Porsche OPC vs Independent
Discussion
When coming to buy a second hand Porsche do people discard cars that have a mix of OPC and Porsche independent service stamps?
My 981 Spyder currently has all OPC stamps but with the 4th year major service coming up, this got me thinking. The car is a keeper for me but i only do 2-3k miles per year in it. We all know OPC prices are probably double but does the "OPC" stamps make up for the cost!?
Is there ever a time in the cars life where its normal to go onto independent stamps as if i do keep the car long term, this would save quite a bit for me!
Also, due to the low millage i do with the car i am thinking its probably best to change the oil per year. OPC quote £400!
Cheers,
Phil
My 981 Spyder currently has all OPC stamps but with the 4th year major service coming up, this got me thinking. The car is a keeper for me but i only do 2-3k miles per year in it. We all know OPC prices are probably double but does the "OPC" stamps make up for the cost!?
Is there ever a time in the cars life where its normal to go onto independent stamps as if i do keep the car long term, this would save quite a bit for me!
Also, due to the low millage i do with the car i am thinking its probably best to change the oil per year. OPC quote £400!
Cheers,
Phil
Our Boxster GTS is just coming up to it’s fourth birthday and has completed 19k miles. Like yours, ours is a keeper. My own view is to keep the mandatory every two year services with an OPC, if you want to have an additional annual oil and filter change I see no reason for not using a good independent. I am also a firm believer in the Porsche extended warranty, although expensive it has always saved me money - and you need a full OPC history to qualify for it.
I’m not sure whether you would save all the extra money OPC maintenance costs over an independent but it does give a reassurance to a potential purchaser when the time does come to part that no short cuts have been taken with the car’s care. If I was a buyer and had a choice of two near enough identical cars to choose i’d buy the one with the full OPC history if the alternative car didn’t have it.
I’m not sure whether you would save all the extra money OPC maintenance costs over an independent but it does give a reassurance to a potential purchaser when the time does come to part that no short cuts have been taken with the car’s care. If I was a buyer and had a choice of two near enough identical cars to choose i’d buy the one with the full OPC history if the alternative car didn’t have it.
Thank you for the replies.
Its a very long term keeper for me, unless i really need the money or i can't physically drive it anymore!
I am renewing the warranty this year and will go OPC for the major but when the car gets to 6/8/10 years old plus, i was wondering if the mind set changes....
Its a very long term keeper for me, unless i really need the money or i can't physically drive it anymore!
I am renewing the warranty this year and will go OPC for the major but when the car gets to 6/8/10 years old plus, i was wondering if the mind set changes....
Tough one Phil, if it is a keeper i see no reason to use the OPC. Even with warranty, it will not be void if you use an indy, but the indy needs to do the same service using OEM parts.
I don't renew my warranties so this years warranty saving will pay for an OPC service, and the only reason I keep the OPC service is because i think I will change it out end of this summer or next spring if it stays after that, then no warranty and Indy service.
I don't renew my warranties so this years warranty saving will pay for an OPC service, and the only reason I keep the OPC service is because i think I will change it out end of this summer or next spring if it stays after that, then no warranty and Indy service.
I know this is a well trodden subject but I’ve just been quoted £1700 for a major, compared to around £700 from my well-trusted indy. If someone chooses to not buy my car because I refused to pander to the ridiculous OPC charges then so be it. There are always buyers out there with sense and who will know a well maintained car when they see it, despite the lack of OPC stamps.
And breathe...
And breathe...
Twinfan said:
£1700 is ridiculous. I think £1100 is possible if you shop around and find an OPC on the fixed price scheme, and for the extra £400 I'd take the OPC stamp...
I’m going to go indy. I need disks and pads replacing so I’ll get it all done at the same time. I’m just not interested in throwing money at Porsche when I can use it to maintain the car to a higher degree. I’ll let future buyers make up their own mind if it’s a good car. For now it’s a keeper for a few years. It’s a good question there is no answer to (I believe).
For OPCs, the reason they are so high and need to be is they incorporate a lot more costs that aren’t direct. Others think about this as a Porsche “stamp” in the book. It’s the cost of reassurance. In terms of how this works for the OPC, they have large overheads and commitments to be part of Porsche brand. The ability to have Porsche back all work and the service and national if not global implications of this operation- they are huge.
In short, “stealers” reputation is unfair based upon my background and the costs are justified if that’s what you want and need.
If you don’t need or want this, there need not be anything inferior about a non OPC. As long as you really know the team working on your car, future implications and expectations.
By “independent” I suppose you also mean “specialist” and “non OPC” btw.
Personally. I love both for different reasons and have had faultless service from OPC Hatfield. In fact, they went above and beyond. But like I said, you pay for more than the parts you see.
My other car is 100% specialist. I see no reason why an OPC service history would have been different.
That said. I’m about to do some major work to both cars and want the best team bar none. I’ve done my research and think I found them. - not an OPC. Will be writing post about the work to field opinion. GT4 first and then 997.2 C2S manual.
For OPCs, the reason they are so high and need to be is they incorporate a lot more costs that aren’t direct. Others think about this as a Porsche “stamp” in the book. It’s the cost of reassurance. In terms of how this works for the OPC, they have large overheads and commitments to be part of Porsche brand. The ability to have Porsche back all work and the service and national if not global implications of this operation- they are huge.
In short, “stealers” reputation is unfair based upon my background and the costs are justified if that’s what you want and need.
If you don’t need or want this, there need not be anything inferior about a non OPC. As long as you really know the team working on your car, future implications and expectations.
By “independent” I suppose you also mean “specialist” and “non OPC” btw.
Personally. I love both for different reasons and have had faultless service from OPC Hatfield. In fact, they went above and beyond. But like I said, you pay for more than the parts you see.
My other car is 100% specialist. I see no reason why an OPC service history would have been different.
That said. I’m about to do some major work to both cars and want the best team bar none. I’ve done my research and think I found them. - not an OPC. Will be writing post about the work to field opinion. GT4 first and then 997.2 C2S manual.
As someone who is fairly mechanically savvy, id rather see specialist stamps than main dealer.
For me, its usually a case of ex Master Tech who has setup by themselves, who needs to ensure their reputation/quality is absolutely perfect, vs the junior fitter numpty at the main dealers who couldnt care less; purely as people will use the main dealer whatever the reputation.
To be fair, these experience have been gleamed over years of Audi/BMW/Renault, but my initial experience of trying to get my Boxster an oil/brake fluid change at the OPC was fairly poor, so i went to ePorsch instead. If it was older/worth less, id just do it myself, but whilst thats ok for future resale on a £5k 330i, not so much on a £30k+ 981S ...
For me, its usually a case of ex Master Tech who has setup by themselves, who needs to ensure their reputation/quality is absolutely perfect, vs the junior fitter numpty at the main dealers who couldnt care less; purely as people will use the main dealer whatever the reputation.
To be fair, these experience have been gleamed over years of Audi/BMW/Renault, but my initial experience of trying to get my Boxster an oil/brake fluid change at the OPC was fairly poor, so i went to ePorsch instead. If it was older/worth less, id just do it myself, but whilst thats ok for future resale on a £5k 330i, not so much on a £30k+ 981S ...
philnotts said:
When coming to buy a second hand Porsche do people discard cars that have a mix of OPC and Porsche independent service stamps?
My 981 Spyder currently has all OPC stamps but with the 4th year major service coming up, this got me thinking. The car is a keeper for me but i only do 2-3k miles per year in it. We all know OPC prices are probably double but does the "OPC" stamps make up for the cost!?
Is there ever a time in the cars life where its normal to go onto independent stamps as if i do keep the car long term, this would save quite a bit for me!
Also, due to the low millage i do with the car i am thinking its probably best to change the oil per year. OPC quote £400!
Cheers,
Phil
Another consideration is the motivation of the garage and their access to Porsche.My 981 Spyder currently has all OPC stamps but with the 4th year major service coming up, this got me thinking. The car is a keeper for me but i only do 2-3k miles per year in it. We all know OPC prices are probably double but does the "OPC" stamps make up for the cost!?
Is there ever a time in the cars life where its normal to go onto independent stamps as if i do keep the car long term, this would save quite a bit for me!
