Bad news after service - Help!

Just picked my car (996 TT 2000) from OPC Exeter and it came back with a load of defects, the most serious one being: 1) Both cylinder base gaskets damp along with: 2) Oil pumps damp 3) Both rear control arms bushes spilt 4) front differential rear seal area damp. 5) Fluid leak from power clutch reservoir There are also loads of brake pipes, manifold fixings, power steering pipes but I guess these are just normal wear and tear items. Im afraid Im not that mechanically minded but Im guessing the first one is quite serious? The car is under a warranty but not main dealer due to age and the warranty excludes 'seals' What annoys me, is that when I purchased the car 11 months ago, I had it checked over bu OPC Reading and they didn't pick any of the issues up. Ive only done 4K miles! Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation.

Yes, sounds bad from the list, especially if 4K miles ago was given clean bill of health. I would not worry about 'damp' issues around seals. the car is 9 years old, so some seals will start to be past their best: if you are not losing loads of oil so that it needs to be topped up regularly than thats probably par for the course. the split bushes are a bit more annoying as these should have ben picked up on earlier; perhaps the 111 point check was not as thourough as it should have been?? Perhaps you should be looking at a reputable indie for your servicing rather than OPC at this time in the cars life; they would probably have better knowledge of what is important to fix and what should be left till its worth doing, otherwise you may find yourself throwing lots of money at things which are not that important... I don't profess to be any guru of the watercooled porkers, but a 9 year old car is not a brand new 997 which most opc's are looking at, so they tend to give their reports basing it against perfection, so don't be too disheartened - did they tell you what they thought needed to be done?

Well I was thinking along those lines i.e. OPC only interested in the newer cars. They were very vague with the 'what needs to be done' saying that it could last 6 months, could last 12 months, very non-commital which is what I would expect. I'll get my local garage (He's a Mecedes specialist, butwhat the hell!) to do the brake pipes etc, but its these seals that I reckon Im going to have sleepless nights with. Maybe time to trade-in!!!!! :?:

I can understand why an OPC would want to replace seals at the first sign of dampness because it generates business. But if I was running a 9 year old car I would get it down to a good Indie and ask their opinion (rather than an OPC) before you push the RED button for 'panic' and sell the car. As for the bushes I suspect, like asterix, that the original inspection was most probably not that thorough and IMO anyone buying a used car should get it checked by a good Indie rather than an OPC

Thanks - next question.......reputable Indie near Plymouth? :?:

Definitely get a good indie to inspect and opine. Dont forget OPC work on the basis that its their duty to tell you to repair/replace everything to keep the car as new, which isnt necessary in the real world. A lot of the time the stuff they tell you doesnt really need doing, or worse, they are inventing stuff.

agree with the above - get an indie to have a look...even if you have to come up to the london area where there a few very good ones it will give you the piece of mind that you are only spending what you need to spend. I had my car serviced by JZ Machtech 2 weeks ago. they told me that i hhad a small crack in the exhaust muffler and my condensors were sligthly damp with air con running slightly warmer than it should and advised I waited until they all got much worse before spending the cash. They even lubricated my gear linkage and didnt charge me - thats the kinda quality of service you should be looking for. good luck.

Speak to Wayne at OPC Exeter, Exeter are one of the best OPC's in the country ( ring me and i'll tell you why) and are very through when they service a car, A word with wayne will tell you whats an advisory/ observation and what really needs doing your 996 is 9 years old and whats reported are quite common wear items

Thanks for all your replies - I have no issues with OPC Exeter as they have always looked after my cars however this is the first time Ive dealt with them on an 'older' car. I usually deal with Tim. Is Wayne in the workshops and do you know if its possible to speak direct with him? One bit of good news is that the Warranty company is paying for the new MAF meter which cost £600

Tim's a very good chap, he'll tell you whats esesntial and whats not