Sharing experiences of OPC : LONG RANT
Discussion
Just thought I'd share my experienced of the 'service' from local opc.
Bought my 993tt last september, in October 03 I sent it for the full 48K service (£750) and to check an oil leak.
During the service they decided that the alternator spline was worn so it was not possible to change the belts; a new alternator would be required: £600.
They also changed the wiring loom (warranty), changed the gearbox oil and belts and a FULL ALIGNMENT
Picked the car up and the steering wheel wasn't straight by about 30 degrees. Now bearing in mind they said that it wasn't worth doing the tracking on its own, only a full alignment will cure any imperfections they promtly adjusted the tracking (TWICE)in about 10 minutes to get the wheel straight. (£280)
They diagnosed the oil leak as a tappet cover when in fact it was the RMS!
On the way home the belts squaled like pigs and the following day, the car filled with smoke and ground to a halt on the M25 as the alternator belt finally gave up.
I then took the car to PARR motorsport and they diagnosed and replacet the RMS and replaced the belts (correctly).
A month later, I had the car up on the ramp (my offices are above a car service centre) and I discovered the g/box bolt seals were not new, so I drained the oil, which, not to my surprise didn't look like 150 mile oil, but was black crap that had been in the car for the last 4 years. Not like the front diff which had been changed.
Anyway, I complained to ****namelessOPC**** and after four months of moaning they refunded me £250 for my hassle.
I would have liked my story to end there but yesterday I spent the day tracking down a power steering fluid leak, it turned out to be nothing more than a cracked seal, but at the same time I noticed that the splines were worn away on the alternator, so I whipped it off and took it over to ****namelessOPC**** and said; "This is the alternator you've put on the car 12 months and 3,000 miles ago and the splines are knackered".
The service manager, chief technician and manager all stood around it and simply said "we wouldn't have let the car leave like that. You work on your own car, you must could have done it".
Now bearing in mind that I didn't even have the tool to fit the splines the only conclusion I can come to is that they never actually fitted a new alternator.
This time they quickly said we'll take it out back and clean it up for you.
When I asked why they didn't do that the first time instead of 'fit a new alternator' they had no answer.
It's not 100% bad though as last month they agreed to re-paint the scuttle panel as a microscopic blister had appeared. This they had done under the porsche body corrosion warranty. Cost them £950. result.
Sum it up: PARR rule, OPC sucks. Love my car.
FPSH is not worth a *$&%
My car now proudly sports PARR stamps in the book.
Bought my 993tt last september, in October 03 I sent it for the full 48K service (£750) and to check an oil leak.
During the service they decided that the alternator spline was worn so it was not possible to change the belts; a new alternator would be required: £600.
They also changed the wiring loom (warranty), changed the gearbox oil and belts and a FULL ALIGNMENT
Picked the car up and the steering wheel wasn't straight by about 30 degrees. Now bearing in mind they said that it wasn't worth doing the tracking on its own, only a full alignment will cure any imperfections they promtly adjusted the tracking (TWICE)in about 10 minutes to get the wheel straight. (£280)
They diagnosed the oil leak as a tappet cover when in fact it was the RMS!
On the way home the belts squaled like pigs and the following day, the car filled with smoke and ground to a halt on the M25 as the alternator belt finally gave up.
I then took the car to PARR motorsport and they diagnosed and replacet the RMS and replaced the belts (correctly).
A month later, I had the car up on the ramp (my offices are above a car service centre) and I discovered the g/box bolt seals were not new, so I drained the oil, which, not to my surprise didn't look like 150 mile oil, but was black crap that had been in the car for the last 4 years. Not like the front diff which had been changed.
Anyway, I complained to ****namelessOPC**** and after four months of moaning they refunded me £250 for my hassle.
I would have liked my story to end there but yesterday I spent the day tracking down a power steering fluid leak, it turned out to be nothing more than a cracked seal, but at the same time I noticed that the splines were worn away on the alternator, so I whipped it off and took it over to ****namelessOPC**** and said; "This is the alternator you've put on the car 12 months and 3,000 miles ago and the splines are knackered".
The service manager, chief technician and manager all stood around it and simply said "we wouldn't have let the car leave like that. You work on your own car, you must could have done it".
