Okay, so how much would you guess that it would cost to replace the information sticker inside the drivers door?
£25 maybe?
No, quite a bit more according to the following article from this week's Auto Express:
Buy a car with a premium badge on the bonnet and you'd expect to pay top whack for parts. But one Auto Express reader may have found the most overpriced component ever!
After bagging a used Porsche 997 C2S, Tony Connolly of Wilmslow, Cheshire, was prepared to put his hand in his pocket to get his car looking immaculate. Yet he says the only glitch was the torn information sticker inside the driver's door. And he was astounded when he called his local Porsche Centre for a price.
It had been only five weeks since the dealer sold the 2005 car, yet he was told a new sticker would cost him a huge £120 plus VAT! He said: "I couldn't believe the price. I love the car, but this beggars belief. The firm should take a reality check."
So how can a sticker cost so much?
When we called the Nottingham Porsche Centre to find out, even the dealer principal admitted that £120 plus VAT "sounded ridiculous"! However, the parts department explained it was a special order item. As each one carries chassis related data and paint codes, they are made specifically for each car.
And when we spoke directly with Porsche, a spokesman also defended the rate, arguing each sticker was "made bespoke". He added: "This part is virtually never ordered by customers directly. As they have to be made in Germany for a particular model, there is no economy of scale, plus it involves manual work," But when pressed, he admitted this "manual work" involved searching computer records for the car, and getting a sticker printed off.
After our calls, the Nottingham centre offered to sell Tony the sticker at cost price - around £100! Quite understandably, he still refused.
He said: "There's no way I'd pay that for a sticker. It just makes me think that if Porsche charges so much for something so simple, then surely its cars must be overpriced, too!"
£25 maybe?
No, quite a bit more according to the following article from this week's Auto Express:
Buy a car with a premium badge on the bonnet and you'd expect to pay top whack for parts. But one Auto Express reader may have found the most overpriced component ever!
After bagging a used Porsche 997 C2S, Tony Connolly of Wilmslow, Cheshire, was prepared to put his hand in his pocket to get his car looking immaculate. Yet he says the only glitch was the torn information sticker inside the driver's door. And he was astounded when he called his local Porsche Centre for a price.
It had been only five weeks since the dealer sold the 2005 car, yet he was told a new sticker would cost him a huge £120 plus VAT! He said: "I couldn't believe the price. I love the car, but this beggars belief. The firm should take a reality check."
So how can a sticker cost so much?
When we called the Nottingham Porsche Centre to find out, even the dealer principal admitted that £120 plus VAT "sounded ridiculous"! However, the parts department explained it was a special order item. As each one carries chassis related data and paint codes, they are made specifically for each car.
And when we spoke directly with Porsche, a spokesman also defended the rate, arguing each sticker was "made bespoke". He added: "This part is virtually never ordered by customers directly. As they have to be made in Germany for a particular model, there is no economy of scale, plus it involves manual work," But when pressed, he admitted this "manual work" involved searching computer records for the car, and getting a sticker printed off.
After our calls, the Nottingham centre offered to sell Tony the sticker at cost price - around £100! Quite understandably, he still refused.
He said: "There's no way I'd pay that for a sticker. It just makes me think that if Porsche charges so much for something so simple, then surely its cars must be overpriced, too!"