Also, due to the low millage i do with the car i am thinking its probably best to change the oil per year. OPC quote £400!
Cheers,
Phil
In the past, OPCs have given me thousands of pounds of goodwill and Porsche themselves once stumped up 75% of a bill which was incurred when a non-Porsche tracker that I didn't know about put an odd fault on a car. OPCs are incentivised to keep you happy. Porsche also wants to keep a regular customer happy (mostly).
Independents, on the other hand, don't (in my experience) have a pot for goodwill work, nor access to Porsche's goodwill. They tend to be relatively small businesses and every penny that is not coming out of your pocket is coming out the small business owner's. If something goes wrong, they tend to want you to pay for it, irrespective of who caused it.
Sir_Dave said:
As someone who is fairly mechanically savvy, id rather see specialist stamps than main dealer.
For me, its usually a case of ex Master Tech who has setup by themselves, who needs to ensure their reputation/quality is absolutely perfect, vs the junior fitter numpty at the main dealers who couldnt care less; purely as people will use the main dealer whatever the reputation.
To be fair, these experience have been gleamed over years of Audi/BMW/Renault, but my initial experience of trying to get my Boxster an oil/brake fluid change at the OPC was fairly poor, so i went to ePorsch instead. If it was older/worth less, id just do it myself, but whilst thats ok for future resale on a £5k 330i, not so much on a £30k+ 981S ...
I completely agree with this. I’m relatively new to Porsche ownership and I’m constantly amazed at the fears surrounding losing an OPC stamp in the book. As you say, many of the specialists out there are Porsche trained and have exactly the same knowledge as those still working for the company. For me, its usually a case of ex Master Tech who has setup by themselves, who needs to ensure their reputation/quality is absolutely perfect, vs the junior fitter numpty at the main dealers who couldnt care less; purely as people will use the main dealer whatever the reputation.
To be fair, these experience have been gleamed over years of Audi/BMW/Renault, but my initial experience of trying to get my Boxster an oil/brake fluid change at the OPC was fairly poor, so i went to ePorsch instead. If it was older/worth less, id just do it myself, but whilst thats ok for future resale on a £5k 330i, not so much on a £30k+ 981S ...
I do acknowledge that I’m not the perfect target customer for an OPC: I’m not able to buy new cars from them on a regular basis and therefore have no interest in playing the loyalty game to get my hands on a GT car. I have used my OPC a couple of times for emergency work and found them to be perfectly acceptable, but I just find paying their prices for servicing and other major work to be akin to throwing money away, especially when I know the actual work will be exactly the same as work carried out by a specialist.
I think people are forgetting that not everyone who buys a Porsche is on the PH forums or totally into the finer details of ownership. The majority of buyers will not know the names of Porsche specialists and will want to see OPC stamps. Like it or not, we're the minority.
If you want to maximise the largest possible pool of buyers in the future, and therefore make a sale as easy as possible, OPC stamps are the way to go.
If you want to maximise the largest possible pool of buyers in the future, and therefore make a sale as easy as possible, OPC stamps are the way to go.
I have 2 Porsche major services this year. One car has done 17K miles and one 12K miles, the BGTS, is likely to go next spring so thinking I should put it through OPC, however the Macan will be here for a fair few years as it only does 3-4K miles a year, so thinking I might send that to specialist we will probably end up keeping it for a number of years. Will compare costs and see what the over all difference is per car, however the saving across both might be substantial. I don't warranty the GTS but do the Macan.
Twinfan said:
I think people are forgetting that not everyone who buys a Porsche is on the PH forums or totally into the finer details of ownership. The majority of buyers will not know the names of Porsche specialists and will want to see OPC stamps. Like it or not, we're the minority.
If you want to maximise the largest possible pool of buyers in the future, and therefore make a sale as easy as possible, OPC stamps are the way to go.
I’m not sure I go along with this. I think the obsession with dealer stamps is perpetuated within forums such as this. I think the punter who is simply after a great car just wants to know it’s been serviced. I can’t believe anyone spending over, say, thirty or forty grand wouldn’t have some knowledge of the decent indys out there. If you want to maximise the largest possible pool of buyers in the future, and therefore make a sale as easy as possible, OPC stamps are the way to go.
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