Warranty & servicing with an independent shop

[AliGP]

Does anyone have any experience with independent servicing in the UK and also obtaining a warranty from anyone other than the Porsche dealership?
I have a 2020 Taycan and wondering if I should keep, especially given the 1100 warranty cost annually.

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[Taycan4S_UK]

I think you’re asking whether you can service the Taycan in a independent garage and maintain the Porsche warranty?

I think it needs to be serviced a Porsche approach garage. If you shop around , you can save money.
As for warranty… it’s well worth it and I consider it as part of owing a EV

 

[Leccy61]

Porsche Warranty looked good value compared to any 3rd party warranty I could find, they were lacking on claim limits and hourly rates, so I went with a Porsche 2 year policy quite recently.

If you want to get a lower cost option and are ok with the coverage, claims limits etc, they are out there.

I’d also say independents aren’t up to speed just yet for a Taycan, would love to be wrong on that as I’m a big fan of reputable indies, have always used them and still do with my ICE Porsche’s.

 

[r553]

It is unlikely the independent shop will be able to reset the maintenance indicator unless they have a fully functioning PIWIS tester. I have been doing the service myself and saving the receipts ( I'm in the US ). I bought the Porsche extended warranty for my 2020 4S. I believe you are married to the dealer for repair of this complex beast.

 

[pauloamore]

From ChatGPT; which is also my understanding.

In the UK, you’re allowed to have your car serviced outside the franchised dealer network without voiding the manufacturer’s warranty — but you must meet certain conditions.

This protection comes from UK competition law (which carried over from EU law after Brexit) under the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER) and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Here’s how it works:

⸻

Key Legal Principle
• Manufacturers cannot require you to have servicing and repairs done only at their franchised dealers to keep your warranty, as long as:
1. Work follows the manufacturer’s service schedule (correct intervals, checklist items, etc.).
2. Manufacturer-approved parts or parts of equivalent quality are used.
3. The garage is VAT-registered and provides a detailed invoice and service record.
4. The service is carried out to a competent standard (in line with manufacturer instructions).

⸻

Where This Comes From
• Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER) — retained in UK law post-Brexit — prevents anti-competitive restrictions in the motor trade.
• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enforces this in the UK.
• Consumer Rights Act 2015 also supports your right to choose a repairer while retaining contractual rights under a warranty.

⸻

Important Caveats
• This applies to the “non-wear-and-tear” warranty from the manufacturer.
Some “free service packages” or “goodwill” schemes are commercial offers and may have extra conditions.
• If a repair is needed under warranty, manufacturers can still require it to be carried out at their authorised workshop.
• If your chosen garage uses non-approved parts or misses scheduled work, the manufacturer can refuse a warranty claim — but only if they can show that the fault is linked to that non-compliant work.

⸻

In short: In the UK, you can legally service your car at an independent, VAT-registered garage and keep your manufacturer’s warranty, provided they follow the exact service schedule, use approved (or equivalent) parts, and keep proper records.

⸻

If you like, I can give you a short bullet-point checklist you can hand to your independent garage so your warranty stays valid. That way, there’s no room for dispute later.

 

[Murph7355]

As above, you cannot be forced to use the main dealer network to preserve the original warranty.

I think things might get a bit more "grey" with warranty extensions...but suspect the same will apply.

Am not sure how many indies would take the Taycan on, however. Or what you'll ultimately end up saving - be clear that you only want service schedule items covered, and make sure you don't get charged for washer fluid top up, windscreen wiper change, pollen filters etc (all easy to sort yourself) and you should be looking at £500 or less.

You then need to consider that you'll almost certainly be hurting resale value...

As for warranties, also as noted above the claim limits and exclusions will be your enemy. The Porsche warranty is an extension of the original factory one. It's as close to cast iron as you're likely to get, and considering the cost of some parts, the price of it isn't that horrendous IMO.

 

[AceArora]

I have warranty with AA. Cost £985 for 3 years. I have a used taycan and my service isn't due till next year. I will check with AA approved garage for service options to keep my warranty going. Have a look for the AA warranty. Good luck.

 

[D00notD00d]

As above, you cannot be forced to use the main dealer network to preserve the original warranty.

I think things might get a bit more "grey" with warranty extensions...but suspect the same will apply.

As for warranties, also as noted above the claim limits and exclusions will be your enemy. The Porsche warranty is an extension of the original factory one. It's as close to cast iron as you're likely to get, and considering the cost of some parts, the price of it isn't that horrendous IMO.

Extract from the Porsche Approved Warranty stating that a claim may be invalid if a defect results from ‘outside interference’.
I’ll reply separately on Porsche vs. Other warranty providers.
The Porsche Approved Warranty covers only Manufacturing Defects.
For Porsches of a ‘certain age’ a breakdown insurance policy may be better.