Now bearing in mind that I didn't even have the tool to fit the splines the only conclusion I can come to is that they never actually fitted a new alternator.
This time they quickly said we'll take it out back and clean it up for you.
When I asked why they didn't do that the first time instead of 'fit a new alternator' they had no answer.
It's not 100% bad though as last month they agreed to re-paint the scuttle panel as a microscopic blister had appeared. This they had done under the porsche body corrosion warranty. Cost them £950. result.
Sum it up: PARR rule, OPC sucks. Love my car.
FPSH is not worth a *$&%
My car now proudly sports PARR stamps in the book.
Totally agree.
Funny about the gearbox oil, mine was the same after the OPC
promised they had done it plus service, inc plugs, etc over the half a dozen return visits to the OPC on a flat bed the car had in the first 6 weeks of me having it due to repeated 'check engine' lighting up on the dash. . The fault was found to be knackered (sports) cats in the end....not rocket science really. Plus they hadn't cleaned and lubed the turbo dump valve actuators at pre-sale meaning they were sticking and causing the car to sound like an Uzi when driving quick.
Took it to Specialist Cars of Malton, who did a 6k miles service, plus chaging the gear oils and (black knackered) plugs, and generally fettled it properly.
The car is transformed, as those at v-max hopefully will attest.
Spec Cars are not cheap, but the level of service and detail they show is awesome. Would thoroughly recommend them to anyone…..Glyn the general manager is first class.
Oh, and don't get me started on the frayed acc pedel / throttle cable they missed on the inspection, and service work they did before I picked the car up.....which resulted in the throttle sticking flat down, sadly this meant I hit the limiter in 3rd going round a corner in the countryside. Lucky I knew the roads, it was dark, no oncoming traffic, so I could use all the road to get round the corner at ~100mph.
They also didn't change the air filter before I got it too, I noticed it was totally black and choked up, so flagged it up with them....and it was changed FOC with no explanation as to why it hadn't been done before.
A total, total, farce from start to finish. Why do they do it?
Thanks
Martyn.
One good thing about the official OPC’s is the Porsche ASSIST helpline is great, and the flat bed comes really quickly when you ring
>> Edited by MOD500 on Friday 12th November 10:30
Funny about the gearbox oil, mine was the same after the OPC
promised they had done it plus service, inc plugs, etc over the half a dozen return visits to the OPC on a flat bed the car had in the first 6 weeks of me having it due to repeated 'check engine' lighting up on the dash. . The fault was found to be knackered (sports) cats in the end....not rocket science really. Plus they hadn't cleaned and lubed the turbo dump valve actuators at pre-sale meaning they were sticking and causing the car to sound like an Uzi when driving quick. Took it to Specialist Cars of Malton, who did a 6k miles service, plus chaging the gear oils and (black knackered) plugs, and generally fettled it properly.
The car is transformed, as those at v-max hopefully will attest.
Spec Cars are not cheap, but the level of service and detail they show is awesome. Would thoroughly recommend them to anyone…..Glyn the general manager is first class.
Oh, and don't get me started on the frayed acc pedel / throttle cable they missed on the inspection, and service work they did before I picked the car up.....which resulted in the throttle sticking flat down, sadly this meant I hit the limiter in 3rd going round a corner in the countryside. Lucky I knew the roads, it was dark, no oncoming traffic, so I could use all the road to get round the corner at ~100mph.
They also didn't change the air filter before I got it too, I noticed it was totally black and choked up, so flagged it up with them....and it was changed FOC with no explanation as to why it hadn't been done before.
A total, total, farce from start to finish. Why do they do it?
Thanks
Martyn.
One good thing about the official OPC’s is the Porsche ASSIST helpline is great, and the flat bed comes really quickly when you ring
>> Edited by MOD500 on Friday 12th November 10:30
Henry-F said:
Totally agree.
One good thing about the official OPC’s is the Porsche ASSIST helpline is great, and the flat bed comes really quickly when you ring
Let`s call a spade a spade - you mean the RAC !
Henry
True. But it is a slightly uprated service (nice rental car if yours is knackered) and there is a seamless integration of the rental car being paid for by assist and by the dealer warranty.
