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Porsche West London

Gold certification just means the mechanic is good ..well .. ish .. he was good ( ish ) before they brought in this bronze silver gold rubbish .. now he has a bit of paper to prove it .. sigh

I passed my bronze .. service manager came out with the certificate .. i threw it in the bin .. he was horrified ..

I explained i do my job .. the same job every day and i had to take a test to be able to continue that .

I passed my silver .. manager came out with certificate but asked me if i was going to keep it .. i opened the bin lid .. he kept the certificate .

I left before i was able to take my gold ...

I was the same qualified mechanic before i took my bronze as i am today .. its a bit of paper that actually tells you nothing about the mechanic .. only that he can read and pass a test about QUESTIONS .. not ablility !!

Sorry .. its a bone of contention with me that i was actually told i couldn't diagnose cars (which is what i do ) unless i passed these stupid tests .. nothing to do with the fact i had at that point already been doing it for 5 years .

EDIT ..

Just to put it into context .. a Porsche apprentise when he qualifys after 3 years is rated as a silver technician .. the same as me ..

Ive been a mechanic for 36 years .. 14 on Porsche .. hes the same as me .. er .. yeah .. right , of course he is .
 
True and understood, however if you don't know a named technician it may give an indication of minimum competence.

I have met some great and incompetent technicians in both opc and alleged reputable indies, so think if possible building a relationship with someone who will know your car helps.

Trouble is the more you know the fussier you become.
 
deMort said:
Gold certification just means the mechanic is good ..well .. ish .. he was good ( ish ) before they brought in this bronze silver gold rubbish .. now he has a bit of paper to prove it .. sigh

I passed my bronze .. service manager came out with the certificate .. i threw it in the bin .. he was horrified ..

I explained i do my job .. the same job every day and i had to take a test to be able to continue that .

I passed my silver .. manager came out with certificate but asked me if i was going to keep it .. i opened the bin lid .. he kept the certificate .

I left before i was able to take my gold ...

I was the same qualified mechanic before i took my bronze as i am today .. its a bit of paper that actually tells you nothing about the mechanic .. only that he can read and pass a test about QUESTIONS .. not ablility !!

Sorry .. its a bone of contention with me that i was actually told i couldn't diagnose cars (which is what i do ) unless i passed these stupid tests .. nothing to do with the fact i had at that point already been doing it for 5 years .
.

I sympathise and typical of big company culture, got to be seen doing something even if it only adds cost and no value. I bet the HR department got a bonus for improving staff morale and motivation with the scheme as well.

At my first job they made us take a personal development course called 'Managing Your Personal Growth', a poorly named course to give an all male electronic equipment repair department.
 
The key isn't qualifications, they're probably all good enough as mechanics, the really issue is attitude (how they care for you and your car) and Brooklands passed with flying colours when I went there.
 
When the VHC was first rolled out we were told and i quote ..

" its not going to be used as a whipping stick " ... " its not going to be used to see what each mechanic is reporting .. then bollock you for not finding as many brake pipe failures as the next mechanic "

Actually i made the last one up .. thats not what they said .. thats what happened .
 
Just took my car in for servicing at OPC West London and nearly fell of my chair after the price quotations!
They've made a number of "recommendations", are these reasonable?
x4 new tyres (2.5-3.5mm tread left) - I do have a trackday coming up - £290 ok.
AC service £270 :?:
Fuel filler drain £25 :?:
Clearing bulkhead drains £120 :roll:
Clearing radiator vents £100 :nooo:
Front pads + discs £1600 :eek:
Rear pads + discs £1200 :eek:

The pad warning light has just come on and apparently I have 0.7mm left on the discs.

Would appreciate the advice to stump up or go elsewhere given their history.

TDK.
 
I can only repeat what i have said before .. i worked at an OPC for over 10 years .. i left and joined an indy .. we are half or less than that labour rate .. you get the same person doing the same job but at a reduced price .

Indys have to fight for work .. i have no idea why as to me its a no brainer .. same guys doing the same job but far cheaper .. but thats life .

You have options further south , all i can suggest is phone them and get some real life quotes .
 
Thanks for the quick replay. I'm assuming none of this is warranty related work and I can go to an Indy without affecting the warranty?
 
Porsche Torque

Try Sid at Porsche Torque. Close to West London. If you must keep up OPC history use them for basic service and have consumables replaced elsewhere. You'll save a small fortune.

http://www.porsche-torque.co.uk
 
AC service £270 Question
Fuel filler drain £25 Question
Clearing bulkhead drains £120 Rolling Eyes
Clearing radiator vents £100 nooo
Front pads + discs £1600 Surprised
Rear pads + discs £1200 Surprised

Try Sid at Porsche Torque. Close to West London. If you must keep up OPC history use them for basic service and have consumables replaced elsewhere. You'll save a small fortune. WISE ADVICE
------------------------------------------------

Shave around 65% off the above and your approaching sanity . Indy replaced my rear disks (Brembo replaced Pagid) and pads late last year £480. :bandit: :bandit: :bandit: THOSE RATES ESTIMATED ARE STAGGERING :judge:
 
I had a similar story from OPC Reading last month when they replaced the Transfer Box and other small bits on warranty.

All tyres need replacing - 1k plus
Front and rear pads/discs as dangerous - Circa 3k

This is a car that I'd bought 2k miles before from OPC East London!! I'm not stupid and know my way around a car, checked myself... the discs have a minor lip, pads have 60% left on front and 40% on back... I took it to Ray Northway "Northway" and he said the brakes have 3-5k miles left on them due to the discs and I knew the tyres were getting low so have already sorted those.

I came back to Porsche after many years and 3 911's earlier... The dealers are total sharks. full of shxt and I will only be using one of the good ones (probably Brooklands after reading this) for the servicing to keep my warranty I have for 2 years.
Ray Northway will get every other piece of work needed. They have quoted just under 1.5k using OPC parts obviously...

Dealers should be ashamed of themselves....
 
Some OPC's regard service customers as their very own ATM's.

May be a glib opinion however the only way to find the good ones are owners experiences and posts as this thread :judge:
 
I don't mind paying for quality which is why I bought a 911. The thing that really frustrates me is the assumption that just because I have paid over £100k for a car my judgement towards parts and servicing must be impaired and they therefore have carte blanche access to my wallet. :what:
I considered my 911 purchase very carefully and I will continue to have the same approach to most things in life. Are there really mugs out there who are paying these inflated prices without question? They must be in abundance if this is the general approach to servicing costs.
 
Should the service book be stamped or are records now held centrally so it's not a big deal?
 
thedarkknight said:
The pad warning light has just come on and apparently I have 0.7mm left on the discs.

Would appreciate the advice to stump up or go elsewhere given their history.

TDK.

I forgot to answer this bit yesterday ..

You have 2mm of wear from max to min on a brake disc so 1mm left and the disc is 50 % worn .

0.7 so about 65% worn .. hmm.

Pad light is on .. fair enough but they are saying the front AND rear brakes need changeing .. hmmm .. again ..

Pretty unusual to have both of them wear that low at the same time as rear brakes last a lot longer than the fronts .

I would have to say have it checked at an Indy first .. if the rears have another 5k in them then do it later .. basically im not trusting what they have stated so far .

There should always be a stamp in the service book .. there was no central system when i was there but that was 4 years ago now .. things might have changed .

Btw .. rad clear out .. you stick an airline in and blow out the leafs .
 

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