Unnecessary repair work?

In a little over a month of ownership, I have to say I have been somewhat unlucky. I have just picked my car up from being repaired at my local OPC for the second time in a month (I didn't buy it from them but bought from another OPC), although this time the reason why I took it in was because I needed a rear tyre replaced due to there being a screw embedded nicely in it.

I agreed a price with them - they matched the cheaper Costco price and at Porsche they wash it for me - and thought that would be that. Left the car with them overnight to be picked up this morning. Yesterday afternoon got a phone call from them to say that they did an overall inspection of the car - something that they always do - and have found that the nearside suspension "track arm" had excessive play and needed replacement. Four hours of labour plus bits & pieces comes to a handy £500 plus VAT please. This is in addition to the £375 I am already paying for the screwed tyre!

Of course my first question, after the initial shock, was "what about my warranty"? There was a big pause followed by "Oh, do you have an extended warranty sir?". So we went through the same routine as I did a month ago and then it was determined that yes I did have a warranty and yes (thank god) the work was covered, no problem. So I guess Porsche GB get the £500 bill for an S-shaped metal rod.

I have no idea if it would have made any difference if it hadn't been replaced, I certainly didn't notice anything wrong with the steering before - it handles very nicely indeed!

The thing is, I had actually taken it to them only four weeks ago because a gear linkage had snapped (after 2 days of ownership), and at that time they did their little check and found NOTHING wrong with the car at all, everything came up in the green. But that time, they knew I had just bought the car and was warrantied because I was up front about it right away. I didn't mention any of that this time because I just needed a new tyre fitted. But this time, they had picked up this tracking arm thing (it's just a little S-shaped piece of metal as far as I can see), and they also strangely decided that my front discs had some corrosion on them and the pads are a bit low (they are not IMHO). And to top it off the wipers are in "poor" condition. I put it to them that I had only just bought the car so why would the wipers be in "poor" condition (again, they are not IMHO).

I just think it is a little suspicious that they have found all this stuff when about 200 miles ago they found none of it. And it all seems to fit into this warranty-renewal business that everyone seems to be running into problems with (ie wiper blades anyone?)......

I can't help but wonder if this is all to generate revenue for the service department? Or am I just being too cynical?

And of course, I expect that all of this will have to be rectified at my great expense, by them, before warranty renewal next year?

I still love the car and love driving it but I am already starting to tire of the dealer side of things. To be fair everything has been covered under warranty so far (except tyre of course) but I am just sooo wary of them.

Any thoughts?

I came away from the OPC with the following impressions:
1) 111 point check by an OPC is ONLY worth having if you then take out THEIR warranty (see Item 2 below)
2) 111 point check is NOT thorough, if they miss something at the time of the inspection they can always repair it under warranty (and why scare the customer away with a huge list of faults before you have even got the warranty?)
3) I'm assuming the bill for the warranty work is picked up by an Insurance company and not the OPC (I could be wrong) so no real incentive to be thorough with the inspection
4) If you don't want a OPC warranty then go to an Indy for an inspection
5) If you take it to an OPC for a 111 point check and then don't take the OPC warranty, do yourself a favour and get it checked by an Indy (I know you paying twice but I would still recommend you do)

From the above you will see why I'm not at all surprised they finding faults after only 200 miles

Interesting story and a bit concerning at the same time. In the car industry there is always the rumors going around about certain dealerships recommending unnecessary work (been through that my self in a number of occasions) and break disks and break pads is always a primary target (relatively very easy job with little room for error and high margin as it doesn't take much time to do). I hope not all OPC are the same but there is always the options of a good Indy....

This is in addition to the £375 I am already paying for the screwed tyre!

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Are these tyres with diamond insets?

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

One thing that jumps out is the price of that tyre. You can get a whole set of 4 Michellin PS2's for about a grand if you shop around enough.

I would go back to the OPC and have a serious discussion about your experience with them. Ask to speak to the Dealer Principle and take it from there.
Regards Big Bob :bye:

Jamie said:

One thing that jumps out is the price of that tyre. You can get a whole set of 4 Michellin PS2's for about a grand if you shop around enough.

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Yeah I'm sure I've seen that figure quoted here before but the problem for me was that I only wanted one tyre. A quick look around showed that I could get one for around £355 fully fitted but it was from some mobile fitter that I've never heard of, and I am just a little wary about scuffing those rather nice turbo alloys. Costco came out at £375 and Porche at a shade over £400, but they came down right away to the Costco price as soon as I mentioned it, so I just went with them.

For future reference, however, what IS the best way to get a new tyre? Or even a repair? Is it possible to repair these tyres? I just assumed because of the nature of the car it wouldn't be a good idea but maybe I am wrong? The woman at the service department did comment that she has some customers who come in almost on a monthly basis with screws / nails in the tyre. Obviously I am hoping its a one off, but the neighbour did have a flat the following day as well....

As for meeting with Porsche, I'm not P*ssed off enough yet for that but I am watching them. :camera: And I will not agree to any unnecessary work at my expense before getting advice from here.

Regarding brakes & discs, if I get them done somewhere other than Porsche, would that cause problems with the warranty & renewal? Just curious, it's still a long way off but helpful to know in advance to avoid nasty surprises!

Also interesting re the 111 point check comments. I guess it makes sense if you think about it. The dealer has a car that they have to repair at their own expense before selling it. So just do what has to be done for cosmetic/safety reasons, ie they had to put a new clutch, rear brakes & discs, front tyres on mine, but leave the rest to the warranty which they don't have to pay for and neither do I. And of course by having a number of problems fairly quickly that are fixed under warranty make me think "Wow, that warranty's a great thing to have because I've only had the car a month and the repair work has already added up to the cost of the warranty", therefore almost guaranteeing that I will buy another warranty when it runs out.

Makes good business sense, actually. It's just the inconvenience that gets annoying!

northeast canuck said:

Regarding brakes & discs, if I get them done somewhere other than Porsche, would that cause problems with the warranty & renewal? Just curious, it's still a long way off but helpful to know in advance to avoid nasty surprises!

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My guess is that as long as you use Porsche bits then OPC that is renewing your warranty will never know...they don't ask for receipts for work done and I don't think (might be wrong) that all the service computers from all the OPCs are connected....and even if they were it means some dullard would have to look through every bill to look for discs/pads.

By extension (and I don't really know what I am talking about here) even if you use non-Porsche bits as long as they have been manufactured to same or higher tolerances then they should be acceptable. Recently had this "conversation" with Tubi. They reckon Porsche are duty bound to honour the warranty 'cos a Tubi exhaust is built to TUV standards...and as a body that is deemed "good enough" for car manufacture. This is under European Law "Block Exemption"...Tubi say get Porsche to reject the exhaust as not fit for purpose and Tubi will sue them.

Wey hey!

About time someone fought back! :thumbs:

http://www.scuderiasystems.com/root-warranty.html

__stef__ said:

northeast canuck said:

Regarding brakes & discs, if I get them done somewhere other than Porsche, would that cause problems with the warranty & renewal? Just curious, it's still a long way off but helpful to know in advance to avoid nasty surprises!

Click to expand...

My guess is that as long as you use Porsche bits then OPC that is renewing your warranty will never know...they don't ask for receipts for work done and I don't think (might be wrong) that all the service computers from all the OPCs are connected....and even if they were it means some dullard would have to look through every bill to look for discs/pads.

By extension (and I don't really know what I am talking about here) even if you use non-Porsche bits as long as they have been manufactured to same or higher tolerances then they should be acceptable. Recently had this "conversation" with Tubi. They reckon Porsche are duty bound to honour the warranty 'cos a Tubi exhaust is built to TUV standards...and as a body that is deemed "good enough" for car manufacture. This is under European Law "Block Exemption"...Tubi say get Porsche to reject the exhaust as not fit for purpose and Tubi will sue them.

Wey hey!

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I agree on discs and pads but not on the Tubi part. IIRC it's not the same warranty that applies to EU law. The 'extended' warranty is not actually a consumer right, it's an Insurance policy underwritten by a 3rd party and not subject to that law. They can put any stipulation they want on it and by paying for the warranty you are agreeing to their conditions. If they consider a part non Porsche manufactured/approved and they state it must be then you're kind of screwed.

Stuart said:

If they consider a part non Porsche manufactured/approved and they state it must be then you're kind of screwed.

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That is a very fair point.

And I might have to swap it back for the OEM exhaust during renewal time!!

Let's see.