OPC vs Specialist

Hi My car is due a major service, it is also coming to the end of the excellent 2 year warranty provided by the dealer that I bought it from. I've been investigating my options and I am really surprised to find that, with Club discount, the price offered by the Portsmouth OPC is only marginally higher than two good specialists in my general area (I've looked at Northway and Parr as I've heard good things about both). I would have thought that an OPC stamp would look better in the service record, but do the technicians really know the 996 cars as well as the specialists? I'm sure that they are now much more familiar with 997/991. It matters to me that the car gets a good inspection at the same time as I want to make sure that any issues are picked up now before the warranty expires. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Looks like a double header for you as you need a turbo specialist as well as a 996 specialist - that narrows it down even further I suppose. I use Northway for my C2 and they are excellent - they have technicians with expertise per model, and Paul there is a 996 guru - my only issue with them is they are victims of their own success and usually booking 6 weeks ahead! Also, recently had extremely good experience with Tognola near Slough - 40 years experience there, and I don't think there's much that would be beyond Peter there! However, both are a long way from Portsmouth! For my money, its specialist every time - I've heard OPC can get close on price matching these days, but they have to do everything by the book, and its unlikely you'll get to talk to the person who does the work to chat over any issues you have before (or after....!). Also, OPC have to follow Porsche policy on replacement of items vs repair, and I think you risk 'up-selling' on the service once they've got the car in. Also it's unlikely they'd give you a couple of days to hunt down a specialist part second hand/recon, or fit parts you have been acquiring piece wise since last service, or cut open the oil filter (on C2's anyway) to check for IMS swarf, or tell you honestly if your discs will last another 6,000 miles etc etc (you get the picture...) If the car was less than 10 years old, under OPC warranty, that may be a different story because you have that back up if anything/everything goes wrong. But you're in older car/enthusiast territory now, so if anyone wants to buy your car in the future, especially a turbo, you're likely going to be selling another enthusiast who will be interested in the car history generally, and (i'd have thought) not just OPC stamps. I personally wouldn't have thought it would devalue it in any way. Anyway, I daresay there'll be a few more opinions expressed before you're finished on this thread - in the end you pays your money takes your choice! Good luck with deliberations! J

In the past I used Indies for my 964 Carrera 2 and had mixed experiences. I then discovered JAZ who have now moved to St Albans which makes things less convenient. They were always very good and I had no issues with them. However I now use OPC Colchester for servicing my 996 Turbo S but have used 9E for other stuff (once so far) and they have been good too. AT the OPC I always get to talk to the engineer who has worked on my car and had the same guy Martin for the past three visits. So OPC for the service and stamps but Indie for the bits and pieces as I find them better value for those types of thing. Where it gets interesting is when the OPC finds something that needs fixing eg a broken actuator and the cost of the part and fitting was more then an Indie would be. Hope that hasn't confused you further.

Norhways is usually abou 4 week leadtime the 6 weeks s the spring when the cars in storage come out to play. Specialist ie.Northways is £65+v/hour vs up to double that at an OPC unless they have an offer on. Paul at Northways knows them inside out and i had an OPC 111 check in West London done and they identified leaking cams and new power steering ump required took it to Northways Paul identified asmall leak from a cm cover bolt that required a touch of glue to seal and the OPCs PSP leak was them spilling the fluid when topping up. Cost was £0 as it took 5 minutes on a ramp. Please note actuators(through lack of use) can usually be freed then oiled by an Indie where an OPC will replace. REsale value will not be affected by Specialist service stamps. If you have about 10 consecutive OPC stamps with no Independants then continuation with them will probably have an beneficial effect.

Hi I share your concern but I would highly recommend AW Motorsport porsche specialist in southborne !! They have taken care of my 2003 tip carrera 2 since I've had it and Andy rearly knows his stuff ;-)) I believe they do all of phill Rabys servicing, he is in the back of the porsche post magazine and he is right next door to "AW" so I think the two are linked hope that helps.

Thanks everyone for your responses. How much could I expect to pay for a 111 point check? I think the OPC wants around £100.

I think they refer to it as an Annual Check rather than a 111 point check (which is done for warranty extension) From the website http://porscheownerservices.co.uk/servicing/?model=68 it is £150 for the turbo but may be negotiable and have a club member discount applied.[ ]