I used it a LOT when I got my second BoxS (blimmin' car).
Still - its great now I've had all the bugs ironed out.
johnny senna said:
MOD500,
Did you get any compensation from the OPC for their failures?
Never took it up with them to be honest, how could I prove the plugs and gear oil were from my car? That would be the hard part I thought. I have had enough of dealing with the chumps. I think airing my woes on here will do more good.
Cost me about £500 to sort the OPC's incompetence out, it shouldn't have happened, but at least I have piece of mind now!
To give another instance of the farce, over 100 quid of the above was changing the oil to Mobil 1 plus changing the filters.....as that particular OPC fill their cars with Shell Ultra, cos they have fallen out with Mobil! Again, piece of mind, which is very worthwhile when steaming down the runway at v-max at 170 odd.
Did I mention they still have not stamped the book from the pre-sale service they did? Each of the six times the car went back to them I asked them to do so, plus sending faxes to remind them. Beyond comprehension.
The car now drives like I always imagined it would / should.
After all this, I feel OPC's are greedy leeches who charge silly money whilst only doing half or none of the invoiced work. Such antics only bodes well for independents who take a real interest in you and your car. When I dropped mine off at Spec Cars I asked if any interesting cars were in for service....5mins later am given a tour of the workshop and given the low down on the many mega machines in the shop.....priceless.
Sorry for the long moans, feel much better now!
Have a good weekend all.
Martyn.
I think that this bad performance from Porsche OPC's will be the downfall of Porsche in the UK. My experience has been exactly as the above. Arrogant, no passion for the marque and complete incompetence has been my take out from visiting the local OPC. My car has not been overly difficult it's only the service level from the OPC that has been catastrophic. I have an order for a DB9 in May and that will be the end for my beloved 996 cab. I like my car but will no longer accept the arrogance of the OPC.
>> Edited by clorenzen on Friday 12th November 14:52
>> Edited by clorenzen on Friday 12th November 14:52
aceparts_com said:
Just thought I'd share my experienced of the 'service' from local opc.
As we've seen you're not alone. More here...
aceparts_com said:With me it was front disks, due to suspicions I had an independent take a look, they showed me with wheels off and documentation to hand that there was about 10,000 miles of enthusiastic driving left on both
During the service they decided that the alternator spline was worn so it was not possible to change the belts; a new alternator would be required: £600.
aceparts_com said:Ditto after 911 steering recall (universal joint) but it was the steering lock about 100 degrees out (!) plus oil on rear seat and carpets where techie number two got a free joyride from techie number one. My car's significantly modded and I think the first unexpectedly exciting test drive prompted a second, but have no proof. At least they cleaned the seats when shown the problem, but the carpets wouldn't clean up easily
Picked the car up and the steering wheel wasn't straight by about 30 degrees.
aceparts_com said:I had a gearbox input seal go under warranty and it took the clutch, looking at a clutch swimming in oil I was told basically "they're all like that sir"
They diagnosed the oil leak as a tappet cover when in fact it was the RMS!
Another quality independent saw it differently and it didn't get further than one return visit to the OPC and some firm words, I got the clutch (but not flywheel) done under the warranty as well - that was 'goodwill' apparently aceparts_com said:Once got my car back with the anti-roll bar fitted upside down, tapping on - and slowly wearing away - the underside of the gearbox, but can't 'prove' anything again. An independent refitted the anti-roll bar the right way up.
On the way home the belts squaled like pigs and the following day, the car filled with smoke and ground to a halt on the M25 as the alternator belt finally gave up. I then took the car to PARR motorsport and they diagnosed and replacet the RMS and replaced the belts (correctly).
aceparts_com said:Wish I'd checked now...
A month later, I had the car up on the ramp (my offices are above a car service centre) and I discovered the g/box bolt seals were not new, so I drained the oil, which, not to my surprise didn't look like 150 mile oil, but was black crap that had been in the car for the last 4 years. Not like the front diff which had been changed.
I thought things had changed after a chat at VMax with fellow porschephiles but clearly not, sad. Still buy OPC parts, have had consistently great service from a certain gentleman in the Parts Dept at Reading
>> Edited by turbobloke on Saturday 13th November 09:52
OK, time for a bit of positivity:
Our local is OPC Silverstone. Emma has taken the Boxster there since it opened.