 

[D00notD00d]

Long post on the UK warranty market. My Taycan is approaching its 5th birthday. There’s nothing else I want, but even man logic can’t persuade me to rinse & repeat a massive £40k depreciation hit in the last 2 years and 15k miles. The Macan EV is underwhelmingly ordinary, the current Cayenne isn’t much different to the one I have.
So at least for now, I’ll keep the Taycan after the dealer provided warranty runs out.
I've been researching and comparing warranties. The info shared here may be useful to others in the same leaky boat. If not you might want to skip to the last para.

The extract from web site marketing of the Porsche Approved Warranty above doesn’t reflect the Terms & Conditions small print, which states that the cover is “the loss of all or part of an insured component’s functionality as a result of a manufacturing defect”.
I understand that HV Battery Defects have been added to the list of covered items, so this would be covered past year 8, but the web site document has not caught up.

A Porsche Approved Warranty is probably therefore most suited to years 3-5.
Beyond that, the chances of Porsche accepting a failure is due to a Manufacturing Defect, decrease and a 3rd party breakdown insurance warranty is probably more appropriate.
Porsche acts as both judge and jury on what constitutes a manufacturer defect
If your experience is different, please let me know, but I can’t see Porsche granting many manufacturing defect claims in years 5 to 15.
Porsche do sometimes offer a goodwill settlement for disputes, but in my experience that is hard fought and protracted.

Rationale:

• Assuming they are covered items, what is the accepted service life/what is premature failure for EV specific components such as the AC Power Inverter; Onboard Charger; Battery Monitoring Control Unit; Battery Regulator Control Unit; Battery Voltage Converter; DC To DC Converter; Driveshafts; HV Battery Heat Exchanger, Wiring, Charging Socket; Charging Socket Lock Actuator; Power Regeneration System; Thermal Cooling Components; Traction Motor, Traction Motor Control Unit; Traction Motor Temperature Sensor?
  
  
• Unlike Tesla and legacy ICE components, there isn’t empirical data that underwriters and claim assessors can draw on to price risk, or adjudicate claims. Replacing a failed traction motor is likely to cost more than replacing a failed battery module.
  
  
• Unlike the Audi e-Tron GT Extended Warranty terms, which covers sudden failure of specific named EV components (the component list above was mainly derived from theirs) , the Porsche Approved Warranty is vague and has not yet been updated for EVs. VW Financial Services (essentially the same company) provide one identical breakdown warranty product which is common to Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda.
  
  https://insurewithaudi.vwfs.co.uk/extended-warranty/components.html
  
  
• Unlike the Porsche Warranty, the corresponding VW group product complies with the UK Motor Ombudsman Vehicle Warranty Code of Practice, which mainly requires unambiguous scope and contract terms and ombudsman arbitration of claims disputes. Swapping a Taycan for an RS E-Tron could be an option.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/consumers/our-codes-of-practice/vehicle-warranty-products-code/​

• So far the Ombudsman lists 21 accredited warranty businesses. The only accredited manufacturer products are Suzuki and the VW group. I recently looked at the BMW warranty product for my son. While not accredited that also lists named components and seemsl unambiguous.
  
  
• All but 6 of the 21 Ombudsman accredited businesses operate only on a B2B basis, selling only through used dealers. If buying from a non-franchised dealer, picking one who sells an Ombudsman accredited warranty is a safer option. Some of those dealer warranty companies give decent EV warranties. Some are not yet there. Some are ahead of Porsche dealers.
  
  
• Of the accredited warranty providers that sell to the public:
  - Allianz do not cover EVs;
  - Motor Easy looks decent and covers EVs but their underwriter no longer accepts Taycans (maybe they owned one!);
  - The Motoring Organisation does not cover any Porsche ('too difficult to work with'!) ;
  - The Warranty First EV component list was very very short.
  
  
• Lastly, Opteven are accredited and are the company behind the AA Warranty.
  Their EV cover scope is ‘power generation and transmission components’ – vague & thin. I’ve asked them to elaborate that and confirm whether their AA Warranty product is accredited. The policy doc doesn’t mention Ombudsman arbritration. For anything vague the Ombudsman will resolve in the consumer’s favour.
  
  
• I’ve shortlisted down to the AA and Warranty Wise, who although not accredited have a clear and long list of included EV components.
  Both those are more expensive than the Porsche product: £900/£1500 depending on cover from the AA, including basic Breakdown Assistance, or £2200 from Warranty Wise.
  The latter price includes an option to cover breakdown/premature failure of the HV Battery. It is £150 less without that. This sounds a lot, but it is around only 10% of the annual depreciation cost I’ve seen and would provide more peace of mind than gambling on Porsche - at least until they catch up with VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda.
  There may be some scope to haggle given the Porsche battery defect cover lasts another 3 years.

 

[D00notD00d]

I have warranty with AA. Cost £985 for 3 years. I have a used taycan and my service isn't due till next year. I will check with AA approved garage for service options to keep my warranty going. Have a look for the AA warranty. Good luck.

Please see my posts after yours.
Your price was much cheaper that the quote I obtained. When did you buy it?

