OPC standards - realistic expectations
Discussion
Following a bill for 1k to fix a suspension knock the fault is still present. Furthermore, the tyre pressures werent checked before the Geo and were 10-12 psi down on the rear. Also during service the air filter casing wasn't refitted properly and has partly melted where leaning against alternator. It seems part of the work sold to me wasn't really required- marked amber on paperwork. I'm complaining to the dealership. The car has been in before and the fault wasn't found then - only 3 months ago. Is it fair to expect a full/partialrefund. I've certainly no intention of returning the car to dealer as I've lost faith and im unable to due to a holiday which is quickly followed by a driving tour NC 500. Local trusted mechanic has diagnosed the problem and is sorting whilst I'm away this week. Views appreciated. Poor service and I feel like I've paid for work that didn't really need doing. Certainly not expected by OPC!
Edited by jbaddeley on Friday 11th August 23:05
As a first time Porsche owner I think your experience seems to be pretty standard.
My vehicle service ended up with needing over £4k of bodywork repairs, shocking arrogance that Trump could learn from, if their dealership was on fire I wouldn't piss on it unless I actually pee super unleaded.
Never had a worse experience..
My vehicle service ended up with needing over £4k of bodywork repairs, shocking arrogance that Trump could learn from, if their dealership was on fire I wouldn't piss on it unless I actually pee super unleaded.
Never had a worse experience..
Other than the local Lexus dealer ( who also blotted their copybook in a minor way last week ), I don't hold any main dealer in much regard, and I've worked in the trade for various manufacturers!
My Porsche goes to an Indy. They've been great so far, beyond the call of duty, and reasonably priced.
My Evo too, ever since the Ralliart dealer managed to get the balancer shaft belt timing 180 degrees out, and then suggested I get the bus home while they kept the car for the weekend! Bad timing, I'd been in hospital all day having an MRI scan and various other medical stress raisers. Service manager got the bus, I took his car.........thought it was only fair, the bill was £780, they didn't offer to reduce it, and then tried to wriggle out of the fact they had snapped the corner off the timing belt cover, due to leaving one bolt in and tearing it off.
The VW dealer I used seemed proud of the fact they couldn't service my car without 6 weeks notice, and after being billed for almost £1600 at the Subaru dealer, I ended up asking the guy I was dealing with in service reception how much f
king money exactly would I have to spend just to get him to speak to the customer politely!
The Merc dealer tried to defraud us out of almost £400 worth of parts that weren't required to repair a door mirror that was damaged by a passing car. Cost me £9 for a new part from their parts dept and less than half an hour to fix it myself.
In short, I'd say your experience isn't especially unusual.
My Porsche goes to an Indy. They've been great so far, beyond the call of duty, and reasonably priced.
My Evo too, ever since the Ralliart dealer managed to get the balancer shaft belt timing 180 degrees out, and then suggested I get the bus home while they kept the car for the weekend! Bad timing, I'd been in hospital all day having an MRI scan and various other medical stress raisers. Service manager got the bus, I took his car.........thought it was only fair, the bill was £780, they didn't offer to reduce it, and then tried to wriggle out of the fact they had snapped the corner off the timing belt cover, due to leaving one bolt in and tearing it off.
The VW dealer I used seemed proud of the fact they couldn't service my car without 6 weeks notice, and after being billed for almost £1600 at the Subaru dealer, I ended up asking the guy I was dealing with in service reception how much f
king money exactly would I have to spend just to get him to speak to the customer politely! The Merc dealer tried to defraud us out of almost £400 worth of parts that weren't required to repair a door mirror that was damaged by a passing car. Cost me £9 for a new part from their parts dept and less than half an hour to fix it myself.
In short, I'd say your experience isn't especially unusual.
Agreed. I don't go to dealerships for anything other than parts.
Service levels in 99.5% of UK dealersts is consistently amazing for how bad it is. I'm being generous for the final 0.5% - there's probably 0.25% out of them all that actually seem to give a st and do a decent job. Sadly the rest just rip you off to pay for the lavish concrete and glass showrooms.
Service levels in 99.5% of UK dealers
ts is consistently amazing for how bad it is. I'm being generous for the final 0.5% - there's probably 0.25% out of them all that actually seem to give a st and do a decent job. Sadly the rest just rip you off to pay for the lavish concrete and glass showrooms.bgunn said:
Agreed. I don't go to dealerships for anything other than parts.
Service levels in 99.5% of UK dealersts is consistently amazing for how bad it is. I'm being generous for the final 0.5% - there's probably 0.25% out of them all that actually seem to give a st and do a decent job. Sadly the rest just rip you off to pay for the lavish concrete and glass showrooms.
Range Rover replaced our Evoque's tailgate, the paintwork on this new part is terrible, almost looks matt. They are so awful I can't be bothered to argue with them! You can see how bad it is from inside our house, even my wife noticedService levels in 99.5% of UK dealers
ts is consistently amazing for how bad it is. I'm being generous for the final 0.5% - there's probably 0.25% out of them all that actually seem to give a st and do a decent job. Sadly the rest just rip you off to pay for the lavish concrete and glass showrooms.Simple rule - I use the stealer for the initial bum rape service (or buy a service pack) to maintain the warranty, then straight to the Indy.
