policy boils down to a warning that a claim may be denied should a given fault be deemed consequential to non-OPC maintenance work or repairs.

Get the oil changed elsewhere and have an engine failure, would that be enough to have a claim denied? Doesn't seem reasonable or terribly likely, but then should it happen, you'd be in a horrible position of having to decide whether to spend possibly very significant money on legal fees pursuing your rights against a in finitely better resourced corporation.

With the extended warranty, it makes sense to give the impression of playing by the rules. Get the serving boxes ticked by Porsche. Get other non-warranty work done elsewhere using the right parts (for instance, brake discs etc). The service intervals are huge, so it's hardly costly.

It's also worth noting that if you get a non-OPC service, you won't be able to renew the warranty. Well, they'll make you have a major service before renewal. So, if you want to keep renewing, in effect you must service at OPC.

It's their insurance product with their rules. If you don't like the rules, do something else. Trying to beat the rules doesn't make sense. Major benefit of the warranty is peace of mind, which you won't have if you break the rules and are then left wondering if they'll still pay out.

DJMC

Original Poster:

3,431 posts

102 months

Sunday 27th March 2022
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Well I'm out of extended warrany anyway, since PGB advised OPC Leicester had wrongly extended it.

I'm keeping away from OPCs in future. Too many mistakes, too much ignorance, and I don't want to fork out again for damage done whilst there.


Twinfan

10,125 posts

103 months

Sunday 27th March 2022
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esotericar said:
It's their insurance product with their rules. If you don't like the rules, do something else. Trying to beat the rules doesn't make sense. Major benefit of the warranty is peace of mind, which you won't have if you break the rules and are then left wondering if they'll still pay out.
Exactly this yes

It's very simple, but there are always folks who think they can cheat the system. Never forget that the House always wins...

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Sunday 27th March 2022
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Same. After two years, savings using an indy major service & oil change a year earlier; plus front brakes & pads vs OPC prices and warranty is nigh-on £3000.

Yes, perhaps I can shave 400 off an OPC service by ringing around, but I’ve got better things to do with my life than transport my car to OPC Benbecula.

Twinfan

10,125 posts

103 months

Sunday 27th March 2022
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Royal Jelly said:
Same. After two years, savings using an indy major service & oil change a year earlier; plus front brakes & pads vs OPC prices and warranty is nigh-on £3000.
Very unfair to add the purely optional warranty into that comparison, so the true difference is £1700-ish over a service and brake change? Were they genuine Porsche parts or alternatives?

I use both an Indy and an OPC for work, depending on the job, so I've no axe to grind either way but throwing out a "£3k saving" figure is a bit disingenuous unless you're comparing apples with apples smile

Edited by Twinfan on Sunday 27th March 20:34

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Monday 28th March 2022
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Twinfan said:
Very unfair to add the purely optional warranty into that comparison, so the true difference is £1700-ish over a service and brake change? Were they genuine Porsche parts or alternatives?

I use both an Indy and an OPC for work, depending on the job, so I've no axe to grind either way but throwing out a "£3k saving" figure is a bit disingenuous unless you're comparing apples with apples smile

Edited by Twinfan on Sunday 27th March 20:34
That’s a fair point, although I can’t for the life of me understand why you’d use an OPC unless you’re running with the warranty. YMMV of course.

981Boxess

11,196 posts

257 months

Monday 28th March 2022
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Royal Jelly said:
After two years, savings using an indy major service & oil change a year earlier; plus front brakes & pads vs OPC prices and warranty is nigh-on £3000.

Yes, perhaps I can shave 400 off an OPC service by ringing around, but I’ve got better things to do with my life than transport my car to OPC Benbecula.
Nothing wrong with wanting to do it a cheaper way once you have opted out of the warranty, the OPC route isn't for everyone.

Porsche East London are so busy in their workshops that they now have to do night shifts, so it would seem there are lots of people who are not put off by what it costs to do it that way.

Twinfan

10,125 posts

103 months

Monday 28th March 2022
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Royal Jelly said:
That’s a fair point, although I can’t for the life of me understand why you’d use an OPC unless you’re running with the warranty. YMMV of course.
I'm not going to be running the extended warranty because I have lightly modified my car, but I use my OPC for servicing because:

  • they're very good
  • my car is only two years old so they are arguably the best placed people to work on it
  • it's an OPC, so they have all the latest software updates/recall info/service bulletins to check my car against
  • I'm not planning on selling my car, but OPC stamps in the book could potentially increase my pool of buyers
Back to the original topic of an 8yr service on a 981 series 2.7 Boxster, would I still use my OPC? If the car had full OPC stamps I probably would for the reasons above unless the difference in servicing price was massive. From what I've seen, on a like-for-like basis on a regular car it's not night and day different unless you start buying non-Porsche parts.


esotericar

745 posts

26 months

Monday 28th March 2022
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981Boxess said:
Royal Jelly said:
Another example of saving outside the OPC network; I’m soon to be in need of new front disks & pads. Under the extended warranty, I’d be obligated to use the OPC to do that.
If you buy genuine OE parts it wouldn't matter where you have it done if you cannot or don't fancy doing it yourself, they would never know.

If you use cheaper parts then that is a different matter.
Indeed, just to slightly contradict what I said earlier, it's about appearing to follow the rules rather than actually following them. So, long as you use Porsche parts, not pattern parts, then no need to pay an OPC to fit them. They won't know who did the work.

That would be paying extra for zero benefit, other than logistics should it be easier to get it done at an OPC for you, maybe they'll lend a car etc.

Basically, don't give them any reason to deny a claim. They're not going to attempt to confirm every part fitted to the car was fitted at the factory or by an OPC. So long as the part is OEM and correctly fitted, it's extremely unlikely to cause a problem with the ext warranty.