 

[Murph7355]

What are the claim limits involved with the AA and Warranty Wise products?

I'm afraid I go into this with the expectation that any warranty provider will squirm in the face of a big claim. But at least keeping it in house means relationship built and there'll be zero quibble over where the car is fixed. I'm also likely to get a decent loaner as my dealer is great

I've had a couple of warranty repairs on mine in it's initial 3yrs, one a cracked pano roof and one brakes being seen to. I've had one denied - broken cup holder springs. Rather than fight that I fixed it myself in 15mins for 5p worth of glue.

 

[Murph7355]

At the risk of being spammed for the next 12mths, I just checked both.

• Warranty Wise for my car was £1400 (just above)
  • Claim limit of 10k - none that I'm aware of on the Porsche warranty
  • 250 max labour rate - I wonder if this would cover all Porsche approved places?
  • "premature wear and tear" covered - same issue... What is "premature"
• AA was also £1400 (just below)
  • Max claim limit 5k
  • Max on ICE/Satnav 500
  • Max on keys 200
  • (None of the above are sufficient IMO...it's not the 5p cupholder I ha e warranty for, it's the 2k ICE/satnav or god knows how much electric motor. Edit : 6k. Off eBay! )
  • Better on wear & tear (covered to 85k miles)
  • “Most" parts covered (couldn't be bothered to check)

They all involve risk. As does running without warranty. Ombudsman or not (when have they ever been useful!?), I'm comfy with the risk/reward balance. (I've previously run plenty of high performance cars with no extended warranty... Just felt my luck would run out on this one May feel differently in 3yrs' time).

 

[D00notD00d]

At the risk of being spammed for the next 12mths, I just checked both.

• Warranty Wise for my car was £1400 (just above)
  • 250 max labour rate - I wonder if this would cover all Porsche approved places?
  • "premature wear and tear" covered - same issue... What is "premature"
• AA was also £1400 (just below)
  • Max claim limit 5k
  • Better on wear & tear (covered to 85k miles)
  • “Most" parts covered (couldn't be bothered to check)

They all involve risk. As does running without warranty. Ombudsman or not (when have they ever been useful!?), I'm comfy with the risk/reward balance. (I've previously run plenty of high performance cars with no extended warranty... Just felt my luck would run out on this one May feel differently in 3yrs' time).

Thanks for the 2nd pair of eyes challenges. I’ve sent off a bunch of questions to both the AA and Warranty Wise. The devil is in the detail

AA have ‘Essential’ and ‘Plus policy types.
The first one doesn’t make clear the expected service life for covered components. For the more expensive 2nd one the wear and tear claim limit is up to car value.
For both AA products the definition of EV components covered is vague and I couldn’t purchase without better documentation. And when you exclude the ICE parts which are not applicable, not much is left.

Regarding £200 max labour rates, the last rate I saw for a service was £235 incl. VAT. But HV Tech and South East rates are likely to be higher. An excess is certain.

Warranty Wise say premature failure isn’t covered after 10 years or 100,000 miles. I’ve asked them if that means any failure of a covered part before then is premature. They have an EV specific policy (the only one I found) and the list of covered components seems decent. Their max £10k claim limit won’t cover everything.

I’ve also run ICE cars out of warranty, the risks and components wear expectation is known. The immaturity of Porsche EVs, their depreciation, and their monopoly on both fixing them and deciding the expected service life and what constitutes a manufacturing defect for EV specific components, puts the risk of uneconomic Taycan repairs much higher. Any independent arbitrator is better than no independent arbitrator. The Motor Ombudsman isn’t a government one but does supposedly follow Trading Standards and Consumer legislation.

I need more detail from both the AA provider Opteven and from Warranty Wise. The Porsche Warranty terms have not been updated for EVs - I’ve tried to get more info from them on component analogies, expected service life and what constitutes a manufacturing defect but in effect their response was ‘whatever we decide’. The rest of the VW group are several streets ahead. It may come down to whoever is the least worst devil.

 

[Murph7355]

The rest of the VW group (I'm assuming not Lambo and Bentley etc) has cars with less money in them. The opportunity cost is much less. And they'd never sell warranties at Porsche prices.

I was pleasantly surprise at "realistic" prices at Porsche for extended warranties compared with Aston and Ferrari (whose cars I ran without cover at all).

As noted it's a risk play. But if having warranty, to me the factory is the least risky despite some of the more formal (correct) points you make.

I also think you need to be careful not to make "luxury" car ownership a chore and a worry. They make no sense fiscally at any level. They are objects of desire rather than utility. Don't overthink it or it will drive you mad. If you wanted everything to make sense and not be a concern you should have bout a Hyundai i20

 

[Leccy61]

I’ve put manufacturer extended warranties on both our 2021 VW group EVs, full coverage on our VW ID3 cost £400 for a year. Stacks up to its relative value versus our Taycan, probably a fair reflection on risk and cost of repairs too.

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