All the staff are courteous and you are dealt with in a professional and businesslike manor. Emma has had nothing but good service from them.
Silverstone replaced Arlingtons of Northampton (Deceased). One of the worst OPCs I've ever set foot in. The two sales guys (God knows where they are now, not at Silverstone thank Christ) were w*nkers in the truest sense of the word. Turtle necked apartment dwellers who looked down their noses at you. Bloody awful, dealing with them.
Our local is OPC Silverstone. Emma has taken the Boxster there since it opened.
All the staff are courteous and you are dealt with in a professional and businesslike manor. Emma has had nothing but good service from them.
Silverstone replaced Arlingtons of Northampton (Deceased). One of the worst OPCs I've ever set foot in. The two sales guys (God knows where they are now, not at Silverstone thank Christ) were w*nkers in the truest sense of the word. Turtle necked apartment dwellers who looked down their noses at you. Bloody awful, dealing with them.
My conclusion is this:
If you don't look at the work that's done, or even know where the engine is in your car then you will think OPC service is great, lovely premises, all the free drinks you want etc.
If you have any mechanical savvy what so ever, you'll want to take a peek at what's been done. Be prepared for dissapointment.
The manager summed it up to me in his statement "But you work on your own car". To me that means I shouldn't be looking at what they've been doing!
Maybe the 998 will come with tamper proof seals on the engine compartment lid that only an OPC can remove!
If you don't look at the work that's done, or even know where the engine is in your car then you will think OPC service is great, lovely premises, all the free drinks you want etc.
If you have any mechanical savvy what so ever, you'll want to take a peek at what's been done. Be prepared for dissapointment.
The manager summed it up to me in his statement "But you work on your own car". To me that means I shouldn't be looking at what they've been doing!
Maybe the 998 will come with tamper proof seals on the engine compartment lid that only an OPC can remove!
GregE240 said:
OK, time for a bit of positivity:
Our local is OPC Silverstone. Emma has taken the Boxster there since it opened.
All the staff are courteous and you are dealt with in a professional and businesslike manor. Emma has had nothing but good service from them.
Silverstone replaced Arlingtons of Northampton (Deceased). One of the worst OPCs I've ever set foot in. The two sales guys (God knows where they are now, not at Silverstone thank Christ) were w*nkers in the truest sense of the word. Turtle necked apartment dwellers who looked down their noses at you. Bloody awful, dealing with them.
I think you are right
Not all OPCs are useless.
I have used Colchester OPC for a few years even though the Kent OPC is much nearer me. This is basically down to the fact that I trust them. They always pick the car and drop it off, call me with the exact fitted cost of any extra items needed, and they valet the car nicely too.
I’ve had 5x Porsches over the last 9.5 years.
Good experiences with:
Cambridge OPC
Colchester OPC
East London OPC
(Funny, the above 3 are all the Lancaster Group owned)
Poor experiences with: (email me if you want to know the experiences that I’ve had)
Mid-Sussex OPC – I would never buy from nor use for service ever again.
Porshework North London (Porsche Specialist)
It’s about finding a good one that you can trust. I haven’t heard any bad stories about nor had any first hand bad experiences with the Lancaster owned ones.
For me, I would only now, ever use East London OPC, I have been using them for the last 5 years now, which has resulted in an excellent service and relationships with key people in the service dept. Nothing but honest and fair opinions from them.
All of this is course is my own opinion based on experience.
Good experiences with:
Cambridge OPC
Colchester OPC
East London OPC
(Funny, the above 3 are all the Lancaster Group owned)
Poor experiences with: (email me if you want to know the experiences that I’ve had)
Mid-Sussex OPC – I would never buy from nor use for service ever again.
Porshework North London (Porsche Specialist)
It’s about finding a good one that you can trust. I haven’t heard any bad stories about nor had any first hand bad experiences with the Lancaster owned ones.
For me, I would only now, ever use East London OPC, I have been using them for the last 5 years now, which has resulted in an excellent service and relationships with key people in the service dept. Nothing but honest and fair opinions from them.
All of this is course is my own opinion based on experience.
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