981 Cayman OPC service - advice please! - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi All, I need to get my 2016 981 Cayman serviced. I've had it since September, and would prefer to get it serviced by an OPC as it hasn't seen one for 4 years. My local OPC (Cambridge) is quoting £1,475 for an 8 year/ 80k major service which is about what I was expecting (see details below). They are telling me the PDK gearbox oil doesn't need done, which I thought it would. Does this sound reasonable, and what additional costs should I expect/ could I get stung with? I don't know of any local specialists and frankly don't want to drive too far anyway. Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks. Major Service - Every 80K Miles / 120K Kms or every 8 Years Maintenance M.Y 2014 > (Main Work) 1 £887.55 1 x SEALING RING 1 x TOPUP/BAG 1 x AIR FILTER AIR SUCTION 1 x WINDOW CLEANER OUTER 7.5 x ENGINE OIL 1 x Odour and allergen filter 1 x Oil filter insert 1 x seal ring Op Codes: 03160000 Add. Maintenance - Every 2 Years Replace Brake Fluid / Tyre Sealant Check (Composite Work) Includes Brake System Bleed 1 £166.87 1 x 1 Litre Brake fluid Op Codes: 03510061 Add. Maintenance - Every 80K Miles / 120K Kms or every 4 Years Check Ancillary Unit Mounts And Chassis Visual Inspection of all Rubber Mounts For Damage (Composite Work) 1 £83.58 Op Codes: 03850050 Add. Maintenance - Drive Belt Check 40K Miles / 60K Kms or every 4 Years Check Drive Belt (Composite Work) Includes Rear Wall Flap Remove And Install 1 £71.64 Op Codes: 03600050 Add. Maintenance - Spark Plugs Replace Spark Plugs Every 60K Miles / 90K Kms or every 4 Years (Composite Work) Without Wheels Removed 1 £265.42 6 x SPARK PLUG

When you say 'it hasn't seen one for 4 years' do you mean the car hasn't been serviced in that long either? If so then you want them to be checking/replacing the belt. I cannot remember the PDK service on these cars, best to check the manual. The only other cost you may get stung with is repacement tyre sealant as they expire after 2-3 years

SV_WDC said: The only other cost you may get stung with is repacement tyre sealant as they expire after 2-3 years If it was originally supplied with tyre sealant. Mine wasn’t (and it doesn’t have a compressor either).

SV_WDC said: When you say 'it hasn't seen one for 4 years' do you mean the car hasn't been serviced in that long either? If so then you want them to be checking/replacing the belt. I cannot remember the PDK service on these cars, best to check the manual. The only other cost you may get stung with is replacement tyre sealant as they expire after 2-3 years It was serviced by Ninemeister 2 years ago, it hasn't been to an OPC for 4 years. It has a fresh set of Michelins on it, so hopefully has fresh tyre sealant!

From experience a decent Indy will be half the cost of an OPC and will do easily as good a job, only reason to stay in the main dealer network is if you have warranty

northo said: It was serviced by Ninemeister 2 years ago, it hasn't been to an OPC for 4 years. It has a fresh set of Michelins on it, so hopefully has fresh tyre sealant! If its been to a specialist then id just get it seen by another specialist. From personal experience at that age the main dealer will probably quote you for exhaust nuts and bolts at £850 and probably a set of AC condensers at £2300..... they might also say the tyres are over age and the battery yada yada

gareth h said: From experience a decent Indy will be half the cost of an OPC and will do easily as good a job, only reason to stay in the main dealer network is if you have warranty Agree, having warranty I am getting similar quotes for the 8 year on my 718 outside of the Porsche owned OPCs but would've expected the plugs to be cheaper. Did try a Porsche owned OPC quote for the comedy and yes as usual they were vastly more than my usual. Get this - £697.83 for plugs, must be a new record. That's for four! Needless to say I booked in elsewhere.

Does the car have OPC warranty? if not 100% go to an indy, if it does have OPC warranty you can still get an indy to service it but you cant renew warranty at the end of the current warranty without having another OPC service. I had my old 981 S done by an Indy (ex-master tech from OPC Silverstone) was about £600 vs OPC 1400.

It doesn't have a Porsche warranty. Any suggestions of an Indy in the Cambridge/ North Essex area?

We are poorly served by specialists in this corner of Essex and Cambridgeshire. RPM Technik are in Tring. William Francis just west of Bury St Edmunds. Pie towards Stowmarket. Bartlett in Huntingdon. All entirely reputable and capable of sorting your 981. But you’ll need to travel… (Unless I’ve spent the past 10 years overlooking anybody else?!)

DW Performance in Wellingborough was who I used, a little further away.

Definitely something like the going rate for an OPC. My 2016 981 GT4 had its 8 year service a couple of weeks ago. £1439, but that included an MOT test. I asked them to test the battery (I think original to the car). They said it's fine (got to love CTek chargers, I'm sure it wouldn't be without one being used). They told me the tyres are out of date, which they might be according to Pirelli, but there's nothing wrong with them. Lucky it didn't have it's track day wheels/rubber on, as those really do need changing now! My case is a tiny bit different, as the car has a full OPC service history from new, and I've just put another 3 years warranty on it. In any other case, I'd be thinking it has reached "that age" where I'd be looking for a good independent specialist. Liam

PDK transmission oil change is 120k/12yrs. PDK Clutch fluid change is 60k/6yrs. So one doesn't need doing yet and the other should have already been done

LiamH66 said: Definitely something like the going rate for an OPC. My 2016 981 GT4 had its 8 year service a couple of weeks ago. £1439, but that included an MOT test. I asked them to test the battery (I think original to the car). They said it's fine (got to love CTek chargers, I'm sure it wouldn't be without one being used). They told me the tyres are out of date, which they might be according to Pirelli, but there's nothing wrong with them. Lucky it didn't have it's track day wheels/rubber on, as those really do need changing now! My case is a tiny bit different, as the car has a full OPC service history from new, and I've just put another 3 years warranty on it. In any other case, I'd be thinking it has reached "that age" where I'd be looking for a good independent specialist. Liam My 2016 981 GT4 is booked in on June 1st for it’s 8yr service at my local OPC… Final price is discounted 20%. 10 loyalty, 10 age of the car. Your Porsche is booked in for the following: MOT – Free Of Charge Major service Brake fluid change Check Ancillary Unit Mounts And Chassis Visual Inspection of all Rubber Mounts For Damage Replace Spark Plugs Check Drive Belt Total £1,576.66 -10% = £1,261.33 I’ll provide my own only so there’ll be a few more quid off that price too. Like yours mine has just had warranty & assist applied and FPSH. For those looking for a good indie in the Essex/East Anglia area there’s Reason Porsche in Ipswich. They look after my mates Cayman R and is really happy with the service he’s had.

This is awesome folks - thanks very much! Any more advice or opinions gratefully received

I’ve got a 2016 Boxster S which I’ve just had the 8 year service and 3 year warranty done on. Total cost was £3200 odd with a 25% discount on the service. Warranty was 2150 inc £200 111 check. So service was £1050 ish, not inc spark plugs. The 25% discount was with Portsmouth as I’m a PCGB member. I only had it serviced with them because I wanted the car under warranty. I would otherwise not bother, and take it to a specialist independent with a good reputation. Porsche charge mega money on labour these days, roughly £220 + VAT, hence why the cost is so high. If the specialist uses the same parts, the service will be equally good.

Armitage.Shanks said: PDK transmission oil change is 120k/12yrs. PDK Clutch fluid change is 60k/6yrs. So one doesn't need doing yet and the other should have already been done The 60k/6yrs for the PDK clutch fluid is for older 987 cars, it was extended by Porsche to 120k/12 years for the 981/991 PDK boxes, hence both fluids come at the same change interval. So in the OP's case it most likely won't have been done yet. Whether that's sensible though is definitely up for debate, I've just had both fluids done early on my new to me 981 Boxster which is approaching 11 years old and 70k miles just for peace of mind. I completely concur about getting it done with a good indy and not just for the cost benefit. I have a great relationship with mine where they offer sensible, honest and pragmatic advice on jobs that need doing or are coming up so I feel much better informed about the maintenance state of the car.

