V high service cost - go Indie to save £400?
Discussion
2017 Macan Turbo needs its second service and have been quoted £1350 by my local OPC - plugs (@40k...
), oil, air, micro + PDK service. A fabulous indie by me (old school, ex Porsche master tech who isn't ruled by an FD) can do it for over £400 less. Business has been abysmal recently so this is currently an useful saving. Had thought of shopping around with other OPC's but they are all owned by the same group...
It's a bit of a dilemma as the car is likely a keeper and I feel im being overcharged at an inopportune time - I never ever get bills like this with the non Audi Q5 based Aston (I know, 1st world problems
)! But at the back of my mind is the transfer case failure issue that this car may still be susceptible to, so over £400 usefully saved now could bite me later...?
Thoughts gents ?
), oil, air, micro + PDK service. A fabulous indie by me (old school, ex Porsche master tech who isn't ruled by an FD) can do it for over £400 less. Business has been abysmal recently so this is currently an useful saving. Had thought of shopping around with other OPC's but they are all owned by the same group...It's a bit of a dilemma as the car is likely a keeper and I feel im being overcharged at an inopportune time - I never ever get bills like this with the non Audi Q5 based Aston (I know, 1st world problems
)! But at the back of my mind is the transfer case failure issue that this car may still be susceptible to, so over £400 usefully saved now could bite me later...?Thoughts gents ?
Phooey said:
Ken Figenus said:
Thoughts gents ?
You can't put a price on peace of mind. Personally for a modern Porsche like a Macan I'd only use an OPC. Indies for beard stuff or tuning.I wouldn’t run one without a warranty. Things like brake discs and pads etc are fine using an Indy for.
I don't understand this obsession with warranties in Porsche-land; they are a huge money-spinner for Porsche, so you can be sure they're not good value. They commit you to their outrageously-priced consumables and servicing and are they really necessary, if Porsche make a decent car?
Your car is 3 years old; apart from a possible transfer-box failure (btw change the oil every 20K miles), what is really likely to go wrong? So much of a Porsche is generic (Bosch/Brembo,etc) that even if something does fail, your Indy will be able to fix it for way less.
I ran a 7-10-year-old Panamera Turbo for 3 years without warranty and saved multiple thousands on not committing to the warranty. Only things that went wrong were right at the end: a blocked drain shorted out the immobiliser and a manifold temperate sensor failed (Bosch part, £46). Saved about £1500 getting OEM-quality Zimmerman brake discs and pads all round, plus £6000 in warranty costs in the mean-time, plus at least £1500 on servicing.
So you'll be saving way more than £400 if you go to your Indy.
Your car is 3 years old; apart from a possible transfer-box failure (btw change the oil every 20K miles), what is really likely to go wrong? So much of a Porsche is generic (Bosch/Brembo,etc) that even if something does fail, your Indy will be able to fix it for way less.
I ran a 7-10-year-old Panamera Turbo for 3 years without warranty and saved multiple thousands on not committing to the warranty. Only things that went wrong were right at the end: a blocked drain shorted out the immobiliser and a manifold temperate sensor failed (Bosch part, £46). Saved about £1500 getting OEM-quality Zimmerman brake discs and pads all round, plus £6000 in warranty costs in the mean-time, plus at least £1500 on servicing.
So you'll be saving way more than £400 if you go to your Indy.
OPC charges appear to be getting into the realms of complete insanity in my view, £1000+ for a what is essentially a basic service is just ludicrous. I’ve even been quoted £1000+ for just the front brakes and pads, wtf!
Whether you run warranty or not is down to your individual appetite for risk and mileage. I had to have a new PDK box fitted on my 981 (amongst other things), then I was rather glad I’d extended the warranty.
The chipsncheese blog on here is also quite telling, a few years old now, I found it recently. It gives some good illustrations of the warranty costs paying for itself several times over, as do some other forum members who’ve also incurred big repair bills.
(Transfer case issue aside?) The chance of something major going wrong hopefully is fairly low, but when it does the cost is pretty significant. Maybe it’s the way I drive them. No issues with the latest one yet, but I will certainly be extending the warranty again when the time comes.
Whether you run warranty or not is down to your individual appetite for risk and mileage. I had to have a new PDK box fitted on my 981 (amongst other things), then I was rather glad I’d extended the warranty.
The chipsncheese blog on here is also quite telling, a few years old now, I found it recently. It gives some good illustrations of the warranty costs paying for itself several times over, as do some other forum members who’ve also incurred big repair bills.
(Transfer case issue aside?) The chance of something major going wrong hopefully is fairly low, but when it does the cost is pretty significant. Maybe it’s the way I drive them. No issues with the latest one yet, but I will certainly be extending the warranty again when the time comes.
Thanks for the input guys - thought I'd get more 'it's Porsche you tightarse' type stick but I'm glad many agree that the value proposition is getting a bit wayward 
. I just did the brakes myself as the figures being quoted for that were quite ridiculous... The new 'one use' caliper bolts alone cost me £24!
