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Great service from OPC Chester.

Baldydaz

Well-known member
Joined
7 Nov 2014
Messages
60
Just thought I'd post this as I don't think people give praise where it's due as much as they should.

I bought my 997 gen 1 c2s about 2 months ago. After driving it back from London to Manchester I noticed the memory seat function wasn't working. I contacted the dealer I bought the car from (independant, NOT porsche) who were barely interested in the fault.
After taking it to a local porsche specialist, who I won't name, and them charging me £180 to try to diagnose the problem with no success, I decided to take the car to porsche Chester, (at Cheshire oaks).
I booked it in for a diagnostics check so was prepared to pay for the plug in and then the repair. 10 minutes in and the tech, Dean, came out and said its all sorted.
Sure enough he had fully sorted the seat problem (the gateway didn't know the car had 997 seats in I think he said)
:thumb:
Went to settle the bill to which the reply was "oh it's ok, it's under warranty, there's no charge" :thumb:
Result. So I left it there for an hour or so and went shopping. The tech then asked if I wanted a health check on the car, it's free. Erm ok, cheers.
Health check done he reports there's corrosion on the tandem valve and the coil packs are cracked, also the exhaust bolts and clamps are corroded and there's a couple of cable brackets missing. We'll try to get this under warranty.
I ended up paying for the exhaust brackets and bolts and got the tandem valve and coil packs done under warranty. They even gave me a brand new boxster as a courtesy car for two days.

All this and when I bought the car I didn't even know it had a warranty on it.

So a huge thanks to Tracy and Dean at porsche Chester. I'll definitely be using them again even though it's an hours drive from me.
:worship:
 
What a refreshing tale, well done with the result and posting the tread.
I've used Chester Porsche a couple of times once with the 997.2 software update & cruise control. and also the 991 replacement rear tyres (under Insurance) they've always been very helpful.
 
It just shows its hit and miss with some dealers. I had lots of problems with Porsche Chester. So many that even though it's 20 mins from my house, I travel 40 mins to Wilmslow now instead for my servicing etc.

Chester ripped me off once over £200. Which I couldn't believe and as a result they lost sales from me of over 70 grand in the following year.

What this story does prove though, is that the OPC is not always the most expensive place to take your car. People tend to assume this, but it's not always the case.
 
I use OPC Chester at Cheshire Oaks for my routine servicing (they did a major for me this year). Dean is very knowledgeable and I undersatnd all the guys there know the 996 Turbo very well.

I have a choice of Chester or Wilmslow. How remarkable to hear Issyman's experience. I would push my car to Chester if it broke down outside Wilmslow rather than let anyone at Porsche Wilmslow near it!

For OPC it is only Chester for me. The fixed price servicing menu is a no-brainer in my opinion. I will not get into a tangle about the merit of an OPC stamp versus a good indy - different topic. If I get a good home to have a service at a cost-effective price at a main dealer, then I'm happy. I researched these annual service prices and found some indy's to be dearer than an OPC! I cannot work out for the life of me how that can be so.

Same with my daily driver Mercedes E Class. The main dealer is cheaper than a service at an indy in Stockport (who is ex-MB main dealer)! And I don't get a brand new E-class for the day!
 
Really good to know!

Moving 20 miles south of Chester on the 9th of Jan, looks like I'll be using the OPC for servicing moving forwards!
 
cheshire911 said:
I use OPC Chester at Cheshire Oaks for my routine servicing (they did a major for me this year). Dean is very knowledgeable and I undersatnd all the guys there know the 996 Turbo very well.

I have a choice of Chester or Wilmslow. How remarkable to hear Issyman's experience. I would push my car to Chester if it broke down outside Wilmslow rather than let anyone at Porsche Wilmslow near it!

