Servicing: Independent vs OPC

[mohamos]

Hi All,

Looking for the Pros and Cons of going with an Independent (RSJ - Porsche Specialist) over an OPC for my next major service? My car only has 30K on the clock but interested in your views to see if going with an Independent has hampered resale, or the quality of the OPC service is worth paying the extra ££ for. The service book is all OPC stamped at the mo.

Thanks, Sid.

 

[Gordon Attar]

You need to way up the costs and convenience and whether you want to have an OPC warranty.

Regarding residuals it will have no effect

 

[Ianstewartshouse1]

I can’t speak for anyone else but would say it depends on the age and type of car for me. If it was a Gen2 or a GT car I would probably be still looking for an OPC full history. It might not bother other buyers but I wouldn’t buy without it. A Gen1 non GT car I would be less worried about with its age.

I think even if you want to maintain warranty you don’t have to have the work done by OPC anymore but it does need to be done using genuine parts.

 

[Peter_Bull]

I personally think that it all depends on the quality of the specialists.

Like PCs - some are better than others and good ones get good feedback online.

 

[jonathanw]

In my experience I found it useful to check out pricings of local independents and compare with OPC. Living in Barnet I have the luxury of a few OPC's in "car collect" range and surprisingly one OPC not owned by Porsche was several hundred pounds cheaper and when they serviced my 6 year old 991 did not call me to sell , air conditioning re-gas etc etc. The nearest independent was the same high price as the OPC (that I didn't use) who I had been a longstanding customer both for servicing and purchasing cars over more than 30 years. It does pay to shop around.

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Hi Sid

I bought my 2005 C2S 997 privately, about 6 years ago, with a full local OPC service history - on a private sale this influenced me greatly. I have maintained the service history with this OPC and am delighted with the service they offer. For me, if I were buying your car I would be more interested if it had a full OPC history, especially with such a low mileage. Subjective I know.

Expanding on the topic a bit:

If my car needs work which entails Porsche parts, my OPC is frequently cheaper than a local Porsche specialist, who uses Porsche parts, exclusively I think. Although for a straight service I notice from their website the indy you suggest would have saved me somewhere between £30 - £50 (service on mine done just yesterday), i'm prepared to pay the premium with my OPC plus I got a Macan courtesy car thrown in for the day. I agree with everyones posts above over the quality of the OPC/Indy and shopping around - it depends where you are placed.

Where I have saved a significant amount over the years is I tend to get some work done much cheaper by using a specialist that does not have a hang up over not using Porsche parts where they are not really needed, such as discs/pads, making up brake pipes, refurbing starter motors, air conditioning, etc. The list goes on. Similarly I think I have had a better standard of service, if maybe not cheaper, from specialists who focus on a single aspect of the car. such as suspension set up.

By the way, you will have gathered I don't pay for an extended warranty!

 

[Dylan1]

Personally an Indy stamp rather than OPC wouldn’t put me off a purchase
it’s more important to have invoices backing up services and correct interval servicing in my opinion
but yes some Indy are better than others - I used JZM kings Langley and they were great

 

[JCX]

I have to say, with no malice or criticism implied by me about you, your story below is one reason why a fully stamped OPC service history in and of itself is worth only a little more than the paper it is printed on.

I’ll explain why I think this. Your OPC history suggests at first sight that you have done everything according to the book and your car remains Porsche type approved. However in reality, when you use anyone to install non Porsche parts, you immediately (in my opinion) dilute the value of the OPC service history.

I apportion greater value to an Indy who services the car in accordance with Porsche standards and installs Porsche parts, than I apportion to an OPC stamp alongside the use of third-party parts.

I also apportion more value to the person selling that the person servicing.

Hi Sid

I bought my 2005 C2S 997 privately, about 6 years ago, with a full local OPC service history - on a private sale this influenced me greatly. I have maintained the service history with this OPC and am delighted with the service they offer. For me, if I were buying your car I would be more interested if it had a full OPC history, especially with such a low mileage. Subjective I know.

Expanding on the topic a bit:

If my car needs work which entails Porsche parts, my OPC is frequently cheaper than a local Porsche specialist, who uses Porsche parts, exclusively I think. Although for a straight service I notice from their website the indy you suggest would have saved me somewhere between £30 - £50 (service on mine done just yesterday), i'm prepared to pay the premium with my OPC plus I got a Macan courtesy car thrown in for the day. I agree with everyones posts above over the quality of the OPC/Indy and shopping around - it depends where you are placed.

Where I have saved a significant amount over the years is I tend to get some work done much cheaper by using a specialist that does not have a hang up over not using Porsche parts where they are not really needed, such as discs/pads, making up brake pipes, refurbing starter motors, air conditioning, etc. The list goes on. Similarly I think I have had a better standard of service, if maybe not cheaper, from specialists who focus on a single aspect of the car. such as suspension set up.

By the way, you will have gathered I don't pay for an extended warranty!

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

JCX - no criticism taken, I agree with much of what you say.

 

[JCX]

JCX - no criticism taken, I agree with much of what you say.

????

 

[Simbob997]

I had the same issue when my 2005 C2S was due for a service in Feb 2019. Mine has 19 k miles and so far has been only serviced by OPC at correct intervals.
However when my local dealer Silverstone let me down over the Build certificate earlier this year I feel would prefer to get mine serviced elsewhere. JGC will service the car next week and carry out borescope and thoroughly check the car over as its due for a major.
He comes highly recommended and I personally feel will treat me better than the poor service from the dealer. I personally don’t feel this will affect the future value of the car.