Porsche extended Warranty Limitations using an independant??

Hi all, I have a 1998 996 C2 that is due a 24k mile service now. The car is covered by a Porsche extended warranty, if i went to a reputible independant such as Camtune for the service, would i be risking my warranty? I have heard that as long as qualified technicians use genuine parts then it should be fine...? Any experiences? My local Guildford main dealer has proved itself to be less than useful and I have no intention of giving them my custom again. So its either an expensive service at a main dealer some distance away or a reasonably priced service by a local independant. I just don't want to waste the £725 warranty that I maintain! Appreciate any advice Thanks Nick

hi nick, my 993 c2s is also covered by the porsche warranty, and when the service was due in october i was in the same dilema as you are in now....opc or independant???? i am aware that as a result of block exemption, etc, etc, that porsche ( or any dealer) are still obliged to recognise any claim even if the car has not been serviced at an opc but at a 'recognised' independant, mmmmm, seemed a bit vague to me, so a i made few telephone calls. of the 6 opc's i contacted 3 said they would not honour any warranty work, if the service had been done at an independant, the other 3 said they would honour said warranty. the opc i use was one of the 'we wont'. i then contacted porsche gb, and they told me they would only honour the warranty if the car was serviced at a recognised dealer, and guess what, in their eyes, that is only an opc!!! confused, cos i was, right hand and left hand sprung to mind. so, not wanting any future hassle, i went to the opc, had the car serviced, only to find there was 1600 pounds of warranty work that needed carrying out on it. and i have to admit, hand on heart, was done without any quible at all. i came away very happy, and feel i am up on the warranty deal that cost me 725.....but it poses the question what would have happened if i had the car serviced at an independant, stamp in book etc, and then turn up at the opc to have the warranty work done (an independant cannot do the warranty work, it has to be an opc)??? i am sure it would not have been looked upon favourably by them, and this is the hassle that i mentioned earlier, that i simply didnt want. so nick, sorry for being long winded about this, but as you can see it aint that straight forward. yes, block exemption means you can service elsewhere and this will not comprimise your warranty. real world you will be dealing with an opc who may or may not totally agree with your independant stamp......over to you regards g

Nick/Glenn, Any independant that apply to Porsche to carry out warranty and service work, and meet Porsche's quality control standards, can undertake the work. However, as far as I know,not one independant so far has even applied to be certified as such, due to the prohibitivly expensive costs in meeting those standards. Therefore, my understanding is that until an independant has met those criteria, you will have to have all your service work done at an OPC to keep the warrranty valid. Those OPC's that said they would honour the warranty work even though the servicing was done at an independant should put their words in writing.

I've been speaking to Camtune (buying a car at the moment from them). They have applied to Porsche to be an approved service centre and will be up and running later this year - not sure of the timescales, but I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you if you give them a call.

So Camtune might be the first ones! I'd be very interested to know what they end up charging for labour etc if they get the approved service centre status, if it's only £10-15p.h less I'd probably still go to an OPC if I had to......you have to factor in what Porsche 'Goodwill' is worth.[:-]

I have emailed the service manager at Camtune for his view on the topic, will be interested in the response! I'll let you know! Nick

I had my car inspected by OPC Guildford with them knowing that the car was going to be serviced by Camtune (24k service) immediately after to rectify any issues that may have arisen from the inspection. The car sailed through the 111pt inspection and was then serviced by Camtune. Before I had the car serviced, the OPC said that they would be happy to apply the Porsche Extended Warranty to the car knowing the car was going to be serviced by Camtune. After the 24k service, the OPC didn't hesitate at all in extending the warranty to the GT3.

As Porsche Cars UK sanction warranty claims why don't you get the answer straight from the horses mouth? You never know you may get an answer before the warranty expires! [&:] JCB..

HI, Listening to BBC London, they had a respresentative from the motor traders association and he stated qutie clearly that if a manufacturre/dealer refuses a warrenty claim on a car because it has been serviced at a independent garage, then they are breaking the law. But how that effects the extended warranty I do not know, worth finding out though. Mav

I had my warranty sorted at Reading and specifically asked about independants and mentioned Camtune. I was told categorically that all servicing must be carried out within the network as how could they possibly monitor the quality of someone outside the network, whatever their reputation, as mistakes do happen. So the method I will adopt is that all servicing will be done by OPC. Any non-warranty items they uncover I will get done elsewhere (Camtune), if I cannot do it myself. I was told that would be fine - as any non warranty item will be 'wear and tear' stuff anyway.... I do my own brakes, brake fluid, gearbox oil and any simple running repairs.... Parr do my geometry so that leaves just the annual service with OPC Guildford and an intact warranty.