Make sure you tell them you dont want the top up oil and bag or the screen wash. That'll save you about £50. You should also get 10% discount if you're a PCGB member. If you're in the NW there are plenty of OPCs about so I'd do some ringing round. I got my first service for £150 cheaper from my OPC than the next closest one.

HighwayStar said: My 2016 981 GT4 is booked in on June 1st for it’s 8yr service at my local OPC… Final price is discounted 20%. 10 loyalty, 10 age of the car. <snip> Crikey, never thought about potential discount! Still, given the price of a genuine battery they could have rushed me for, I'll count myself quids in. I really must remember I'm a PCGB member on one of these services one day! HighwayStar said: I’ll provide my own only so there’ll be a few more quid off that price too. Like yours mine has just had warranty & assist applied and FPSH. Going to make a wild guess that the "only" is a typo meaning oil. It was definitely a decent chunk of the bill. Also, as @scrounger73 says, I now have a lifetime supply of Mobil 1 top up oil, and nice little vinyl and velcro bags to put it in. More Porsche summer screen wash than I could ever need too. I'll try to remember that next time too! Fortunately very much "first world" problems in my own circumstances, but it hasn't always been thus. Some great advice that should help a few keep costs a little more reasonable. Liam

HighwayStar said: I’ll provide my own only so there’ll be a few more quid off that price too. Like yours mine has just had warranty & assist applied and FPSH. For those looking for a good indie in the Essex/East Anglia area there’s Reason Porsche in Ipswich. They look after my mates Cayman R and is really happy with the service he’s had. They let you provide your own oil? Teesside flatly refused this on my last service, even after we had a bit of a row about the same stuff in sealed containers less the 100% mark up. I detest OPC servicing costs, utter piss take, but warranty dictates....

plynchy said: I detest OPC servicing costs, utter piss take, but warranty dictates.... That's because of your appetite for risk. You've decided you need a warranty and therefore have committed to the 'contract' of high servicing costs. Nothing wrong with that but we're all different. I had warranty for over 4yrs on my 918GT4 and never used it once, but having it in place on a GT car made it easier to sell private. On my Boxster I'm back with my trusted Indy.

Armitage.Shanks said: That's because of your appetite for risk. You've decided you need a warranty and therefore have committed to the 'contract' of high servicing costs. Nothing wrong with that but we're all different. I had warranty for over 4yrs on my 918GT4 and never used it once, but having it in place on a GT car made it easier to sell private. On my Boxster I'm back with my trusted Indy. Prior to my 981 GT4 I ran a 996 turbo for 6 years, it never went near an OPC, had a fantastic local indy look after it. The GT4 came with the warranty, which I renewed last year, but as you say, come resale time it'll show it's worth (hopefully). My 2000 986 won't be going anywhere near an OPC either. :-)

LiamH66 said: HighwayStar said: My 2016 981 GT4 is booked in on June 1st for it’s 8yr service at my local OPC… Final price is discounted 20%. 10 loyalty, 10 age of the car. <snip> Crikey, never thought about potential discount! Still, given the price of a genuine battery they could have rushed me for, I'll count myself quids in. I really must remember I'm a PCGB member on one of these services one day! HighwayStar said: I’ll provide my own only so there’ll be a few more quid off that price too. Like yours mine has just had warranty & assist applied and FPSH. Going to make a wild guess that the "only" is a typo meaning oil. It was definitely a decent chunk of the bill. Also, as @scrounger73 says, I now have a lifetime supply of Mobil 1 top up oil, and nice little vinyl and velcro bags to put it in. More Porsche summer screen wash than I could ever need too. I'll try to remember that next time too! Fortunately very much "first world" problems in my own circumstances, but it hasn't always been thus. Some great advice that should help a few keep costs a little more reasonable. Liam Yep… oil. They’re happy for me to provide so I swerve some Porsche tax there. The discounts really surprised me… I was expecting roughly the initial price but the discounts were then explained before I could even start begging! I have a stock of Porsche screen wash as well. Even gave some to the guy who bought me 981 CS. Edited by HighwayStar on Friday 5th April 01:16

LiamH66 said: My 2016 981 GT4 had its 8 year service a couple of weeks ago. £1439, but that included an MOT test. I asked them to test the battery (I think original to the car). They said it's fine (got to love CTek chargers, I'm sure it wouldn't be without one being used). My 2012 981 has it's original battery still. I have never owned an expensive charger. My current favourite was 13 quid from Lidl.

AndrewGP said: Armitage.Shanks said: PDK transmission oil change is 120k/12yrs. PDK Clutch fluid change is 60k/6yrs. So one doesn't need doing yet and the other should have already been done The 60k/6yrs for the PDK clutch fluid is for older 987 cars, it was extended by Porsche to 120k/12 years for the 981/991 PDK boxes, hence both fluids come at the same change interval. So in the OP's case it most likely won't have been done yet. Whether that's sensible though is definitely up for debate, I've just had both fluids done early on my new to me 981 Boxster which is approaching 11 years old and 70k miles just for peace of mind. I completely concur about getting it done with a good indy and not just for the cost benefit. I have a great relationship with mine where they offer sensible, honest and pragmatic advice on jobs that need doing or are coming up so I feel much better informed about the maintenance state of the car. Did you notice any difference with the new fluids? PDK clutch fluid is really easy to change at home. You can drop the oil easily - drain plug. You then just squirt in new - fill plug - till it dribbles out the filler. That's it. No meed for any computer or anything complicated. Just basic tools. I jack up rear passenger wheel and remove. Makes fill plug easier to access. Remove this first just in case. Then locate drain plug and drain. Then fill. That's it. An hour max. Fluid is about 10 quid per litre. I think you need 2.5l. I intend to do mine soon even though probably totally unnecessary. I just can't get my head around a normal clutch wearing out but a PDK has a wet clutch that will work forever and ever. So if new fluid helps it then why not do it. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...

plynchy said: They let you provide your own oil? Teesside flatly refused this on my last service, even after we had a bit of a row about the same stuff in sealed containers less the 100% mark up. I detest OPC servicing costs, utter piss take, but warranty dictates.... Portsmouth OPC insist on supplying the spare oil and won't remove it, but then they suggested I bring them all in (I had 5 I think) and they used that oil as part of the next change and took it off the bill. And then supplied another one, obvs.

plynchy said: HighwayStar said: I’ll provide my own only so there’ll be a few more quid off that price too. Like yours mine has just had warranty & assist applied and FPSH. For those looking for a good indie in the Essex/East Anglia area there’s Reason Porsche in Ipswich. They look after my mates Cayman R and is really happy with the service he’s had. They let you provide your own oil? Teesside flatly refused this on my last service, even after we had a bit of a row about the same stuff in sealed containers less the 100% mark up. I detest OPC servicing costs, utter piss take, but warranty dictates.... Colchester OPC have been pretty good with me. My 13 plate, previously enjoyed 981 CS, new to me in 2016, was always serviced by them with me provide providing the required Mobil 1. Now the same with the GT4. I asked, yes, no problem. An indie close to me are keen for me to move across to them which would be cheaper but I, rightly or wrongly, prefer the Porsche stamps and the warranty.

ATM said: Did you notice any difference with the new fluids? https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17... I’m genuinely not sure I do to be honest The fluids have been changed so close to the start of my ownership of the car that any slight differences aren’t really detectable. It’s possibly a bit smoother but that could be placebo or because I did the PDK reset procedure at the same time (to get the box to unlearn the previous owner’s driving style) or because I’m imagining it. In any case, I’m taking it as a good thing and just happy the box is working as it should and I’ve done my best to ensure it continues to do so. Thanks for the info on the fluid change, that’s interesting. I’ve been binge watching Jeff Richardson’s videos on the 981 on YouTube and he’s done some excellent stuff on the PDK box inner workings. Having been a die hard manual gearbox fan all my life, I think for a daily driver the PDK box is phenomenal and seeing how it works is amazing. My car has the sport design steering wheel so having the choice of using the paddles or just leaving it in drive is really great.