For OPC it is only Chester for me. The fixed price servicing menu is a no-brainer in my opinion. I will not get into a tangle about the merit of an OPC stamp versus a good indy - different topic. If I get a good home to have a service at a cost-effective price at a main dealer, then I'm happy. I researched these annual service prices and found some indy's to be dearer than an OPC! I cannot work out for the life of me how that can be so.

Same with my daily driver Mercedes E Class. The main dealer is cheaper than a service at an indy in Stockport (who is ex-MB main dealer)! And I don't get a brand new E-class for the day!

It's just a personal thing I suppose. Everyone has different experiences with the same people. I used Chester for 4 years on three cars (2 Boxster and a 911), and not every encounter was a bad one.

However there were a few. With my 987 I dropped it off and they had said I'd have a car. When I arrived there was no car. They gave me a lift home and said they'd pick me up the next day. The next day the said they'd collect me, then they called and said they couldn't collect me. They then called a little while later and said they would, and finally they called an hour before to say they couldn't and I should get a taxi and they will pay.

When I arrived they apologised and the girl said, 'Your car is outside all nice and clean for you.' I went outside and the car hadn't been cleaned. Afterwards they tried to make up for it by giving me a goody bag with some Porsche stuff in it (branded de-icer, tied in etc).

Then a few years later I took my 997S Cab in as the Aircon wasn't working. I spoke to Sarah. She said it probably needs re-gassing, I said however that it had failed quickly so was probably something else maybe a radiator. I left it there whilst I went to Cheshire Oaks and they called me to say it was ready. I paid £200 for re-gas and whatever else they charged me for (checking maybe). The next day I tried to use it and it wasn't working again. I took it back and Sarah said they'd checked it and the radiator had indeed failed. They charged me a further £500. I said they should refund the wasted £200 for the previous visit and she refused. I even wrote the the dealer principle but he didn't care. I told them I'd never use them again and to remove me from their mailing list (which they did). I never heard form them since.

Wilmslow haven't done anything so far to piss me off badly. I had a not so great experience with a service bloke when I was having the Centrelock conversion done and I was complain about it to the receptionist when the dealer principle came over and listened to my complaint. He gave me a part that I had been collecting fro free and later that day the guy in question called me to apologise (which he did poorly). When I returned there after my next stint at sea they said he no longer worked there! I suppose I wasn't the first person to have complained about him.

I'm sure there are people who have had bad experiences with Wilmslow, it's inevitable, but as long as they look after me I'm happy to use them. They gave me good access to the showroom and service bay when I was writing articles for Porsche Post and the head of servicing always comes and has a chat with me when I go there. So I'm happy (I also like going through the tunnels on my way there!)
 
Again and again if you remember my broccoli story, dealers need to look past making a quick buck on the day.
Annoy a customer over 200 quid and you lose years of potential revenue.
Do a customer a good deal and you will go back.
Look a the customer as a 5 year investment.

I recently bought some Porsche stuff online , the seller was so honest, they offered a reduction over a slight mark or money back. As it was something that went under the car, I told them not to worry. They are now my first port of call for parts.
 
Again and again if you remember my broccoli story, dealers need to look past making a quick buck on the day.
Annoy a customer over 200 quid and you lose years of potential revenue.
Do a customer a good deal and you will go back.
Look a the customer as a 5 year investment.

I recently bought some Porsche stuff online , the seller was so honest, they offered a reduction over a slight mark or money back. As it was something that went under the car, I told them not to worry. They are now my first port of call for parts.
 
timm996 said:
Again and again if you remember my broccoli story, dealers need to look past making a quick buck on the day.
Annoy a customer over 200 quid and you lose years of potential revenue.
Do a customer a good deal and you will go back.
Look a the customer as a 5 year investment.

I recently bought some Porsche stuff online , the seller was so honest, they offered a reduction over a slight mark or money back. As it was something that went under the car, I told them not to worry. They are now my first port of call for parts.

You also risk losing potential business from people who read these forums as they tell their stories online. You really can't afford to do it these days.
 

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