She's pushing 40k miles now and just out of warranty.
I haven't extended the warranty but I do put a bit away each month which covers EVERYTHING always. Did this very successfully with another car at £100pm over 6 years and have a nice pot by now as it was solidly reliable for over 6 years
It is the chocolate teapot transfer case that really worries me though although sale of goods act helps cover that for 6 years... Again that can be done by an indie though for a fraction of the main dealer cost...
I'll mull it over a bit more and see if a different franchise group might offer better value - even if i have to travel a bit - as they seem to have us over a barrel here...
. I just did the brakes myself as the figures being quoted for that were quite ridiculous... The new 'one use' caliper bolts alone cost me £24!She's pushing 40k miles now and just out of warranty.
I haven't extended the warranty but I do put a bit away each month which covers EVERYTHING always. Did this very successfully with another car at £100pm over 6 years and have a nice pot by now as it was solidly reliable for over 6 years
It is the chocolate teapot transfer case that really worries me though although sale of goods act helps cover that for 6 years... Again that can be done by an indie though for a fraction of the main dealer cost...
I'll mull it over a bit more and see if a different franchise group might offer better value - even if i have to travel a bit - as they seem to have us over a barrel here...
Cheib said:
Phooey said:
Ken Figenus said:
Thoughts gents ?
You can't put a price on peace of mind. Personally for a modern Porsche like a Macan I'd only use an OPC. Indies for beard stuff or tuning.I wouldn’t run one without a warranty. Things like brake discs and pads etc are fine using an Indy for.
It's a lot of money at an OPC.
It's worth trying to negotiate...
I was quoted £1,045 for the 6 year service for my BGTS. Last year's fixed price servicing price list (which I know is not adhered to by all OPCs) was £775 for the same scope of work. I asked them to delete the screen wash and oil top up bag (last one still unused), apply the Porsche Club discount (usually about 10% on parts), that I would supply my own oil and to come a bit nearer to last year's price. They came back at £703. Much more reasonable and worth the effort IMHO.
I was quoted £1,045 for the 6 year service for my BGTS. Last year's fixed price servicing price list (which I know is not adhered to by all OPCs) was £775 for the same scope of work. I asked them to delete the screen wash and oil top up bag (last one still unused), apply the Porsche Club discount (usually about 10% on parts), that I would supply my own oil and to come a bit nearer to last year's price. They came back at £703. Much more reasonable and worth the effort IMHO.
Which OPC?
£1100 just paid Tewkesbury for 40k service on a 2017 Turbo PP.
The minor service 2 years later is £500-600 so overall servicing is fairly inconsequential after depreciation and petrol.
I decided to keep mine in the network.
There is rumoured to be a 7 year extension on the transfer case but unconfirmed at present. Definitely in USA and someone on here in Poland I believe.
The other scary issue with Macans is timing cover oil leaks. Mine showed a bit of moisture at the service which they are keeping an eye on. Engine out job if it needs doing so for a £200 a year saving on service costs I’m hoping for goodwill if it comes to it.
£1100 just paid Tewkesbury for 40k service on a 2017 Turbo PP.
The minor service 2 years later is £500-600 so overall servicing is fairly inconsequential after depreciation and petrol.
I decided to keep mine in the network.
There is rumoured to be a 7 year extension on the transfer case but unconfirmed at present. Definitely in USA and someone on here in Poland I believe.
The other scary issue with Macans is timing cover oil leaks. Mine showed a bit of moisture at the service which they are keeping an eye on. Engine out job if it needs doing so for a £200 a year saving on service costs I’m hoping for goodwill if it comes to it.
Just stumbled across this thread following a call from my father asking if I thought £950 was expensive for minor service on his 2015 Macan S Diesel.
Somehow this Minor Service is significantly more than the Major Service he had 2 yrs ago...
He has extended Porsche warranty so does that mean he’s pretty much stuck with OPC and this overinflated cost???
He’s based in North Yorks so has choice of JCT600 Teeside or JCT600 Leeds who are both useless, don’t seem to know the words ‘negotiate’ or ‘discount’, and currently seem to only bother returning a call every 6 times you call and leave a message.
I deal with BMW and Audi who I don’t care for much either, but they are a dream to deal with over Porsche - esp JCT600!
Somehow this Minor Service is significantly more than the Major Service he had 2 yrs ago...
He has extended Porsche warranty so does that mean he’s pretty much stuck with OPC and this overinflated cost???
He’s based in North Yorks so has choice of JCT600 Teeside or JCT600 Leeds who are both useless, don’t seem to know the words ‘negotiate’ or ‘discount’, and currently seem to only bother returning a call every 6 times you call and leave a message.
I deal with BMW and Audi who I don’t care for much either, but they are a dream to deal with over Porsche - esp JCT600!
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