In past anything identified by the stealer has also been referred to the Indy - usually resulting in no work needed. There favourite is your brakes need changing - there started that game at 55k and I didn't actually change them until 85k.
If you must use a stealer get an extended warranty as well so anything identified is likely covered - some of them even discount for TIPEC/porsche membership.
Also worth fitting either a tracker with speed fencing, vbox or a dashcam with a gps. That makes service manager's life interesting ...
In past anything identified by the stealer has also been referred to the Indy - usually resulting in no work needed. There favourite is your brakes need changing - there started that game at 55k and I didn't actually change them until 85k.
If you must use a stealer get an extended warranty as well so anything identified is likely covered - some of them even discount for TIPEC/porsche membership.
Also worth fitting either a tracker with speed fencing, vbox or a dashcam with a gps. That makes service manager's life interesting ...
I will add that certain Porsche "specialists" I have used have adopted the same approach as an OPC, so the "brakes need changing", "suspension not within spec" stuff that basically means they aren't almost new any more are rolled out as recommended work. I also found labour rates and estimated times among these specialists to vary wildly for the same job, and one of them damaged my car while it was in.
I also had a poor experience with a local Merc specialist and a local non-specialist general garage after several years of good service.
TL;DR - A realistic expectation is for your car to go in, the work completed on time for the quoted price, and for it to come back to you without extra damage. In this respect any garage whether main dealer or not will possibly not meet your expectation in some way.
I also had a poor experience with a local Merc specialist and a local non-specialist general garage after several years of good service.
TL;DR - A realistic expectation is for your car to go in, the work completed on time for the quoted price, and for it to come back to you without extra damage. In this respect any garage whether main dealer or not will possibly not meet your expectation in some way.
I would agree that not all Indys are equal, I was on the receiving end of an attempted rip-off by a well known Dorset based specialist with my first Boxster not long after I bought it while living in the south.
"The car's 10 years old so you should replace the water pump. £600 to you sir". Er, it's not noisy or leaking, and the car's only done 54k.
"The discs are all on or below minimum thickness and should be replaced". I'll let you know. 5 mins measuring them at home showed that to be rubbish.
They would have had me for over a grand for nowt if they had their way. I voted with my feet. They gave the impression this was all well rehearsed stuff served up to everyone that came in. One of the potential downsides of owning the marque.
There's a list of reputable Indys and main dealers on Boxanet.
"The car's 10 years old so you should replace the water pump. £600 to you sir". Er, it's not noisy or leaking, and the car's only done 54k.
"The discs are all on or below minimum thickness and should be replaced". I'll let you know. 5 mins measuring them at home showed that to be rubbish.
They would have had me for over a grand for nowt if they had their way. I voted with my feet. They gave the impression this was all well rehearsed stuff served up to everyone that came in. One of the potential downsides of owning the marque.
There's a list of reputable Indys and main dealers on Boxanet.
jbaddeley said:
Local trusted mechanic has diagnosed the problem and is sorting whilst I'm away this week. Views appreciated. Poor service and I feel like I've paid for work that didn't really need doing. Certainly not expected by OPC!
You need to report all these to Porsche (Stutgart), very specific dates and people you dealt with;Edited by jbaddeley on Friday 11th August 23:05
Tyres - not completed
Air filter - major issue, engine could have been damaged (any small particle in the intake due to dodgy fitting, not to mention fire risk with alternator)
Amber alert - this could be on both sides depending on the serviced item.
Finally 1k bill = problem not solved + all these issues happened.
I believe many people nowadays, use PCP and other deals so they do not maintain the cars more than 4 years.(Nothing to do with OP) 1 year usually honeymoon period, 2nd year service owners just do not care..when it comes to 3rd or 4th year ownership, people start getting annoyed with these main dealer attitude and crap service then either dump or replace their cars.
I really think many brands/manufacturers are aware of this so they could not give a flying fck about the customers anymore, unless more and more customers start complaining and asking for their rights purposefully imho.
Hadn't thought of the ill fitted air filter housing implications so thanks for that. I haven't seen it yet as I'm in holiday and i believe the damage is minor, but it could have been worse if I'd done the 1700 mile tour I'm commencing next Friday. Noted. I'll give the dealer a chance to put it right with a sizeable refund before complaining to Porsche Uk and informing contacts at PCGB. Surprising that having noted the inner rear tyres were more worn than the rest that this wasn't investigated and tyres pressure checked. They certainly should have been checked before the new Ge!
Would recommend the Martin Lewis recommended resolver website to report any issues. Made a massive difference to the dealer as Land Rover were involved and were aware that everything was being logged via email and with various notes.
Also give you information on your statutory rights which helps.
George
Also give you information on your statutory rights which helps.
George
Quick update. 50 percent refund from OPC. Relatively happy with that despite the tone of the first reply from them. They did replace bumpstops front and offside trailing arm and do a minor service. Never expected something for nothing but would have been nice to think my pride and joy was in the hands of people who really cared. Not my gut feeling now.
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