Servicing advice

Hi All, Firstly, thanks to those who offered advice about buying a 996. I've now got one (2000MY C2) and I'm enjoying it so far! It will be due a service shortly but I'm unsure about where to go. The car has full Porsche service history and while I appreciate that a good indy will cost less and do a more thorough job than an OPC; I wonder whether it will harm resale (the car will need to be sold on some time next year unfortunately) if I lose the 'FPSH'. It would be Hartech that did the work if I went to an indy or Bolton OPC if not. I've spoken to Hartech about the various servicing options and they seemed very enthusiastic and they have a good reputation. The OPC is a bit of an unknown. If I was able to keep the car for longer, or if it had indy stamps already; I'd have no hesitation in taking it to Hartech but while most enthusiasts would understand that the a specialist indy is preferable to a main dealer would I be limiting my market to enthusiasts when I came to sell the car? i.e. would non-enthusiasts be put off by a non-OPC stamp?

Unless you want the Porsche warranty I don't think that it will make any difference to the value of the car. A good Indy will probably have more experience, than an OPC, with cars of this age, so arguably that would be a better choice and Hartech are very good and thorough.

Unless you want the Porsche warranty I don't think that it will make any difference to the value of the car. A good Indy will probably have more experience, than an OPC, with cars of this age, so arguably that would be a better choice and Hartech are very good and thorough.

Hi - I have a 2000 yr C2 also; having bought one you will be aware that it is the best edition to own being lighter than the lardy 3.6 and bereft of unnecessary electronic incompetent driver correction programs yet benefitting from the clear light lenses of the later domesticated variant. On a serious note I too am trying to decide which service route to use. My car has FPH yet at getting on for 76K miles will have limited resale value (compared with the geared up expense of Porsche servicing). I must confess that rather than trying to decide between Porsche and Indy I am thinking about Indy or my local trustworthy garage. I used a Boxster for business over 3 years and 70K miles utilising my local garage without issue and saving a LOT of money (the service after all is basically an oil/filter(s) change and glorified inspection). Local garage will charge me a couple of hundred (most of which is because of the bloody oil). They can't check the diagnostics but the car runs well and has not displayed an error code. Can't decide, will probably plum for local garage then the engine will self destruct and everybody will tell me that I got what I deserved!!

From personal experience, Hartech and a good number of other indies are much better than an OPC and less expensive. If you enroll your car onto Hartech/RSJ/Classic and sports service plan, it could enhance the value/saleability of your car as the plan is transferable to the new owner. I would not recommend you go down the local garage route as the majority of local garages are not familiar with Porsche and are unlikely to service the car in accordance with manufacturers schedule. IMO a non- specialist service history would affect the residual value and marketability of a Porsche.

Geehills I have to disagree with your comment regarding specialists having more experience than OPC's. There are 3 guys at Porsche centre Bournemouth who have all worked for there for 25-30 years each. They all served a good number of years as techs & one of them is still a tech!! Most of there techs have been with them for a minimum of 6-8 years.

30 years experience each.........no wonder my local OPC charges £115+VAT per hour. I presume that part of the money goes towards buying all of those gold watches

how old are these guys ??? :?:

I think you will find Bournemouth is the exception to the rule.

The problem with OPCs is that they do everything by the book. They will replace items instead of trying to fix them first. Also, indies will save you money on parts. For example, a MAF at an OPC can cost up to £490, wheras an indy will buy the same Bosch item and supply it for almost half that price. Batteries are another example.

Sometimes carrying out repairs on components can be false economy. Replacing components will almost certainly guarantee a first time fix & the components will have a 2year warranty. We pretty much all love the Porsche brand. What some seem to forget is that we need to support Porsche for them to survive. Enough owners are quick to slate PCGB when they get no goodwill/support if they have problems with their cars but show no support/loyalty to Porsche themselves. Yes indys can be cheaper at face value & there are some good ones out there but OPC's can also offer great value, fantastic customer service & as in the case of Bournemouth an unrivalled depth of knowledge. It appears that a lot of owners on hear have never visited their OPC & just mould their opinion on what they have read on here. My advice is go visit your local OPC you might be pleasantly suprised!!

Do OPCs readily 'price match' the specialists (or at least make an effort to get close to their prices)? Is it worth asking them? Other main dealers of premium brands (BMW/MB) offer discounted servicing for older cars > 4years.

Whilst I appreciate what you say, would you prefer someone to repace the SIM drawer on your PCM2 unit, or just replace the whole thing? Or change the bushes in the lower control arm for new ones or chnage the whole arm? Or the diode pack in the alternator, or the whole thing? I agree that we all love the Porsche product, but we don't all love New Corporate Porsche. What I do admire about them though is their sense of heritage, and the way they continue to supply parts for 60 year old cars. There aren't many volume producers who would do that.

I think it depends how VW want to manage their influence from here on in. I had the timing belt changed in my family-smashed Sharan at a VW franchised garage yesterday for £280 inc VAT. My local garage could barely match that, let alone an independent VW specialist. This is only a recent initiative, they still try to knock you for ad-hoc items like pads and discs, but VW have obviously seen the need to compete within the market. I've not been in an OPC for a while, but on the last occasion it felt as though they were geared up to fleece footballers/Wags, and any other new-money type that came through the door. Buying only a key-fob and some Cab-hood waterproofing spray made me feel like a Big Issue seller.

Bournemouth is a long way from Bolton. Most OPC's employ young kids, Bournemouth is the exception that proves the rule. Hartech have a great reputation :worship: , that's certainly where I'd be heading if I lived neart the North Pole!! :thumb: